Wednesday Update

As I write this, my wonderful brother Greg is valiantly tackling persistent email issues that prevent him from sending out this month's BPS addresses. Rest assured he's doing all he can to get the problem sorted out quickly so he can send the address emails out tonight.

Just wanted to let you know!

Update 1:18 AM: Greg's got it working and you should be receiving your October mailing address in the course of the next couple of hours or so. Yay Greg! Thanks again for your patience while this was getting sorted out.


(The still of the Knight playing chess with Death is from the brilliant 1957 film The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman. Via Criterion)

Another Project ...

Thought you might be interested to know that I've just launched my own online shop! It's called the automatism atelier, and it's where I'll be selling my limited edition fine art prints, one of a kind mixed media collage work and more. To celebrate I'm having a giveaway on my automatism blog, where you'll have a chance to win one of four different letterpress prints in my Veggie collage series! The prints measure 4" x 6" which is, as you know, postcard sized. Shown above is Mr. Onions — but be sure to go and meet Miss Cabbage, Sir Potato, and Lady Asparagus, too! Contest closes at midnight on Wednesday, October 7 2009.

Monday Update

I'm battling an icky flu bug at the moment, so my apologies if I'm slow responding to your emails for the next day or so. Rest assured that we're still on track for sending out the October mailing addresses to everyone by Wednesday night!

I've also received a few emails from BPS members concerned about not yet receiving their postcards. There are several factors responsible for this:

1. Location. Depending on the distance your postcard has to travel for the September mailing (and some have quite a ways to go), your postcard may still be in transit. In this situation, it's quite possible that your October postcard will arrive before your September one!

2. Postal Strike. There are at least two postal strikes that I know of on at the moment, which will definitely slow things down, if not bring things to a complete halt for a time.

3. Members. For various reasons (out of town, urgent family business) some members weren't able to send their postcards out until a week or two after the mail date. Life happens and will continue to do so!

I wish I had control over the mail system, but alas — it's as unpredictable as the weather. I myself am taking the long term view, hoping to receive most of my postcards but not expecting to get one absolutely every month. That said, I've received postcards from family and friends on holiday months after they've returned home, so you never know!

Thanks so much as always for your wonderful support and for your patience — I really appreciate it.


(beautiful photograph by smallfish on flickr, via we heart it)

Getting Ready

The October mailing is coming up soon! Before we gear up again, I'd like to go over a few things with you. Read on for more ...

1. We're putting the finishing touches on our shiny new app that will randomly select and email addresses for the monthly mailings (huge thanks again to my amazing bro Greg for designing and building this)! We'll be testing it this week.

2. Some members are still waiting for their September postcards. If you're one of them, please bear in mind that many are being mailed from quite a distance, and give the postcards until this Friday (September 25) to arrive in your mailbox. If you haven't received yours by then, let me know and I'll follow up as best as I can. Which brings me to:

3. I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is to mail out your postcards on the first of the month. As some of you are discovering, mailing to another country can take weeks, since the postcards are being sent by regular mail, for great distances, through several postal systems. Please don't disappoint another member (and I've been getting some very forlorn emails indeed about this lately) and make them wait any longer than necessary. The whole point of this project, after all, is to make someone happy! If something serious comes up and you can't make it to the mailbox on time that's fine — life happens. Just let me know so I can let the recipient know there'll be a delay. Which brings me to:

4. A membership amnesty. If you've recently realized that you'll be unable to commit to the monthly mailing schedule required for the BPS, please let me know right away. Whether you're on the road a lot traveling or just trying to deal with your own hectic schedule — no matter what the reason, rest assured that no one will get mad or be disappointed if you decide to gracefully bow out. It is a commitment to participate in this, and being able to both recognize that and be honest about your ability to adhere to it is really appreciated. You'll still be welcome to hang out here!

5. The next mailing is just over a week away ...

Please feel free to comment on the above (or to email me privately if you prefer), and thanks so much again to each and every one of you for making this such a great project — it's so fun to watch it grow!

:-)


(lovely Polaroid photo by Marta V. on Flickr, via carrots and peas)

BPS Café — September 2009

If you've received a postcard from a sender who prefers to remain tantalizingly mysterious, you can still say thank you! Each month I'll have a post here called the BPS Café, where members can leave a comment and let another member know how much they appreciate the postcard they've received.


(photograph via nom nom nom)

Get Connected

If you look at the right hand column, just under the Followers section, you'll see a new link list for the blogs and websites of BPS members! If you'd like to be included, just email me your site name and address (with the words BPS Link in the header) and I'll add you ASAP.


(photograph by natamatika on flickr, via you carry my love inside of your heartbeat)

What's New

Just wanted to let you know that I've updated the BPS Flickr set for September — and if you'd like to contribute, email me your photo of the postcard you've received (just the front with the picture — the rest will go into the book later)! Have fun with it, too — take the movie Amelie as inspiration and photograph your postcard in its new home!


P.S. Want to read something awesome? Check out BPS member Katie's lovely true story about A Most Important Postcard here!



(photograph from the Twins Garden Style blog, via we heart it)

BPS on Flickr

I've been hearing from a few of you that the first postcards are starting to arrive now! And though many postcards are still steadily making the journey to their (distant) destinations, I thought I'd remind you today of the brand new BPS Flickr group, where we'll be sharing photos of the ones we've received (see my post The Well Traveled Postcard). If you'd like to share a snapshot of a postcard in its new home — and this is completely optional — email me your photo!

P.S. Just uploaded the first one — thanks, Teri!

P.P.S. Please note that the photos on the Flickr site are of just the front of the postcard — photos of both the front and back will appear in the book at the end of the project (so you'll have even more to look forward to later!)


(Photograph from wolke sieben, via weheartit)

The BPS Button

There's now a member button for the Benevolent Postcard Society! Shown above is an enlarged version so you can see the details — to place it on your own blog or website, simply drag the blog-sized version from the "BPS Button" section in the right hand column onto your desktop. Don't forget to link back here, too! Thanks so much to Katie (KLBK) for her great suggestion!

Where's My Postcard?

I've been getting email that BPS members are beginning to receive their postcards! If you haven't found yours in the mail yet, please be patient for at least another week or so — some postcards have to cross entire continents and/or oceans to get to their destination, and that destination may very well be you! But if nothing has arrived by September 25, do feel free to email me — I'll be happy to look into it for you.


(photograph from moodboard, via Linda of Simply Seductive. Thanks, Linda!)

Vintage Typewriter Ribbon Tins

Aren't these vintage typewriter ribbon tins beautiful? And they must be so fun to collect, too! You can see more of Janine Vangool’s extensive collection on Flickr.


(via Lovely Package)

Still Waiting?

Just a reminder that all addresses for our first BPS mailing in September were sent to members via email by late afternoon on Monday August 31. If you never did receive an address to mail off your postcard to, please email me as soon as you can at lorilangille@gmail.com. Thanks!



(the lovely photo is by the wonderful Jody Rogac. Via art star)

The Well Traveled Postcard

Have you seen the wonderful film Amélie? Of course you have. Remember how Amélie's dad kept getting baffling photos of his missing garden gnome from all over the world? Well, one of the fun things we're going to do here is start a Flickr group which will feature snapshots of the postcards in their new surroundings — so a postcard from (for example) Canada will be photographed against its new Swiss background. More on this later this month, when we start receiving our postcards ...

:-)

P.S. BPS member Alex blogged yesterday about the postcard she just sent on her lovely Make, Do and Send blog — you can see her inspired September postcard here. Thanks so much for sharing, Alex — such a great idea!


(movie still from amélie via mnsrrt on flickr)

Readymade or Handmade Postcards?

I've recently had a few people ask me rather worriedly if it's okay for them to send store bought postcards rather than making their own — so I'll just say here and now that of course it is! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the lovely handmade ones, but what members choose to send is just as interesting — and makes the final mix of postcards that much more varied and wonderful. So relax, enjoy the project and — most importantly — have fun!


(photograph via we heart it)

Mailing Day!

It's mailing day today! Have fun sending off your postcard — and waiting in happy expectation of one in your own mailbox soon, too!


(pretty photograph by the ghost factory on flickr, via we heart it)