Postcrossing Blog

We found Màiri (aka mairigold) through a charming owl-themed postcard exhibition she prepared for a museum in Scotland — and couldn’t wait to learn more! A lifelong postcard enthusiast, she finds joy in sharing postcards, decorating them… and even building tiny snowpeople on her red postbox! 😍

How did you get started sending postcards? What is your earliest memory of them?

This postcard was one of my most precious treasures as a child. I still like it now! Those 3D fairytale postcards seemed magical to me and I think that must have been what got me interested in postcards.

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

I heard about Postcrossing quite by chance in 2011 when it was mentioned in passing in an online interview. I signed up immediately! Until then I had never met anyone else that liked postcards as much as I did… suddenly a whole world of fellow postcard afficionados opened up to me!

Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

Impossible to choose!

However, 18 August 2012 was a good Postcrossing day for me! These two beautiful postcards arrived together from China – one was drawn by Scarelt as a thank you for GB-339961 and the other (CN-627070) was sent by DogDadRory.

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

I am lucky to have this red postbox just outside my door. This is where I post my postcards. When it snows I build a wee snowperson on the top!

I keep some of my postcards in these mango boxes!

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

What I love is choosing the postcards to send. It is great when I have one that appears in someone’s favourites wishlist! I like choosing the stamps to use and writing and decorating the postcard too. I have a LOT of stickers and washi tapes as well as postcards.

Have you been surprised by any place that you have received a postcard from or sent a postcard to?

I received a postcard from Fiji which has only 17 postcrossers – quite an unusual postcard entitled “evoking spirits with a shaman’s drum”. And I sent a postcard – a map of Scotland – to a “country” I had never heard of: Saint Pierre & Miquelon, which is a French archipelago located near Canada.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies or collections?

I have a small collection of knitted or crocheted toys, which includes a wee crochet tea set and a vase of flowers, a wee knitted doll, two owls and a stripy cat.

I also have growing collection of fancy matchboxes too.

Have you inspired anyone else to join Postcrossing or start collections of their own?

I work in an art gallery and recently had a wee exhibition of (some of) my owl postcard collection in its sister museum: The Auld Kirk Museum in Kirkintilloch, Scotland.

Several of my colleagues share an enthusiasm for postcards and have now become Postcrossers too!