Postcardist: Recent Episodes
Frank Roche
Postcards connect people. Join postcard collector Frank Roche as he talks to guests around the world, including leading postcard designers, writers, dealers, and connoisseurs. The Postcardist spans the gamut from vintage to modern postcards. This conversational show was created for everyone from budding deltiologists to leading postcard collectors.
There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story.
Frank Hebert The Postcardist Podcast: February 2, 2018 to February 23, 2023
This is where we stop the story.
I talked with Melissa Reed about postcards, letter writing, and how she has accumulated 12,000 postcards at her house in Italy. And she wants to send them to people.
Maggie and I talk about her prolific set of postcard designs at Travel Trinkets Canada. We, of course, also talk about Albert Pickle the 3rd, her very handsome Basset Hound, who is featured in a recent collection.
You can find Travel Trinkets Canada on Etsy by clicking here. And you can find Magda's work on Instagram here. And as a bonus, you can see what I was saying about Albert dancing to the beat of his own drum by clicking here.
What's the worst postcard you ever got? And can you top the story Nina tells about hers?
In this episode I'm joined by Nina Lakusta, the proprietor of the postcard and ephemera store LakuStash. We talk about her postcard designs, driving lessons, illustration, and yes, the world's worst postcard.
You can find Nina on Instagram at LakuStash, and on Etsy at, where else, LakuStash.
I ordered two sets of Accidentally Wes Anderson: The Postcards in July. And then I kept looking at looking at the AWA Instagram site, anticipating the U.S. release of those cards on October 11. Yes, I knew the date. This was exciting stuff.
Guess what? As soon as I saw the postcards I knew I needed two more sets because I used this hashtag when I sent the first ones: #onetosendonetokeep. Yep, for every one I sent I knew I had to keep one. They're that cool. Other people are doing the same.
Which brings me to something cool: While the launch was going on, Wally Koval, the author of the NYT Bestselling book Accidentally Wes Anderson, took time out of his day to have a chat about the book, the postcards, and how AWA has cultivated a very engaged and creative community.
Every postcard has a story. That's what writer and historian Kenneth J. Weiss says about his postcard collection. In this episode, Ken tells us about his Midrust Postcard Project and tells stories about several cards he has. And we talk about baseball cards.
You can find Ken's writing and work at KennethJWeiss.com. And on Instagram at kennethjweiss.
In which I talk about World Postcard Day 2022; question why I have so many blank postcards; and an idea I have about being Johnny Tomatoseed.
Stamps. And postcards. And connections. Thats's what Ale the Philatelist and I talked about on this show.
Ale collects stamps. You'll have to hear her story about building an art installation using blue stamps she sourced from people she connected with around the world. She also collects postcards. And makes friends.
This is a show about community. And about how postcards (and stamps) connect people.
You can find Ale on Instagram at Ale the Philatelist.
The work that Marti Mills and Sylvanus Paul are doing with Santa Fe Sticker Fest is really interesting. And there's a postcard link. Do you add stickers to your postcards? After this thought-provoking show, you will.
You can find Santa Fe Sticker Fest on Instagram here. And you can find the website here. If you submit stickers, don't forget to add your return address. You'll hear back from them with a cool postcard.
Marti's sticker designs can be found on Redbubble. And her shirt and merchandise can be found at Chocolate for Breakfast on Bonfire.
You can find Sylvanus Paul on Instagram at Letterdoggy.
More information at ThePostcardist.com
What are the odds anyone is going to read an email 50 years from that you wrote about a trip you took this year? But what if you wrote details in letters and postcards? The odds go up considerably.
Ana Padovani, the writer of Cartas y Postales is doing just that: looking at a series of letters and postcards from 50 years ago. And she's making the story come to life on her blog. In this show, we talk about that series, Ana's writing, and the price of postage in Argentina. Oh, and there's an extra guest you'll just have to listen to find out who.
When a set of postcards started arriving at my house over the course of a week from Atelier Jean d'Eaux, I knew I was in for a mystery. The artist gained notice initially for sending sets of cards cut from record albums to chefs in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That set off a series of articles by a food writer in Milwaukee to suss out why the cards were sent. Now I have a set. And I set out to discern what they mean.
I'm joined in this episode by journalist and novelist, Ana Clara Padovani, who helps me unravel some of the clues that came with the set of six postcards from Atelier Jean d'Eaux. We play amateur sleuths and professional journalists. Do we answer all the questions? You can read an article, listen to this podcast, and watch a video to find out. Let's go. Let's play detective.
What can we learn from postcards? In this episode, I grabbed 10 random postcards from my incoming stack and decided to see what I could learn if I looked at them closely and was curious enough to discover more.
Documentation of this show, including photos of the postcards I discuss and a full transcript, can be found at ThePostcardist.com website.
Imagine your Grade 4 social studies teacher comes into class one day with a question: What if we tried to get postcards from all over the world? And then she did.
That's what teacher Stephanie Nadeau did at her Labrador Straits Academy in L'Anse au Loup, which is on the southern tip of Labrador, Canada.
Ms. Nadeau, as he students call her, set out a social media post in November 2021 that got it going.
In this episode, I chat with Stephanie about how the project started, what additional goals she has for the project, and the excitement the students have with learning about the world.
Photos and more links can be found at ThePostcardist.com
Orla created Imbolc postcards and is setting them out to catch Brigid's magic dew on the night of January 31 -- Imbolc Eve. Lucky are we who might benefit from a bit of this fairy dust in the form of a postcard.
In this episode of The Postcardist Podcast, Orla Hegarty and I talk about Imbolc; making postcards to honor the holiday; cognitive awe as we look out over the ocean; the mesmerizing qualities of humpback whales Orla sees from her living room window; giant potatoes and Irish immigration in Prince Edward Island; iron-on patches in school uniforms; and how Orla helped a small class of students in Labrador gets a large number of postcards from around the word. Postcards connect people -- and knowing smart people like Orla helps us connect to the world around us.
Details and photos and videos can be found at ThePostcardist.com
Music in this episode: The Banshee. Gravel Walks. The Old Copperplate by Sláinte is licensed under a Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
How often do you like to get mail? Or send mail?
Links to show notes at ThePostcardist.com
A show about why color postcards are predominant and sell more than black-and-white postcards. Some people have strong opinions about this topic.
Show transcript and visuals available on thepostcardist.com
Getting a postcard in my mailbox that's not mangled is remarkable.
Postcards get damaged in the mail. A lot. In fact, it's a surprise when I get a card that's unmarred. I've noticed the same reaction with others in the postcard community, who write with delight about receiving the rare undamaged card with words like, "This looks like it was hand delivered." Sadly, undamaged postcards are few and far between. Which led me to The Great Postcard Quality Project and this look at mangled mail.
You can find the complete writeup at ThePostcardist.com. It includes lots of photos of the damage.
Other links in this show include:
Grading collectible postcards
DNA from 100-year-old postcards
Pokemon Go Postcard Book
Postcards from places I'd like to go
Artists gather inspiration from many places. When you're a prolific postcard designer like Magda Wojcicka of Travel Trinkets Canada, that inspiration can come from playtime with her adorable Basset Hound puppy, Albert; from seeing the Aurora Borealis in the night sky in her town of Calgary; and by having coffee with her best friend who just walked 5km in -40C and had ice-frosted eyelashes.
In this episode, we talk about those inspirations, and much more. This is the last episode for 2021, and I wish you joy as we head into the New Year.
Travel Trinkets Canada
Magda's Stamp and Away IG account
Albert the Hound on IG
In which I talk about a cancellation that drove me crazy; and ask why so many postcards I send and receive have scuff marks; and then I ask for some audience partici......PATION.
Have you ever read a vintage love letter and wondered about the story? Liz Maguire certainly did. And from her first acquisition as a teenager of a set of vintage love letters from a flea market, Liz converted her love of letter writing and history into curation of a huge collection at Flea Market Love Letters.
In addition to the collection and transcription of her collection, Liz also uses letter writing to raise funds for charities. In this show, Liz tells us about her collection that includes letters ranging from the 1870s to the 1950s.
Links:
Flea Market Love Letters website
Flea Market Love Letters on Instagram
Write More Letters Project
The Postcardist website
There are positive ripples that can get sent into the universe -- and that's what Rachel Wentworth, the steward of the Little Free Mailbox, is doing as she sets out stamped postcards and letters for passersby to take for free. Here's her story about opening the Little Free Mailbox on World Postcard Day and how it's gone so far. This one brings a lot of joy to our postcard community; and it once again shows us that postcards connect people.
You can find the Little Free Mailbox on Instagram.
Rachel's IG is rachelannwentworth
You can find photos of the Little Free Mailbox on thepostcardist.com
Jamo and I talked about Bigfoot. We went outside and looked for Bigfoot clues. Talked about Bigfoot sightings. And then Jamo created watercolor postcards of Biggie. The World's Largest Bigfoot Postcard Collection just got bigger. So did my pride.
Get photos and more of the story on The Postcardist
This week I'm joined by the dynamic and multitalented writer, world traveler, and media sensation Nicole Banister, who many know as Nikki Banz. She joined me from her home in Cape Town, South Africa, and we had a far-ranging talk about postcards and long-time penpals and many, many, other topics.
You can find Nicole at these places (and watch for her documentary -- I have a sense when she has ideas she makes them come true)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theycallmebanz/
NIKKI BANZ LIVE: https://www.instagram.com/theycallmebanz/channel/
Nas Academy - How To Adapt To New Cultures: https://nasacademy.com/nicole
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/banisternicole/
Medium: https://medium.com/@nicolebanisterofficial
My Basketball Team (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/mybasketballteam/My Basketball Team (website): https://www.mybasketballteam.co/
"I was thinking about how you say postcards connect people. So does music." -- Teresa Edmunds
In this episode I'm joined by Teresa Edmunds. We talk about music. About postcard playlists and mixtapes. And how we can use music as a universal language as we write postcards.
Go to thepostcardist.com for links and photos from the show.
Ana Clara Padovani (IG: postalesycartas) joined me from Argentina for a chat from about postcards, pen pals, books, music...and football. This show is a classic case of "postcards connect people." Listen to find out how we connected.
I'm joined by Dr. Justin Kreuter, who's known around Mayo Clinic as the Bow Tie Bandit of Blood. His day job includes:
- Program director for the transfusion medicine fellowship
- Medical director of the blood donor center
- Associate medical director of the histocompatibility laboratory
- Laboratory director at Federal Medical Center — Rochester
- Alumnus of the Harvard Macy Institute's program for educators in health professions
He's also and avid postcard and letter writer. Artist. Musician. And podcaster. In this wide-ranging chat, we cover a lot of ground, all with a focus on how postcards connect people.
You can find Justin at these places:
Instagram: @kreutermd
YouTube
Bow Tie Bandit of Blood Podcast
And here's a link to an article about the need for blood donations and how your donations save lives.
In which I talk about postcards (and many other things) for 36 minutes, 26 seconds, and 121 milliseconds. Plus there's some music as an intro and outro.
In which I talk about Johnny Astro, growing up on the same street where Ray Bradbury grew up, and why I collect space postcards.
In which I talk about polymer physics, design of experiments, rheology, digital calipers, coefficient of friction, bending deflection, stiffness...and so many postcards get marred in the mail.
How many stamps do you put on a postcard? Another in the National Postcard Week 2021 series.
I chatted with postcard collector extraordinaire Mark Routh of Mark's Postcard Chat about what defines a postcard -- and how we make a distinction between a postcard and a piece of art. I think you'll be surprised at the answer.
I went on a trip across nine states and 20 hours of driving. I stopped along the way. I was Desperately Seeking Postcards. This is a show I recorded along the way.
Artist Nicole Carnes joins me on this episode where we discuss a wide range of topics: from her art, her inspirations (Vincent Van Gogh and Toulouse Lautrec), her ambidexterity, and what pictures she visualizes when she gets art inspiration.
You can find Nic on Instagram @rockabillynic.
Nic's Etsy store: Fiber and Wooly Arts
Midnight in Paris
Loving Vincent
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
Mark Routh joins me this time to talk about curating his world-class Covid postcard (and associated mail and stamp) collection. He gives pointers to budding postcard collectors on how to start and where to focus to build a collection.
You can find Mark's work many places, including as a long-time author at Picture Postcard Monthly and at his blog -- Mark's Postcard Chat
I was joined again by Kate Wiggins of Sugar & Kiki, who you heard on Episode 101 talking about her Adventure in Place Snail Mail Bingo idea. You heard Kate talk about donating a portion of the profits of the Spring Break Adventure Pack to the Make a Wish Foundation.
In this episode, Kate joins me as co-host to interview Sue Salter, who is the President and CEO of Make a Wish for South Dakota and Montana. Want to hear stories that will uplift you? Here you go. Play along; write postcards; do good.
I forgot to ask Magda a few questions about her postcard that took four years and 11 days to get to her. Here's the answer.
Madalena Wojcicka of Travel Trinkets Canada left me a message that started with a bit of amazement. She got a postcard at her home in Calgary, Alberta, Canada that had been sent from Spain four years and 11 days earlier. It's a real mystery.
The other part of the mystery is how we covered that topic, talked about the World's Largest Fishing Lure, Muffler Men statues, postcard design, and walking around the earth -- all while my cat Benjamin was yowling in the background.
Here are some links to items discussed in the show:
Travel Trinkets Canada
Tonkinese Cats
Muffler Men
The World's Largest Fishing Lure
The World's Largest Coffee Pot
The World's Largest Skunk
Atlas Obscura
Kate Wiggins of sugarandkiki.com has a great idea: Adventure in Place Snail Mail Bingo. We talk about her concept -- and the opportunity to help with the Make a Wish Foundation.
Well, The Postcardist made it to an important podcasting milestone -- Episode 100. Here it is.
This bonus episode is a follow up to yesterday's show, and uses the title of a poem by the Irish poet Derek Mahon. I worked my way out of my postcard writing rut. Here's a little more behind the scenes for those of you who asked.
The journey of a thousand postcards begins with a single entry on Postcrossing. Or something like that. I'm joined by two prolific Postcrossers for this show -- Sue Boggs and Jennifer Gilman. They're both with the San Diego Postcrossing FB Group -- and send thousands of postcards. You can find Sue on Postcrossing as @suegathman; and Jen is on Postcrossing as @jenniferkg.
Topics covered in this show:
San Diego Postcrossers
Christopher Arndt Postcards
Half Price Books
Quantity Postcards
Coast Philatelics
Maxicards
Singapore Post
Postcrossing Meetup Cards
Our story starts with a headstrong young girl and her collection of found objects. That's the story of Ariel in The Little Mermaid -- and it's also the story of how Betsy Kirichenko started with her fascination with mermaids and how that led to her collection of mermaid postcards.
Mermaids and Mailboxes on Instagram
When you connect with people through postcards, you never know where that will lead. I didn't know it would lead to me learning new slang terms from New Zealand at three o'clock in the morning. But that's what happened with my guest, Samantha Cook, who is also known by her IG handle Princess in a Teapot. We also talked about postcards and Postcrossing and the price of sending mail. And fudge.
I chatted with Ed Pocheff from his home in Speedway, Indiana -- home of the Indianapolis 500. Ed designs postcards and really knows how to tell a story. You can find him as @edpopcheff on Instagram.
Did you know trick-or-treating wasn't popularized until the late 1950s? Or that Halloween was a day of romance in the early 1900s? Or that cabbages featured prominently on Halloween postcards in the early 20th Century? That's what this episode is about -- a brief history of Halloween postcards.
Mary L. Martin owns the world's largest postcard shop. And just just recently wrote (with Q. David Bowers) A Guide Book of Collectible Postcards. We talk about the process that led to the writing and publication of the book, and then talk about the postcard collecting business in general. You can find Mary's book along with millions of collectible postcards at marylmartin.com.
I'm joined again by postcard enthusiast and sticker aficionado, Jim Lynch.
Long-time listeners of the show will recognize Jim from episode 60, where we talked about his extensive foray into the postcard world. In this episode, we expand on that topic…here’s a list of what you’’ll here us discuss in this eclectic episode:
- Stickers (including the Antiquarian Sticker Book)
- Postcrossing
- Art Throw Down
- Adult Coloring Books
- Where’s George Postcard Exchange
- Sent Postcard Cataloging System
- SF Postcrossing Facebook Group
- World Postcard Day
- Where to Find Postcards
- Postcards from Singapore Post
- Food Packaging Postcards
- Covid Postcards
- Pandemic Philately FB Group
- Delcampe Auction Site
- USPS Cancellation Sorters
- Travel Trinkets Canada Postcards
It's not every day that we get to hear Navajo being spoken and I'm honored to have been joined by Navajo writer and postcard creator Sylvanus Paul. We talk about how Sylvanus got started with with writing letters and postcards; why he named his Instagram account Letterdoggy; how he writes meaningful messages on his postcards; and how his stand up comedy influences the jokes he sometimes writes on postcards.
October 1, 2020 is World Postcard Day. I asked Postcrossers to leave voice messages about what they'll be doing to celebrate. And 20 people answered the call from around the world -- from New Zealand, India, Philippines, Greece, Ireland, England, Canada and the United States. This is what they said.
Special thanks to Ana from Postcrossing for adding what they're doing at HQ on such a special day.
Postcards connect people. And this show is, once again, about another connection. I connected with Orla Hegarty over the past couple of years because of this show and because of postcards. Orla is a dedicated postcard creator and writer, a mathematician, a traveler, and a postmaster for Canada Post in her town of St. Vincent’s, Newfoundland.
In this episode, Orla and I talk about postcards. And mushrooms (the edible kind, silly); Burning Man (where I suppose there are other kinds of mushrooms, too); The Salt Path; Punxsatawany Phil and Wiarton Willie; Newfoundland boil ups; Newfie tacos (I really gotta have one now that Orla told me about them); Feminism; stamps; Postcrossing, and the special cancellation Orla does from her post office.
Thats’s the thing about postcard connections. It’s a lot more than a piece of paper with a nice design and a note on the back. What I like about the connections is that I am on a journey of continuous learning — about people and cultures and faraway places. That’s what this episode delivers — it’s another opportunity to learn about the world from someone who communicates with great storytelling. Plus, name me another show where you can learn about Newfie tacos and Burning Man postcards in the same show. This might be the only one.
As with most conversations, there is just a jumping off point. Let’s start this episode of The Postcardist Podcast chatting about…
Determining if mushrooms are edible
Burning Man Post Office
The Salt Path
Punxsutawney Phil and Wiarton Willie
Newfoundland Boil Up
Newfie Tacos
Goedel, Escher, Bach
Covid…can we produce a show now where we don’t talk about covid?
Feminism stamps
Invisible Women by Carolina Criado Perez
Postcrossing
Special cancellation for St. Vincent's, Newfoundland
Marcophily (collection of cancellation stamps)
I want to spend some time in your wheat field. You're welcome to my roost. Finally alone.
On one level, Romance postcards from 1907 to 1913 seem innocent enough. On another level, they're purposeful double entendres intended to convey risqué intent.
In this raucous and experimental episode, Serece Tascione and I review 14 cards from my vintage Romance postcard collection and Serece speculates about what the real message is on the postcards. Basically, I laugh for about 40 minutes.
WARNING: THIS SHOW IS FOR ADULT AUDIENCES AND DISCUSSES THE EXISTENCE OF SEX AND INCLUDES SEXUALLY SUGGESTIVE HUMOR.. IT IS LABELED EXPLICIT FOR THAT REASON.
Here's a book about postcard history and the global phenomenon of Postcrossing writ large. On this episode of The Postcardist Podcast, author Masha Mokeeva and I talk about her book, Postcrossing: Book of Secret Knowledge. Masha walks us through the seven highly researched chapters of the book, including:
Postcrossing. About Postcrossing creator Paulo Magalhães, how Postcrossing works, what types of postcards are exchanged, and about the place of the idea of Postcrossing in the world of ideas.
Text on the postcard. This includes a very entertaining story of Alexander Asarkan, a theater critic who made postcards himself in the Soviet era and made art out of it. Plus, what and how to write on a postcard; why the text is very important.
Stamps and mail-art. How stamps become part of the semantic field of a postcard. Which are valuable, and which are ordinary. About the fact that mail art is conceptual art, and not just decoration of postcards with stickers.
The postcards. How postcards appeared and why they were ahead of their time and became the prototype of social networks. How and why to collect postcard collections. How to store postcards. About postcard people (including an interview with me!)
Postal history. The post offices in the modern world. How Postcrosser Elya worked in the Russian post office.
Postcrossers. Why people become Postcrossers. Interviews with Postcrossers. Postcrossing meetings.
The card store. A day in the life of Masha's store, Amelie's Cards. History of publishing and selling postcards worldwide. Interview with the owner of another store, where she says that the card is a source of inspiration and a sense of magic. Plus, Postcrosser's life hacks, Postcrosser's dictionary and 100 topics for the message on the postcard.
Russian journalist and author Masha Mokeeva owns a very successful postcard shop in Moscow called Amelie Cards. In this episode, Masha and Frank talk about the origin of Masha's postcard business, why postcards are so popular in Russia, the Russian collector Nikolai Tagrin, and the market for postcards in Russia.
This is part one of a two-part series with Masha. On the next episode, we talk about Masha's book, Postcrossing:Book of Secrets.
I'm joined this week by Anushka, who has created many postcard connections across the world with her energy in postcarding. We talk about postcard design, postcard connections, postcard swaps, and why I call her The Postcard Princess of Pune.
This week, host Frank Roche is joined by Tyler Sonnichsen, who has a huge collection of his great-grandfather's postcard collection from the 1930s and 1940s.
Tyler’s great-grandfather, Ben Irving, was a musician. Traveling salesman. Vaudeville performer. And prolific postcard writer. Tyler has his great-grandfather’s postcards…and all kinds of terrific stories to accompany them.
Tyler is a PhD geographer and comedian based in Michigan and Florida. He teaches Human and Cultural Geography at Central Michigan University. He's the author of Capitals of Punk: Paris, DC, and the Circulation of the Underground as well as work on the vinyl record industry and the history of Parisian hardcore punk.
You can follow more of his writing and research at SonicGeography.com. He released his second standup album, Modern Life is Awesome, on RainShine Records in 2018.
Artists. Business owners. Comedians. Dancers. Sisters.
Those are just a few descriptors for Leah and Grace, aka Tiny & Snail. That's the name of their business and their nicknames. Tiny & Snail is a stationery company led by two creative sisters who have a compelling goal: Bringing magic back to mailboxes with cards that people want to keep.
There's magic in the mail. That's Tiny & Snail's tagline. And there's magic in this show. Get writing. And dancing.
Tiny & Snail website
Tiny & Snail on Instagram
Let them mail cake. That's what Tiffany of Tiffany's Postal Treats says. This show combines two of my favorite things: postcards...and cake.
Tiffany's Postal Treats on Instagram
Tiffany's Postal Treats on Etsy
I'm joined this week by Elise Barras of Elise Loves Letters. Elise tells us about postcard collecting, letter writing, and scrambling to the top of big climbs in the Peak District of England, only to find a Mr. Whippy ice cream vendor at the top. Plus, she tells us about The Ancient One and how to have a proper cup of Yorkshire tea. Sit back, sip your tea, and get ready for some real delight.
This show is an audio movie. It's that rich with sights and sounds. And if you use your imagination, you'll be transported to Mumbai, India. I talked with Bhumika Israni from there. Bhumika is a huge postcard enthusiast (find out what happened to her room), letter writer, and connector. And she's a medical student who also collects stamps.
This is a show to treasure. And come join us at the Department of Lost Letters.
References in this show:
Bhumika on Instagram
Yellow postcards in India
Paper Jewels of the Raj by Omar Khan
Dead Letter Office (what we like to call the Department of Lost Letters)
These are trying times. And with the onset of Covid Summer, where we really can't travel anywhere, my guest Amina McCain decided to do something about that. To create connections. And that's where Amina's Pen Pal Club originated.
In this show, I talk with Amina about creating her pen pal club, writing plays and monologues, acting in musicals, and drawing sketches for her original fashion designs.
All this at age 13. Yes, Amina is a teenager. And an accomplished one.
The essence of this show is that every creative endeavor starts with the word. And that is especially true with postcard and letter writing. So, tune in and be inspired.
In this episode, host Frank Roche is joined by Postcrossing execs Paulo Magalhães and Ana Campos to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of the global postcard phenomenon.
We talk about the origin story of Postcrossing, the challenges of scaling up so rapidly, the dance that Paulo and Ana do for every million cards sent, and how the Postcrossing community organized and developed over the past 15 years.
References:
Ana Campos talking at TEDxOporto about how postcards connect people
Postcrossing
Show us your happy mailbox on the Postcrossing blog
Postcrossing history
Paulo and Ana and the Postcrossing team
Frank Roche (The Postcardist) on Postcrossing
This week I'm joined by the talented mother-daughter team of Jess Davis and Charlie Davis. Jess is the proprietor of The Snail's Mail, a New Zealand-based postcard shop. And Charlie is a postcard designer. Did I mention she's 10 years old?
In this show we talk about Charlie's new postcard design that's available on The Snail's Mail store now. Jess talks about the new designs she has available, the challenges of postcarding in the Age of Covid, and lets us in on another creative project she has in development
Find The Snail's Mail here
You can buy Charlie's "adventure" postcard here
The Snail's Mail on Instagram
Jess on Instagram
In this episode, I'm joined by postcard entrepreneur Kate Wiggins of Sugar & Kiki. We talk about her postcard store, postcard designing, the joy of writing postcards, and Julia Sugarbaker (the Sugar of Sugar & Kiki).
Sugar and Kiki
Sugar and Kiki Blog
18 Million Thanks
Who would guess that a postcard connection would result in a discussion of a Tarantula Hawk Wasp? Not me. But in this episode, I talk with Blaize Sun, who is a writer and postcard designer based in Taos, New Mexico. Blaize and I cover topics as varied as where to find postcards in thrift stores, what people expect to get when they get a postcard, what it's like to not have rural mail delivery....and tarantula hawk wasps.
Links to what we discussed in E75:
Rubber Tramp Artist website
Rubber Tramp Artist Patreon link
Postcards designed by Blaize (including the tarantula hawk wasp card)
Background on the Tarantula Hawk Wasp and its painful sting
Postcards connect people. And now, more than ever, postcards connect us to each other and to an enduring story during the Covid-19 pandemic. I'm joined in this episode by postcard collector extraordinaire, Mark Routh, who takes us through the early days of collecting postcards and stamps and ephemera about the novel coronavirus pandemic that has dominated our world in 2020.
Mark has assembled a very large collection of Covid-related materials. And he talks about the countries and territories that were first to publish stamps and postcards related to the pandemic. Have any guesses what country was first? Or second? Or sixth? Mark tells us.
This is a look at how a world-class collector assembles a collection. It goes beyond postcards -- and is part of an historical narrative. This is a defining moment of our time -- and Mark takes us through many considerations for looking at the pandemic through a collector's lens. Plus, he treats us to an uplifting poem at the conclusion.
You can find Mark at Mark's Postcard Chat. (He also has a Facebook account that's great to keep up with daily. He scans four or more cards every day and gives a discussion of the card and source.)
Other items discussed in this show:
Delcampe Collectibles Auction Site
Swiss Post Covid-19 Solidarity Collector's Stamps
Claire Holstead Poem
Iran Coronavirus Stamp
Isle of Man Stamps and Maxicard
An Post (Ireland) Postcards
I just couldn't find cards I liked, so I decided to design my own.
That's what postcard designer (and professional photographer) Magda Wojcicka of Travel Trinkets Canada said when I asked her what started her creative process to make top flight postcards.
Here's a chat we had about her design influences, how she got started designing postcards, and what's coming next.
I interviewed Sara McNally about her new book, The Year I Became Snail Mail Superstar. Sara started writing the book when she was gifted a large postcard collection from her great-grandfather. But what started out being a book about a postcard collection grew into what she says "chronicles a year in which she walked with grief, took a deep dive into her family history, and got to know her great-grandfather through his postcard collection."
Get The Year I Became Snail Mail Superstar
Follow Sara on Instagram
Join the Snail Mail Superstar Club
Check out the great cards at Sara's Constellation & Co
In this short episode, I talk about Christmas postcards I'm writing and sending. I spend some time chatting about Edition Tausendschön cards; getting a special cancellation from Santa Claus, Indiana; and why I have so many postcards on my desk but am always looking for more.
What does a Postcardist do on a 2,762-mile road trip? Stop and look for postcards, of course. This show was recorded on highways of the United States, from Connecticut to Minnesota. And it chronicles how Steven Roche (E44) and I stopped at nine Cracker Barrel stores searching for Lantern Press postcards. We also visited Niagara Falls, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Notre Dame University. Did we buy postcards? You bet we did. And we talk about that, too.
In this episode, I talk with Postmarked New Orleans author Jason Smith from his home in The Big Easy and we talked about where he got the idea for the book, about New Orleans history, and about a famous postcard featuring Oysters Rockefeller at Antoine's.
This short show is asking for audience feedback about how they acknowledge and display incoming postcards. Help!
In this episode I'm delighted to welcome back Ashli Ahrens of Mailbox Memories to talk about a First Day of Issue event she attended to celebrate the issue of the Post Office Mural stamp set. In the show Ashli refers to to a special giveaway she created. You can find her @mailboxmemories on IG.
A set of links to items mentioned during the show:
Evan Kalish's Living New Deal post about the post office murals
USPS YouTube video of the Post Office Murals FDOI (1:11)
Post masters: Arkansas post office art in the New Deal by John Gill
Things to do in Piggott, Arkansas
The Inn at Piggott
Jeff Bezos and the 10,000 postcards launched into space
First Day Cover address and dates
Santa Claus, Indiana
In this episode, Dr. Russ Romano talk about postcards and all the places that can take us. From his Postcards for Good to a world tour on The Partridge Family Bus, we cover a lot of ground on this show.
The Apollo 11 moon landing happened 50 years ago. And that event was memorialized in many ways -- including on postcards. In this episode, I talk to preeminent postcard collector Mark Routh of Mark's Postcard Chat. Of course, when I get a chance to talk to Mark, we also cover a lot of postcard collecting ground. Mark offers pointers about how to get the best cards in spinners; where to find collectable cards in obscure places; and securing cachets for your postcards.
In this episode, I chat with postcard enthusiast Magdalena Wojcicka. You know her on Instagram as Bohemian Me, Stamp and Away, and on her stamp jewelry site Travel Trinkets Canada.
After what started out to be a brief hiatus turned into a couple months of radio silence. But your host, Frank Roche, is back with a new show with three stories: one about a hand cancellation experience at a post office in Minnesota; a second story about a man who listened to short-wave radio during WWII and sent postcards to families if he hear their solider was alive; and a third about meth-laced postcards being sent to prisons. Yep. Welcome back.
Some stories just have to be told. This is one of those stories. I have the world's largest collection of Bigfoot postcards. Here's why.
Jim Lynch is a collector. He collected baseball cards. Football cards. basketball cards. Bottle caps. And postcards.
And he collects information. Jim is an active Postcrosser and participant in the currency tracking project, Where's George?
He and I got together to talk (what else?) postcards. And a lot of other interesting topics. Now Jim has me searching through my collection looking for baseball park postcards.
Additional items in this episode:
Snail Mail Superstar's one-year YouTube anniversary
Official Podcast Nerd sticker from Sara McNally at Constellation & Co.
Baseball park postcards
Willie McCovey
Pete Rose
Kayo Soda
Postcards for People Who Love Postcards. That's the tagline of Jess Davis's new online postcard store, The Snail's Mail.
And in this show, it’s proof -- once again -- of the idea that postcards connect people. I connected with Jess in Episode 51, where we talked about the imminent launch of her online postcard store. Well…that moment came…and so as I mentioned on that initial show, I invited Jess back to talk about how the launch has gone and how she sees the postcard business in the near future.
But even before Episode 51, I connected to Jess last August through Postcards from the Edge, when I interviewed Kitty on Episodes 28 and 29. It’s all a big network of postcard enthusiasts, and I was fascinated to connect with someone all the way in New Zealand.
And I continue my fascination. Here we are in 2019…and Jess decided to spin up an online store to sell postcards. And that, my friends, gives me hope for postcards. The connections we make through postcards last…and the art on them can last a long time.
You know, part of the connection with postcards is that we get to know people. And if they have pets, we get to know them, too. This conversation starts in the middle of something I love about her Instagram site…photos of her Black Lab – Betty. I commented about how much I liked a picture she posted of Betty wearing a flower garland.
I recently bought a couple lots from a postcard auction in Ireland. And that got me wondering about The World's Most Expensive Postcard. And that led to another thing, and then another. Plus, I had a chat with Russ Romano of Postcards for Good, so I got that in there too.
Here are all the topics I cover in this show:
Guinness Book of World Records Most Expensive Postcard
The Picasso Postcard
Dear Data
Peep Machine Pinups (yes, this is about postcards)
Bozo's Circus Postcard Delivered After 41 Years
The Postcard in Transit for 53 Years
Postcards for Good
The clack of a typewriter. The flow of a pen across paper. The fact someone thought about you while they wrote you a real piece of mail. That's what Sissy Cross and I talked about one Saturday morning recently. Sissy is the founder and creator of the Lone Star Letter Writers group, which meets once a month in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas to create written correspondence.
In this episode, Sissy tells us about how she created Lone Star Letter Writers, how she views written communication, what kind of pen she uses when she writes, and how she tracks her writing data (you have to listen to that part!). And we talk about neuroscience. Yep, Sissy is a neuroscientist by day and a Lone Star Letter Writer by night. Sounds like the makings of a comic book hero to me.
Here's a list of topics we cover on in the show:
Cool ideas and Clubs: Lone Star Letter Writers; Austin Typewriter, Ink; ATI: The Podcast; Egg Press — Write On
Writing Instruments: Standard Issue Supplies Pens; Blackwing Pencils; Olympia SM-9 typewriter
Books: Dear Data by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec; Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
People: Sara; Diane; Russ
Oh...and neuroscience
This jam-packed show features Heidi Belinksy, the owner and proprietor of Max & Co Post. We cover the gamut in this show -- from antique postcards to writing postcards to the business of selling modern postcards.
This jam-packed show features Heidi Belinksy, the owner and proprietor of Max & Co Post. We cover the gamut in this show -- from antique postcards to writing postcards to the business of selling modern postcards.
This jam-packed show features Heidi Belinksy, the owner and proprietor of Max & Co Post. We cover the gamut in this show -- from antique postcards to writing postcards to the business of selling modern postcards.
Russ Romano and I did a live radio show from Love Hearts Project's love letter writing event. Love was in the air.
This was the second annual event put on by Alex Krohn, the creator of Love Hearts Project. We sat down with Alex, and a number of people who were at the event writing postcard love letters. Want to feel the love? Here you go.
What's the first fairy tale you remember hearing as a child? And do you know fairy tales are told to you throughout your life?
In this episode, we hear from the world's preeminent scholar on fairy tales -- the author and postcard collector Jack Zipes, who wrote the fabulous coffee table book Tales of Wonder: Retelling Fairy Tales Through Picture Postcards. Jack is the author numerous books, including the definitive translations of two version of the Brothers Grimm tales.
In this episode, Jack Zipes talks about how he started his postcard collection by wandering into a paper and ephemera show in Paris; how he pursued his fairy tale postcard collection; and the discussion that led him to donate his unique collection to the Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. His extensive collection of 3000+ postcards can be seen at the Weisman Art Museum in an exhibition until July 7, 2019.
I sent 147 postcards in the first two weeks of January. The same postcard titled 1967: A Memoir. I had written a short story that was 3,534 words long and 147 paragraphs. So, what would any writer do? Sit down one night with a list of recipients and a random number generator...and get writing.
This show is my observations about what happened. Peoples' reactions about everything from my handwriting to the stamps to the story. It's about how much ambiguity people can handle. And it's about engaging in a story in a deep way. A special shoutout goes to Diane C., who watched the story unfold over the weeks of January and assembled it in order from its misbegotten roots.
And after the results, you'll hear me narrate Frankie Got Shot. Just another little experiment on The Postcardist Podcast.
Coming up in February are Jack Zipes, the author of Tales of Wonder: Retelling Fairy Tales Through PicturePostcards; Heidi Belinsky from Max & Co Post; and Sissy Cross from Lone Star Letter Writers. Plus...I might just have a little bonus episode coming up for you midweek this week.
Thanks a bunch for listening to the show.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Camilla d'Errico joins me this week on Episode 52 ( a year's worth of shows!) to talk about her pop surrealist art, her love of postcards, and her creative life.
I became fascinated with Camilla's art a couple years ago when I got a pack of postcards that featured her very compelling manga-style art. And that morphed into more and more fascination with her art and her energy.
I'm always dazzled to talk to people who are at the top of their field. To hear their origin story...and their drive to continue to deliver on their artistic gift. And when they're as kind and generous as Camilla is...that's a good day.
I think you'll really enjoy the show. A special hello to the legions of Camilla's dedicated fans who I know will listen to this show. Thanks very much for listening. And don't forget to send Camilla postcards. She likes those in her mailbox.
Here are some links and resources we discussed on the show:
Camilla's website
Camilla's Patreon page (I'm in her Postcard Club)
Camilla's Etsy store
As a little bonus for reading down this far, rate the podcast and leave me a comment saying you did. And I'll throw your name in a hat to win Camilla's book Pop Painting: Inspiration and Techniques from the Pop Surrealism Art Phenomenon.
Postcard set that started it for me.
Check out the full story on thepostcardist.com for more pictures.
Note: All images in this post are copyright Camilla d'Errico and are placed in this post for editorial purposes only.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
I called the future. And from what Jessica Davis (@JessDoesDIY) tells me, the future is bright. At least how it is 18 hours in the future. You see, I called Jessica in New Zealand from my house in the northeast U.S. We talked about how she got involved in postcards and letter writing early (peep that picture below of young Jess); her involvement in Postcards from the Edge; and The Snail's Mail, the new postcard store she created. And we talked about the future.
Postcards connect people. And they connected me to Jess halfway across the world. How far away is your farthest penpal? And how close is the closest?
The postcard from the campground
The mountain where Jess's husband walks the dog each night.
Jess Does DIY...and that includes with curlers when she was a little girl.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
We're at Episode 50. Oh, oh, we're halfway there...oh, oh, livin' on a prayer. Or at least a postcard. In this episode, I talk about a postcard auction I'm watching; talk some more about penpals and joy; and then talk about ideas. Yep, I'm asking you for ideas. Who should be on the show? What do you want to hear? I'm crowdsourcing ideas. And you can write me on postcardist@gmail.com.
Fifty down. And fifty more to go until we're at a century. So far, so good.
Mentions:
Tom Hanks
Sara McNally, the Snail Mail Superstar
Mark Routh of Mark's Postcard Chat
Shannon McCormick of Take a Hike Podcast
Magda Wojcicka of Stamp and Away
Gitti of Gitti's Collection
Fire walk with me. No, wait, that's something different. How about take a hike with me and Shannon McCormick, the creator and host of the highly acclaimed Take a Hike Podcast. But we didn't talk about hiking. We talked about odd and provocative postcards, the Postcardist Short Story Experiment, and creating connections with postcards.
You can find Shannon here:
Take a Hike on Apple Podcasts
Take a Hike on Instagram
Take a Hike on Facebook
This show features a discussion with Matt Roche about the 2018 season of The Postcardist Podcast. We talk about the 1967 Postcard Short Story Experiment and then talk over the 47 shows of 2018 and what's coming up in 2019.
It's been a terrific year at The Postcardist Podcast. Thank you to my many guests and to the cadre of dedicated listeners. You're the best.
My postcard story starts with writing to my grandmother when I was young. Now I'm introducing postcarding to my grandsons. On this special Christmas show, I interview Jackson and Jameson about postcards. And they make me smile. Merry Christmas.
Jax at the mic
Jax does the mic test with ABC 123
Jamo with his Grinch sweater
Jamo writing a postcard
Ashli Ahrens creates connections with postcards, both as a postcard dealer and as a collector. And host Frank Roche was fortunate to talk to Ashli about how she started collecting postcards; her transition into being a postcard dealer; and how she creates positive ripples in the postcard world.
You can find Ashli on Instagram @mailboxmemories
Her physical shop can be found in Little Rock, Arkansas, at South Main Creative.
And on her personal Instagram site @ashcanandwill.
And you can check out The Postcardist Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. And at ThePostcardist.com
Ashli talks about her family's holiday tradition of using vintage postcards as displays.
Host Frank Roche is back...and with a bit of binaural recording. This is a show that covers cancellations at Recluse, Wyoming and North Pole, Alaska; and talks about the crazy coincidence of the John Lennon first day of issue delivery.
Plus, Frank talks about postcard short stories. And asks for a lot of audience feedback. Email is postcardist@gmail.com.
When the Son of a Son of a Postcardist steps in, it's the Postcardist's turn in the interview chair. In this episode Stephen Roche (actually the Son of Postcardist, but we were going with the Jimmy Buffet reference) interviews host Frank Roche about these topics:
- York Postcard Expo
- Pinup postcards
- Cataloging postcard collections
- Beginner postcard collecting
- Postcardist vintage
- Collecting Pokemon cards
- The value of a collection over time
- Lenticular postcards
- Writing a short story on postcards
This week, host Frank Roche interviews Evan Kalish of Postlandia. Evan has visited and photographed more than 9,200 United States post offices in all 50 states. Frank and Evan talk about the origin of the project, collecting postmarks, and how to get postcards through the mail system in the best condition possible.
Topics discussed:
Postlandia
Post Mark Collectors Club
Where to get Evan's post office calendar
Lee Friedlander
Crazy Horse Memorial
Recluse, Wyoming
York International Postcard Expo
Art on a Postcard
How to win a chance to get the prize of Evan's 2019 post office calendar. One, like my Instagram post from November 12, 2018 featuring a post office Evan sent me. leave a comment tagging one other person you think might like the show. Then, on Wednesday I’ll take all the names that are in the comments, mix them up in a hat, and draw the winner….I’l show that in an Instagram story.
This is Frank Roche for the Postcardist News Network reporting today’s postcard news.
Today’s top stories:
Tired of the post office shredding your postcards? Now you can pay for the privilege with Hello from Banksy, a postcard that has to be shred to be read.
The Super Bowl of U.S postcard shows opens November 16 and 17 at the York International Postcard Expo in York, Pennsylvania.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…at least in North Pole, Alaska, where you can get a special cancellation for your holiday postcards.
And where else can you get an original by some of the world’s leading artists? The auction for Art on a Postcard is where.
Plus…more. Postcard books I read in October. And more. Stay tuned.
Welcome to Episode 42 of The Postcardist Podcast. After our terrific storytelling episode last week on the Halloween Episode, I thought I’d try a little something just for fun. There’s a lot of postcard news out there…
Here we go….
Hear that? It’s the sound of Bansky’s Girl with Balloon being shredded right after the gavel fell at a Sotheby’s, where the framed drawing sold for over one million dollars. As soon as the purchase was final, a Banksy confederate activated a switch that made the drawing slide down through the frame and get sliced into a hundred strips.
Now…you can get a postcard inspired by that fine art prank. Designer Lesha Limnov created a postcard for the Rijksmuseum called Hello from Bansky. It looks like a miniature, framed piece of art. But pull at a tab on the bottom, and the precut postcard comes out in shreds.
As you slice the postcard to ribbons, what’s left behind is a small, secret message, filled out by the postcard’s sender. Their concept: Destroy the masterpiece and leave your message inside the postcard.
Cost is $10 on the Shuba site…alas, they’re out of stock, but I’m first in line to get the collection.
Next up on the Postcardist News Network is the York International Postcard Expo on November 16 and 17.
Recognized as the largest antique postcard show in the country, the show will feature dealers from more than 30 different states and Europe and new dealers have been added this year bringing such specialties as Art Nouveau, Real Photo, Russian, Holiday cards and U.S. and foreign views.
Visitors can look forward to viewing millions of postcards. Postcards of every artist, country and topic from any era can be found at the York Fairgrounds Postcard Show. For more than 25 years Mary Martin Ltd. has hosted its annual postcard show held at the York Expo Center in York, Pennsylvania.
Plus, I’ll be there. With a microphone. Talking to dealers and collectors and the who’s who in postcarding. Maybe I’ll get a special cachet or two.
Our third story is about the North Pole. Or more specifically, the US. Post Office at North Pole, Alaska. They’re already gearing up for the holiday season with their special Letters from Santa postmark. How this affects us in the postcard community is this: there’s a special North Pole Holiday cancellation you can get in the United States if you send postcards to the location.
According to the USPS postal bulletin, Customers wanting a special holiday postmark need to do the following (and I’m paraphrasing for the Postcardists):
- Personalize your postcard, seal it in an envelope and print addresses on the postcards.
- Place a postage stamp on each postcard.
- Mail all addressed postcards together in a larger envelope to
NORTH POLE HOLIDAY CANCELLATION
POSTMASTER
4141 POSTMARK DR
ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998
Myself, I’m going to send a bundle of Christmas postcards with great stamps and address them to people on my list. And I’m going to ask them to place the North Pole postmark on the cards, then drop them in the don’t-overspray bin…and there you. Go. The last day the USPS recommends sending cards or letters is December 8.
Also..for postcardists in the U.S there are a number of special cancellations in certain cities such as REINDEER STATION in Rudolph, Ohio and Santa Claus Station in Santa Claus, Indiana.
Also, those of you who like sprayed on cancellations should know the USPS will apply a Happy Holidays cancellation with Santa in his sleigh from Saturday, Dec. 1 to Friday, Jan. 4. If it’s anything like the Thinking of You cancellation, it might be hard to discern.
Our final story on the Postcardist News Network is about the secret auction, Art on a Postcard, that runs now through November 15. Art on a Postcard presents a unique chance to own a mini masterpiece by an artist who would normally be well out of most people's reach. Certainly mine.
The auction features some of the most collectable and interesting contemporary artists practicing today, such as Marina Abramović, Humphrey Ocean, Rob and Nick Carter, Martin Yeoman, Vanessa Jackson, and Maria Kreyn.
Here’s the catch: But you'll never know who you're bidding for, as all of the work is anonymous until after the sale. You can get involved online at www.artonapostcard.com. Simply browse through the different works on display and choose your favourites to bid. Whoever bids the most, wins. The auction ends at midday on November 15, 2018.
Art on a Postcard raises money for The Hepatitis C Trust, so it's all for a good cause.
That’s the news.
Finally, this month I read a bunch of postcard books I’d like to recommend. The include:
Atget: Postcards from a Lost Paris by Benjamin Weiss
The Postcard Age: Postcards from the Era of World Wars (The Leonard A. Lauder Postcard Archive) by Jozefacka, Klich, Kreinik and Weiss
Paper Jewels from the Raj by Omar Khan
Postcards from the Boys by Ringo Starr. There’s a reason I mention this one I’ll get into soon.
Meanwhile, there are a couple extra bits of postcard news. Variety announced that Jeffrey Dean Morgan, star of AMC’s series “The Walking Dead,” and Connie Nielsen have signed on for the Janusz Kaminski-directed thriller “The Postcard Killings.”
The two will co-star in the film adapted from James Patterson and Liza Marklund’s bestseller. The film follows a New York detective whose life is thrown into turmoil when he learns that his daughter and son-in-law have been brutally murdered in London. As he digs into the case, similar crimes are reported across Europe with each killing accompanied by a postcard sent to a local journalist.
And last, proving that postcards make connections…a piece of happy news. Hello Clarksville-The Neighborhood Postcard project, kicks off at the Downtown Commons on November 6 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public.
Participants will create handcrafted postcards with positive messages that will be mailed to random people in the community. Each postcard is a small piece of art to be shared with a neighbor
And that’s the Postcardist News Network for the week of November 5, 2018. Next week, we have Evan Kalish of Postlandia. Evan has visited and photographed more then 9200 post offices across all 50 states in the United States…we’ll hear about those adventures…and much more. Evan is a real expert on postmarks.
That’s a wrap. Please subscribe to the show. It really makes a difference to get our message out.
Keep sending postcards. And thanks for listening
It's the Halloween episode, and you're in for a trick...and treat. This week Frank Roche is joined by four talented artists, each of whom created an original Halloween postcard especially for the show. Plus, each of the artists tells a very spooky story. This is a special show on The Postcardist Podcast -- one you've not heard before.
First up is the artist Beverleyann Wilson. Here's the beautiful witch she created on a postcard.
Next, we have an Edward Gorey-inspired demon holding an umbrella by the artist and communication strategist, Jessica Mand.
Kitty, from Postcards from the Edge, is an extraordinary photographer who created this spooky postcard from a photo she took of a house she walks by every day.
And finally, we have the filmmaker and artist, Justine Burt, who created a compelling graveyard scene on a postcard.
I talk about a contest we created to get a signed set of postcards from these talented artists. Short answer: Subscribe to The Postcardist Podcast. Rate the show and leave a review. Then let me know. I'll put your name in a hat. And three lucky people will win a set of these fabulous cards.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
This week, Frank is joined by Russ Romano in a double episode -- Episodes 39 & 40 -- which will publish on the same day. And as with all chats with Russ, there are stories. And laughs. And lots to think about. The big topics we discuss in this episode are The Great American Postcard Giveaway and Postcards for Good. Here's an example from The Great American Postcard Giveaway (Week 2). Russ writes:
I have received a grab bag of postcards from ADG (@adgnashville ) and each week I will be sending out 10 postcards. I would like to send the postcards to people from the locations represented on the card (for example, a Boston card to someone in Boston). Each postcard will highlight the new first responders postage stamp.
.
If you live in the location shown, please claim the postcard for yourself by saying “I want the “(title) card” and make sure you DM me your address.
.
If you know someone in the location shown, say “I know someone in “(title) card” and DM me their address and provide me the name you want me to mention on the postcard.
.
If I am sending the card on your behalf, the message will read: Hello from New York City. (Your name) thought you might like this card. Please enjoy. Best wishes—RR”
.
There will be no return address so the card will be seen as just a surprise piece of snail mail.
.
Week Two cards: (1) Charleston (2) Charlotte (3) Chattanooga (4) Chicago—6 cards (5) Cincinnati (6) Cleveland—TAKEN (7) Coastal California (8) Columbus OH (9) Detroit (10) Everglades (11) Fort Worth
And with his new project, Postcards for Good, he writes:
Postcards for Good will be an online portal or repository for institutions and organizations who want to receive postcards for a particular cause or particular beneficiaries. Likewise it will be a central online location for people to find a place to send their extra postcards or for people to send postcards for a good cause. Examples include: people in retirement communities, schools, military members, hospitals, and Ronald McDonald houses.
People will submit a form requesting to be included on the website. The information will be vetted and then added so people can access the address and information to send a postcard. Political organizations, and individuals will not be allowed to post a request. Organizers and facilitators will be allowed to submitted the names of individuals to be included as long as an institutional address is provided.
Russ Romano info@postcardsforgood.com www.postcardsforgood.com IG:postcardsforgood FB:Postcards for Good
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
This week, Frank is joined by Russ Romano in a double episode -- this one and Episode 40 -- which will publish on the same day. And as with all chats with Russ, there are stories. And laughs. And lots to think about. The big topics we discuss are: * Vintage Postcard Mailing Experiment * Russ's custom "stained glass" love notes cards * IGTV * Postcrossing
Russ scatters Love Notes anonymously around New York City twice a year.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Postcards to Space. You've heard of postcards from faraway places, but have your heard of a postcard in space? Frank Roche's guests for E38, Maria Lanas and Nicole Stott, have. Together, they have used the power of art and launched it into space.
Maria founded Projekt Posctard in Kastav, Croatia in 2014. More than 1500 children have had the opportunity to create art and share their postcard art stories.
And Nicole, who has experienced two spaceflights and 104 days living and working in space on both the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS), founded the Space for Art Foundation, and has partnered with Maria on the Postcards to Space initiative.
Mark Routh, author of Mark's Postcard Chat and columnist at Picture Postcard Monthly, joins me to talk about a host of topics. We lead with a discussion of collecting Disney postcards, with a particular emphasis on Disney WonderGround Gallery and the art of Jasmine Becket-Griffith. We also talk about different approaches to postcard collecting, getting signatures on postcards, and about the work of acclaimed postcard artists Rick Geary and Ann Rusnak.
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
In this episode, I talk about the numbers of incoming and outgoing postcards so far at Postcardist World Headquarters. I also talk about terrific postcard designers and sellers including:
Chloë McHenry at Parcel Tongue Paper Co.
Sara McNally at Constellation & Co.
Erick Sahler
Camilla D'Erico
Jasmine Becket-Griffith
Max and Co. Post
Pomegranate
and many others.
This week host Frank Roche talks to postcard dealer Susan Lane of Passionate about Postcards.
Susan has been a postcard collector and dealer for more than 20 years. And I had a chance to talk to her at the Garden State Postcard Club Annual Show this past weekend. You’ll hear the buzz of 40-plus dealers and interested collectors in the background.
Topics:
- How Susan became a postcard dealer
- Price considerations for collectible cards
- What first-time postcard show attendees should know
- Postcard artists and signed postcards
- The most expensive postcard Susan held in her hands
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Frank talks to Omar Khan, author of Paper Jewels: Postcards from the Raj.
In this episode, Omar discusses his highly acclaimed book tour that started in India, his research for Paper Jewels, and how he got started collecting postcards years ago with a single postcard.
The Paper Jewels "exhibition features 361 postcards from Omar Khan's collection and the Alkazi Collection of Photography, numerous blow-ups of old postcards, as well as relevant old photographs, postcard albums, videos and other associated materials. It is the first ever comprehensive exhibition of vintage Indian postcards, in the city where much of the early innovation in postcard art and printing during the early years of the medium took place. It covers the period from 1892 through 1947."
You can find Paper Jewels here. And you can buy the book on Amazon in the U.S. here. And for bonus videos where Omar Khan talks about postcard design and printing, you can watch videos here, here and here.
Also, Omar will be talking at several events in the UK, and one in the US in the coming couple of months. Details for these and all tour events can be found at the Paper Jewels events page by clicking here.
Sara McNally, the Snail Mail Superstar, was recently granted her great-grandfather's postcard collection. So we talk about that and what it was like the first time she saw it. And how that thread from him runs through her, with the Snail Mail Superstar work as well as owning the fabulous Seattle-based letterpress stationary company, Constellation & Co.
This fast-paced show covers postcards, typewriters, letter press printers. And it's all done with a smile.
You can find Snail Mail Superstar on YouTube here.
And here's where Sara talks about the postcards from her great-grandfather.
And here's where you can purchase the postcards we talked about on the show.
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
I had the good fortune to talk with Dr. Stephen Hughes from the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, SOAS, University of London. He and Emily Stevenson curated an exhibit of postcards in an exhibit titled, From Madras to Bangalore: Picture Postcards as Urban History of Colonial India. Here's what the exhibit is:
This exhibition covers a selection of picture postcards from the Indian cities of Chennai and Bengaluru between 1900 and the 1930s; then known as Madras and Bangalore. They were the two most important colonial cities in British south India. By pairing these together, this exhibition tells a tale of how these two cities, although separated by 215 miles, were linked through a set of common representational and material practices. The exhibit explores how postcard practices imagined, figured and performed a colonial encounter by depicting cities’ monuments, street, people and places.
In the early decades of the 20th century, postcards were at the height of their popularity. They were an innovative and affordable form of communicating. It has been estimated that in Britain alone approximately six billion postcards passed through the postal system between 1902 and 1910.
You can follow the exhibit on Instagram: soaspostcard
The exhibit is open until September 23, 2018, Tuesday-Sunday 10:30am to 5:00 PM, Thursdays late opening till 8pm.
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Which came first, the stamp or the postcard? In this episode, host Frank Roche interviews stamp collector and paper artist, Russ Romano, who creates postcard experiences by creating postcard/stamp intersections.
So much ground is covered in this show. Russ rode a train across the United States and sent postcards to a penpal in Spain. He's journaled every single day since he was 10. And he has a system to design postcard experiences.
Shows and people we refer to in this episode:
Chloe McHenry (@ParcelTongue) in E11: Mail Art
Kitty in E28: Postcards from the Edge
Lillian Karabaic in E27: Postcards from the Trans-Siberian Railway
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Frank Roche is joined by illustrator Jack McKean, whose Instagram site, Postcards to My Brother, documents his quotidian activities with drawings on postcards. Jack talks about his inspiration for the project, how he's kept going daily for more than a year and a half, and where he gets creative energy.
The key question in this episode: How do you define the front and back of a postcard? It's not an existential question. If you're an illustrator and draw on the "back," does that make the back the front?
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
In this episode, I continue my talk with Kitty, the creator and curator of Postcards from the Edge, an Instagram community built on a simple idea: send-receive-connect. And, of course, they do it with postcards. In this episode we we talk about the possibility of a postcard meetup; visiting Mexico City; and the photographers Jen Dagley, 3Z Moon, and Rachel Nyssen.
Kitty built huge IG communities that feature curated content, including UrbanRomantix and ArkiRomatix. And now she's doing the same at Postcards from the Edge, along with her collaborators Gitti, Jess, Elaine and Josh, all of whom are terrific photographers and creatives, as well as being super interactive administrators of PftE. (And now, there's a Postcards from the Edge group on Facebook.)
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
What happens when a person who creates highly engaged artistic communities gets on the phone with a guy who makes podcasts about postcards? I'll give you a hint -- it's not a short conversation.
In this episode, I talk to Kitty, the creator and curator of Postcards from the Edge, an Instagram community built on a simple idea: send-receive-connect. And, of course, they do it with postcards.
Kitty built huge IG communities that feature curated content, including UrbanRomantix and ArkiRomatix. And now she's doing the same at Postcards from the Edge, along with her collaborators Gitti, Jess and Josh, all of whom are terrific photographers and creatives, as well as being super interactive administrators of PftE. (And now, there's a Postcards from the Edge group on Facebook.)
In a disconnected and social media heavy world, we're all looking for more of a connection. And if you're into authenticity, this is your show. In addition to the long conversation Kitty and I had about postcards, we also talk about creative enterprises and the splendor of Silver City, New Mexico. Wondering about items and places we talk about? Here are some links:
Power and Light Press
Syzygy Tile
Lantern Press Postcards
And coming up in Part 2, we talk about the possibility of a postcard meetup; visiting Mexico City; and the photographers Jen Dagley, 3Z Moon, and Rachel Nyssen.
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Ziggy Stardust and I are talking about postcards.
Okay, it's not Ziggy, but it's a striking likeness. I'm in Philadelphia with author, financial consultant and highly acclaimed podcaster, Lillian Carabaic. We're talking about postcards; and she's turning heads.
We're sitting in the speaker's lounge at Podcast Movement. Lillian just finished giving her talk -- Breaking Through Creative Blocks Like Bowie -- to 100+ podcasters in the most dynamic presentation of the four-day conference. She's dressed in an asymmetrical blue spandex bodysuit festooned with lightning bolts. She's sporting a magenta wig. Loads of blue eye shadow. And she's perched atop iridescent six-inch platform boots. Perched might not be the right word -- Lillian/Ziggy demonstrated an overhead kick while onstage in those tall boots. You see, she was once a competitive figure skater.
We met a couple days earlier in a keynote session. What were the odds that I got to sit near a storyteller who sent hundreds of geo-tagged postcards that she wrote on the Trans-Siberian Railway? And that we would start talking about postcards at all considering it's a conference about podcasting? Oh, the odds. Must be like 2,500 to 1. (87.6% of statistics are made up on the spot.)
I wrote 273 postcards on the train as we crossed Siberia and Mongolia. And I geo-tagged them all.
Lillian and I talk about her travel from Dublin, Ireland to Holyhead, Wales on the ferry. Then on a train to Berlin. And Moscow. And on the Trans-Siberian Railway and Trans-Mongolian Railway to Beijing. And then one more train to Shanghai. (I wonder if she was listening to China Girl when her train rattled into The Land of the Red Dragon.) All the while writing postcards and geo-tagging every one of her postcards that she sent to fans who were following her journey.
Lillian is super high energy and so much fun. She's interesting. And she writes postcards. With glitter.
You can order Lillian's book, Get Your Money Together: Your Purr-fect Finance Book, here.
Her radio show and podcast, Oh My Dollar!, can be found here.
And you can hire her to give talks and courses about financial planning by clicking here.
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
In this episode, I talk with aesthete, word traveler, and LA Woman, Shannon McCormick, about the coolest postcard shop in Los Angeles, how she displays her postcard collection, and some ideas about custom postcards we could create.
Links to things we talk about:
Soap Plant + Wacko
Griffith Observatory
Postcard Racks
Scuffing on Postcards
Hotel Jagua -- Cienfuegos, Cuba
Podcast Movement 2018
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
Instagram is the the postcard of this time. That's what Professor John Murphy said to me as we talked about the intersection of postcards and the digital world. John teaches in the Digital Media & Design school at the University of Connecticut.
We talk about how postcards fit into an instant gratification world, the collection of postcards his father sent his mother on his travels around the world in the military, and how postcards work to connect us in a hyper-connected world.
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
What does pinhole photography have to do with postcards? A lot when the talented photographer, Moni Smith, join me to talk about the art of pinhole photography and her monthly photography postcard swap.
This show is part of the continuing series on The Postcardist Podcast featuring creatives and artists who participate in and advance the sharing of postcards.
Items referenced in this show:
Moni Smith's Postcard Swap
Moni Smith on Instagram
Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day
Elfster
How to Play the Banjo
Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
A pile of postcards here. A stack of postcards there. A wax seal. A rubber stamp. Postage stamps. And boxes upon boxes upon boxes of postcards.
Ever wonder what it's like to live in a house with a postcard guy? Namely...me? I this episode, you find out. My wife, Sheryl, joins me to about how a Christmas gift turned into a podcast; about putting a postcard writing station in our formal living room; and about how postcards are a part of daily life Chez Postcardist. Plus, we talk about the magic of Episode 23.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it. And if you listen to the show long enough you'll hear why I titled this show what I did.
I got a Greetings from Karen Commins postcard in the mail. Here was a new take on postcards: a voiceover artist who uses postcards to market her services. And I was lucky enough to have a conversation about that. But it didn't end there. Karen, first and foremost, is a storyteller. And what great stories. You can hear about how she:
- Named a helicopter her class bought with S&H Green Stamps for the local police department
- Had her first stint in radio -- in 5th grade -- after writing a winning essay
- Contacted the biggest name in voiceover work when she was getting started...and Frank Muller wrote back with advice
- Used Barry Manilow's birthday as a postcard marketing event
- Recommends using a return address on postcards
- Answers the question if Nellie Bly sent postcards in her race around the world that started in 1889
- Offers a free audio book about Nellie Bly to the first five Postcardist listeners who write here at karen@karencommins.com
- Sent me down a rabbit hole for stereo viewer cards...yikes!
Postcardist has been out of the studio lately. In this episode, I interview my friend Jessica Mand -- writer, photographer, and itinerant traveler. We do this interview in two locations -- at a French brasserie to start, with all the clanking plates and music playing in the background; then we transition a couple days later to a bench outside a coffee shop. Both places had lots of noise, but Jess makes it worthwhile in her descriptions of Iceland, her discovery of the prettiest postcard in Hawaii, and she keeps us guessing about the best restaurant on Nantucket.
We all like getting postcards. And the Kimpton Hotel Palomar has made it easy for guests to write and send postcards from their hotel. In this episode, I interview Jessica Bishop, PR Director for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants in the Northeast, at the Palomar in Philadelphia. Jessica talks about the idea for the postcard writing station, how much the guests have enjoyed the human connection of writing a postcard, and tells about her own fascination with handwritten mail.
The creativity of the bistro culture worked in 1920s Paris, and it works in present day in Philadelphia. Postcardist host Frank Roche is joined at Parc bistro by filmmaker Justine Burt. They talk about the hand-drawn postcard Justine creates while they're eating dinner, how to send chain postcards, and offer observations about a guy who rides by on a bicycle with a ferret on his back.
Want to be on the Postcardist? Send a note to postcardist@gmail.com or send a message on FB or IG.
Mark Routh joins me once again to conduct another postcard collecting master class where we cover the spectrum from the recent royal wedding to postcard design to QSL cards used in ham radio operations to the Titanic to postcard design to Doctor Who to postcards made by terrorist organizations. Yes, you heard me right…Mark gives us a lesson in the history of those cards and a perspective on collecting them.
You can find Mark work at Mark's Postcard Chat and his monthly column is in Picture Postcard Monthly.
Music transitions for this show are Japanese Prog by Rushus, from the album Stories. Stories by Rushus is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.
In this week's episode, I talk to the graphic artist and illustrator, Erick Sahler, whose art many of you recognize from postcards I've posted on the Postcardist Instagram page.
Erick creates large format serigraphs (you'll have to listen to the show to hear about the definition) in a very compelling style. And he creates postcards from his large-format art.
You can find Erick's work at ericksahler.com. And if you're looking to buy postcards, you can click here. But I'd say spend some time on his site. And send him a note if you enjoyed hearing him on Postcardist. It's really nice of an artist to take time of the day to talk about his creative process and how we were lucky enough to have his designs on postcards. Also, Erick is doing a one-man show the entire month of June at Candleberry Gallery in St. Michaels. Click here for details on a meet-the-artist day on June 9.
This is a special snapshot of who we were in the world for a very specific moment in time.
--Frank Warren of PostSecret, talking about sending postcards and the connections they make
In this special episode of the Postcardist podcast, I interview Frank Warren of PostSecret, "an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard." We talk about Frank's early start with postcards, the million+ cards he's received and read, and the connections postcards make in the world.
You can see new PostSecrets every Sunday on the site. And you can see Frank's TED Talk here. The San Diego Museum of Man exhibit we talk about in the show is here. And Frank has written six best-selling books.
Imagine a serial killer who taunted his victims' families and the police with postcards he wrote. In this episode, I interview Vance McLaughlin PhD, who wrote the book The Postcard Serial Killer.
The podcast runs the gamut from describing the story of horrific murders that took place more than 100 years ago to the psychological manipulator who wrote postcards about the murders.
WARNING: There is some graphic content described in the show about the abuse and murder of young boys. I set a trigger warning in the show for those who may be disturbed by the material.
This week's episode is a look back at the first 13 episodes of Postcardist, including show stats and some thoughts about growing our audience. I also talk about a postcard tacker I created and an idea for a postcard club? Want in? Send an email to postcardist@gmail.com.
Postcards from Kate is a nonpartisan project that encourages people to write postcards to politicians, journalists, and influencers to encourage positive social change. In this episode, I interview the founders of Postcards from Kate, Amelia West and Melissa Smith, about how they got inspired to use postcards by their grandfather, how they find positive stories, and how they rally people to write postcards to people who have made a difference.
Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Music in this episode:
Ragtime Dance by Scott Joplin, licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0 License. Music sourced from Free Music Archive.
This show is a master class on postcard collecting. In this interview with Mark Routh, we cover topics from the collecting of postcards about the Titanic, the bombing of cities during World War I, and Dr. Who.
Mark Routh, is a well-known postcard collector in the UK, who collects and studies the history of postcards. Plus, he's written a monthly column for more than 25 years in the very highly regarded Picture Postcard Monthly.
You can find Mark's website here.
Topics we cover in this Postcardist master Class:
- Victorian era of postcards
- How often were postcards delivered in early 1900s
- Where people bought postcards back in the day
- WWI battle photograph postcards
- Cachets on cards…censor cachets in WWI
- Titanic postcards
- Postcard fairs
- Display boards
- Dr. Who postcards
- Collecting postcards around television
- Postcard insurance
- Falklands War…Mark wrote a book
- The very first postcard
- How to archive postcards
Subscribe:
Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Music in this episode:
Ragtime Dance by Scott Joplin, licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0 License. Music sourced from Free Music Archive.
Mail artist Chloe McHenry creates collectible letters and postcards. Then she puts stamps on them and entrusts her work to the postal service.
In this episode, I talk with Chloe about how she started creating mail art, her experiences with being a penpal on Reddit, and how she pays attention to details that end up in her art.
You can find Chloe's work on her Instagram page (parcel.tongue).
Click here to see more details on the Postcardist website.
Music in this episode:
Ragtime Dance by Scott Joplin, licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0 License. Music sourced from Free Music Archive.
What if you collected postcards the majority of your life, then woke up one morning and decided to give away all those postcards? One at a time.
That’s what this week’s guest did. Frank Boscoe created an Instagram site where he documents his Great Postcard Giveaway. Frank asks people to DM their address and he sends them a postcard from his collection. Simple as that. One a day until they’re gone.
I became fascinated with Frank’s story as I follwed him on Insta. But when he mentioned he was going to present a PechaKucha talk about his postcard giveaway, I knew I had to hear more.
And am I ever glad I did. You will be, too. Frank is a fascinating guy, and he started out the show with a quiz in the style of Will Shortz that really got me thinking. He also recommends an app — Unfade Pro — that’s taken my postcard photography up a notch. And he created a special version of his PechaKucha talk for Postcardist listeners.
Click here to see more details on the Postcardist website.
Music in this episode: Ragtime Dance by Scott Joplin, licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0 License. Music sourced from Free Music Archive.
Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. Music sourced from Free Music Archive.
Audio in this episode: Good luck, we’re all counting on you, from the movie Airplane, sourced under YouTube standard license.
Swing and a miss, the call by Harry Kalas calls the Philadelphia Phillies winning the World Series in 1908, sourced under a YouTube standard license. All rights reserved by MLB.
There are 347 free-standing USPS blue mailboxes in Seattle. And photographer David Peterman took a photo of every single one of them and posted those photos over the course of a year.
In this episode, I talk to David about how the Mailboxes of Seattle project got started, how he planned his photography, and what it was like taking selfies with mailboxes. Did anyone pay attention? I did.
This story requires visuals. You can see David's photos on his site mailboxesofseattle.com. I posted a few select photos and the transcript from this show on thepostcardist.com.
Music transitions for this show is called Japanese Prog by Rushus. The music is licensed under a Creative Commons license. You can listen to Rushus' album Stories here.
This week I talk to Justine Burt, who is a filmmaker, historian and itinerant traveler. The conversation starts with a story of Justine's discovery of an obscure postbox on a far-flung island. Which leads us to talking about other postboxes, how mail gets delivered, and where Justine has found postcards in her travels around the world.
Speaking of around the world, we talk about Nellie Bly, the investigative journalist, who in 1889 traveled around the world in 72 days. Did she send postcards? Let's find out.
We also talk about the messaging in postcards and cook up a business idea based on a "Wish You Were Here" message.
Show links:
Check out The Postcardist website
Follow Postcardist on Instagram
The Isle of Harris
Nellie Bly
Postboxes from Around the World
In this episode, we talk with the writer Sara Wilson, who gives us tips on short-form writing, offers ideas for what should go on the back of the postcard, and how to make your postcard memorable.
You can find Sara's work on Sara-Writes.com. And keep your eye out for the book she's writing now.
Not quite the same thing as Friends With Benefits, but longer lasting. Many people collect postcards; fewer collect FWBs.
This episode is about postcards I got from my friends over the past year. You'll hear about postcard artists, the history of Toronto and the discography of The Beatles. Plus, you'll hear postcard sound effects.
Postcard collecting is the third largest collector's group in the world. And collectors are called deltiologists. Do you know why? In this episode you'll find out. You'll also learn about the hidden meaning of stamp placement; and how to make sure your postcards arrive in the best condition. Did I mention "prison pen pals"? I talk about those, too.
One sunny Sunday afternoon. One thousand postcards. Fifty people. And an idea: cast some love out into the world on a postcard. In this episode, we go to an event put on by the Love Hearts Project, where a large group of people gathered to support the project and show some love by writing postcard love letters.
We interview the creator of Love Hearts Project, Alex Krohn, along with three participants in the postcard love letter event.
This is postcard writing at its very best: social, energetic and collaborative. Plus...you'll get to meet some very interesting people. And isn't that what postcards are all about?
Passive-aggressive postcards pack a punch. In just a few lines, the writer can foist guilt on the reader. "I haven't heard from you; in case you care, I'm very sick." Or a card can say, "Why haven't you written?" Or worse: don't write to me again.
In this episode, Frank Roche is joined by Lori Feldman. They talk about passive-aggressive postcards from the early 1900s and how there are many similarities to modern communication. Not much has changed...hurt and indirect communication still exist. But in the Golden Age of Postcards, the burn lingered longer.
Bonus content: you also get to hear about extrusions, bathyscaphs and a hospital in Excelsior Springs, Missouri that had a particular specialty.
Everyone loves a love story. And this love story has all of the elements of a good one: young love in a small town, rivals, jealousy, intrigue and passion. All played out on a series of 31 romance postcards in a collection from 1909 to 1912. This is The Postcard Love Story of Emil & Bell.
In this episode, I talk about the origins of the Postcardist, how I got started writing postcards as a kid, and where the show is headed. This is the pilot...and I mentioned Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. And Burning Man.