Postcrossing Blog

This week on the blog, we start a series of posts about the people behind some stationery brands that we’ve seen and liked. We hope to keep it up more or less regularly!

On this first post of the series, we’ve talked with Anna, from Lila Ruby King. Anna is an Australian native living in Athens, who divides her time evenly between her illustration work and jewelry making.

She started selling eco-friendly stationery in 2007, under her micro-label Lila Ruby King. Her postcards feature hand-drawn patterns of birds, twigs and other curious objects, printed in different types of recycled paper. They’re sturdy and slightly textured, almost begging to be touched! And each postcard includes a small playful drawing on the back side – which is a nice little detail :)

We were intrigued by her unique style and asked her a few questions.

How did you get started doing stationery design?

It all started when I first moved to Greece, I needed cards to send home to family and friends for birthdays and Christmas and that sort of thing, but the range here was very uninspiring, and so I started to make my own.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Most of my inspiration comes from the natural world, every day there is something new to learn and discover which is amazing! I’ve also got some new pieces I’m working on, that are inspired by the nature and animals featured in the fables and folk stories of Europe.

If you could define your style in 3 words, what would they be?

Simple, playful, natural.

We couldn’t agree more! You can see Anna’s stationery collection and other products on her Etsy shop.

If you enjoyed this feature (or not so much), give us some feedback in the comments below! What would you like us to change, or what would you ask the stationery makers?

Airmail has been on my mind lately, those irresistible blue and red stripes! So simple and yet so pretty, they always bring back memories of long hand written letters from friends far away…
These days they seemed to have popped out of the vintage envelopes to be featured in all sorts of products! Check these out:

Clockwise from the top left corner:

• Airmail Pillow from Bonjour Mon Coussin
• Airmail Mighty Wallet from Dynomighty (we got one of these some time ago, and they’re fantastic!)
• Airmail Zipper Pouch from heydayhandmade on Etsy
• Mailer Tote Bag from Mokuyobi on Etsy
• Japanese Masking Tape from PrettyTape on Etsy
• Crochet Airmail from EternalSunshine on Etsy

Know of others? Please share in the comments!

Present&Correct is our kind of stationery shop: filled with tastefully handpicked goods from all over the world, ready to brighten up any desk. Updated weekly with sophisticated items & retro finds, you’ll find that every single notecard, rubber stamp or set of masking tapes is a temptation.

Going through a bit of nostalgia? They have original telegram envelopes, old-fashioned library stamps, or kitschy postcard sets in funky popcorn bags.

Or perhaps you’d fancy something a bit more modern? Try this Stamp Sheet Wall Planner, the Stencil greetings card or the unexpected Chalk Clipboard.

To write this review, I spent hours going through the selection and trying to narrow my wishlist to just a couple of items to order. The checkout was quick & efficient, and the goods arrived within the same week (they’re based in the UK, but ship worldwide).

First, let me show you the Giant Button card, which is a cute letterpress card on the shape of a button, in a white envelope. The reverse of the card simply says “You’re as cute as a button”. How cute is that? Perfect to cheer someone up – instant smile guaranteed!

Then, we have the Russian doll card. This is a very clever card, where the successively smaller matryoshkas are folded into the larger ones. Even the envelope is pretty neat! :)

Two weeks ago, Paulo & I took a little roadtrip to Amsterdam. After much vla, stroopwafles and hagelslag, we ventured into the obligatory visit to postcard shops to stock our collections. And what better place to do this in Amsterdam, than 'Friends of Art’, in Keizergracht 510?

'Friends of Art’ is a postcard & poster shop in Amsterdam that is well-known amongst local postcrossers – and for a good reason! Their collection is so vast that they have it neatly organized by themes and artists. No matter how peculiar your subject of interest is, you can find a postcard of it here! Sacha Siebels, who runs the 'Friends of Art’, tells us that postcrossers often come to the shop with lists of requests, trying to find that special postcard that will make the receiver happy :)

A big part of the postcards sold in 'Friends of Art’ are printed by Art Unlimited, a Dutch company founded in 1981 by Jos Smit, who we’ve met during this visit. Being in the business of printing postcards for almost 30 years, Mr. Smit has a lot of stories to tell – he can pick a postcard almost at random and tell us something interesting about the work of art or the artist who did it. He describes Art Unlimited's moto as “a passion for pictures”, shadowing away from touristic viewcards and prefering to focus on postcards with paintings, illustrations or artistic photography. His approach to which ones get printed is rather simple: “If I like it, there are bound to be others who like it as well!”, he explains. If the sales of over 300 million postcards in 35 countries are any indication, he seems to have excellent taste! :)

Last Saturday, a large group of Dutch postcrossers visited the Art Unlimited warehouse & shop in Alkmaar, and reported back with lots of photos – and postcards! Check out Jetske's lovely photos from the event.

Can’t visit Amsterdam? Don’t worry! Art Unlimited's postcards are available in museums and stationery shops all around the world, or through their online shop.

Ever heard of PostCardens? They’re tiny gardens that grow up in postcards! Intrigued? Yvi-1 tried them out and is here to tell you all about it! :)

Ever since I visited the PostCarden site, I knew that I would one day have to own one. Initially, these flowering greeting cards were only available in some of the countries of Europe. I waited patiently for their arrival in the US. Around the beginning of April 2010, B5+10 (Brooklyn 5 and 10), a US online retailer, began selling them. I ordered immediately.

PostCarden produces three styles which are all available at B5+10. I ordered all three – Botanical Garden, Green City, and Backyard Garden. At a cost of $12.95 USD (plus shipping), they are expensive as just a greeting card but inexpensive when one considers that it serves as both a gift and card. The best part is that these can be mailed! The Carden comes in a cute cardboard box that has space for an address and stamp and message on one side and an artistic image on the other.

I chose the Backyard Garden for my growing experience. Once I opened the outer carboard box, I found a second box which revealed a seed packet and what looked like a pop-out book. I followed the instructions and set up my Carden. The seeds provided are of cress. When the seeds grow the plant can be eaten. I set the Carden outside in my lanai. Each day I watered the PostCarden with about four tablespoons of water and then set it in direct sunlight for a few hours. Within 24 hours my seeds sprouted!

Visitors enjoyed looking at my PostCarden and it was definitely a point of conversation. Once watered, the seeds take on the strong earthy smell of a garden. My PostCarden cardboard warped a bit due to my messy watering practices and the fact that local humidity is currently between 70–90%. My Carden lasted almost two weeks.

I will leave it as a surprise to you what a fully grown PostCarden looks like. Unfortunately, my PostCarden did not grow as high as the sample pictures on the official site but I attribute that to high temperatures and not enough water. I did not choose to eat the cress but was happy to find that the PostCarden is fully recyclable or mostly compostable (there is a thin plastic tray to prevent leaks). I have two PostCardens left and will be sending them as gifts soon!
Note that mailing seeds may be restricted by country, region, or state.

PS – Postcardens are sold on the PostCarden site, or through one of their worldwide retailers. And they have just released a fresh new batch of them, perfect for the World Cup! Check them out! :)