Friday on Instagram

Today's featured postcard collection belongs to Donna in California. The chimp with a Napoleon complex is from Sarah in Utah, while Hélène in Paris sends along a saucy French postcard. Have a look at the rest of Donna's collection here (on my personal Instagram account) or — if you just want to see the postcards — by doing an Instagram search via #benevolentpostcardsociety. 

(photo by me on instagram)

Wednesday on Instagram

Today on Instagram I'm sharing the postcard collection of Becky in Arizona. Shown here is a fantastic message in a bottle postcard, hand made by Marianne and daughter Abby in Maine and actually mailed in the bottle. If there's anything the BPS project has taught me, it's to never underestimate what postal services all over the world will send! To see the rest of Becky's postcards, you can follow me on Instagram here — or you can just do a quick search under #benevolentpostcardsociety if you prefer not to follow me directly (it's set up as my personal Instagram account). Hope you enjoy them. 

Old and New

I'm smitten with this vintage postcard design for an iPhone 4 or 4S case — so pretty and practical. Available here from On Your Case on etsy.

Snail Mail My Email

This is an intriguing idea — Snail Mail My Email is a month long, interactive art project transforming people's emails to handwritten letters that are physically mailed, completely free of charge. Find out more here.

Penny Dreadfuls

This post is a little late, but I just had to share a link to the cynically amusing slideshow recently posted on Design Observer. Penny dreadfuls (or vinegar valentines) were 19th century insult greetings sent out on Valentine's Day — though the slideshow includes some later examples of the genre, too. I shudder to think that anyone actually got one of these in the mail! Have a look at the slideshow here.

Postcup

I've just discovered that the charming Postcup by bailey doesn't bark is available through etsy! A black Pebeo porcelain pen and instructions are included with each cup, so you can write your own personal message — a sweet idea for Valentine's Day. Order it here.

NPR Postal Service Series

Here's something that I thought you BPS members (as lovers of traditional mail) might find interesting. Via the NPR Facebook page: "NPR wants to see your most cherished mail: a postcard, a love letter, a care package. Upload images to Flickr.com, tag them NPRpostal, and tell us its story. If you're a new Flickr user, leave us your link in the comments. We'll feature some on NPR.org as part of an upcoming Postal Service series."


(photo by Max Attenborough for Selina Lake, via Gingerella)

The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects

Deirdre Foley-Mendelssohn of the New Yorker has a fun review of The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects, the intriguingly titled new book by John Tingey about eccentric Englishman W. Reginald Bray (1879-1939) who, after reading the entire British Post Office Guide, decided to take the rules as challenges. Foley-Mendelssohn writes that " ... Bray tried posting an unimaginable array of things, to see whether the post office would deliver them. Apparently, at the time, the smallest item that could be posted was a bee, and the largest an elephant. Bray seems to have tried most things in between." I definitely have to get this book. Read the rest of the review (and see a little slide show from the book) here.

Here You Go.

It's been a crazy busy work week for me, so I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to source anything postcard related for you recently. But you know what? I bet I'm not the only one who's been super busy too, so — here's a cupcake. You deserve it.

:-)

(photo via Martha Stewart)

Textile Postcards

Such a great idea — artist Gillian Bates makes these pretty postcards by creating a digital image of her original textile canvases, and then backing them onto heavy white card. Shown here is her postcard of Bournemouth Beach in England. You can see more of her designs on her etsy shop here.

Thanks so much to lovely Mari for forwarding the link!

Postable Jewelry

Not only does London-based jewelry designer Nutre Arayavanish create beautiful modern pieces that last forever, but she also has a more ephemeral and conceptual line too — Postable Jewelry. Made of wood, the postcards that can be sent through the mail — the happy recipients can then pop out the pieces and make them into playful and imaginative rings. Postable Jewelry is available from Tender Product (London) and SF MOMA (San Francisco). Find out more from Nutre's website here. Via Josh Spear.

Build Your Own New York

Missing New York? Now you can create your own mini version, thanks to the site Build Your Own New York, which offers amazingly detailed 4-5/8-inch by 6-3/4-inch postcards of the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, Chrysler Building and more. Each building costs $1.50, with eight buildings in all. Some assembly is required (of course), but the results are great. More here. Via DesignCrave.

BPS Giveaway!

I've been wanting to do a little thank you to the wonderful members of the BPS for a while, so I thought we'd have a fun giveaway for the BPS! Three lucky Benevolent Postcard Society members will each win a set of one large and one small stamp magnet, reproductions of antique European stamps. All you have to do is leave a comment below for a chance to win. Contest closes at 12 midnight (PST) on March 15 2010 — I'll announce the winners on March 16. Good luck!

Please note: this contest is open to BPS members only — thanks for your interest!

Postcarden

How perfect is this for spring? The Postcarden by Aimée of A Studio for Design is an ingenious pop-up post card that becomes a mini-garden, adding a little note of fresh and living greenery to your environment. Currently available in three designs — botanical, city, and allotment — each Postcarden comes with a packet of cress seeds. You simply add water for two weeks of goodness (the cress is edible — add a little to your sandwich or salad on the spot). Right now it's only available within the EU, but Aimée plans to expand distribution to the U.S. and other areas soon. Via Oh So Beautiful Paper.

Thanks so much to lovely BPS member Daniella for the link!

Envelope Clutch

Love this cute envelope clutch by Kate Spade, part of her Par Avion collection — such a playful idea.

Thanks so much to lovely BPS member Olga for sending along the link!

International Fabric Swap — Plus Postcard

Attention craftier members of the BPS — check out this international fabric swap! Participants cut up two different pieces of fabric (one a traditional print, one contemporary) into four quarters each, then (keeping one quarter of each print) send the six remaining quarters to other participants, plus a postcard of where it's being sent from. In turn, you'll receive fabric and postcards from others taking part as well. If you're interested, you'll need to sign up before February 27 — find out the details on the A Bit of This and A Bit Of That blog here.

Thanks so much to lovely BPS member Amanda for the link (and who's also a participant)!


(lovely photograph by karaku via beauty in everything)

Cookie Card

How cute is this cookie card by matomeno? Fun to get in the mail — or as an accompaniment to a gift of home made cookies!

Thanks to BPS member Olga for forwarding the link!

The Timed Postcard

Here's a fascinating postcard concept — one that literally counts the days from mailing to delivery! Created by Tel Aviv-based designers Tal Mor and Shlomi Azulayut of dag-designlab, the postcard timer is set by the sender just before being posted. When the recipient receives it, they stop the timer — and the exact length of time it took the postcard to travel is preserved. Such a fun idea. More here.

Thanks so much to lovely BPS member Shlomit for sending me the link!

Valentine Card Swap

Want to share the love in February? Lovely BPS member Carina is organizing a fun Valentine Card Swap through her great blog — crow and canary! If you'd like to participate, you'll need to sign up by midnight (PST) January 29. Find out all about the details here.

Member Giveaway!

Lovely BPS member Rachel currently has not one but TWO giveaways on her Number 8 blog! The first is a fantastic box of vintage paper ephemera that includes "everything from antique magazine pages, music sheets, children's illustrations, fake money and monopoly cards, cigar bands, stamps, joss paper and much much more" — perfect for making your own postcards.

The second giveaway is your choice of one of two lovely 8 1/2" x 11" giclee seashell photo prints — one of a grouping of seashells printed on luster paper, the other a beautiful piece of coral on matte finish paper.

Hurry over here before January 18 for a chance to win!