Happy 50th Birthday, Mr. ZIP!

One of the great things about working with the folks at the National Postal Museum is that when I say things like, "Oooh, what if we had a letter-writing event for Mr. ZIP's birthday?" they don't look at me like I have two heads. (They also know who Mr. ZIP is, which is pretty great.*) "Do it!" they said, and so I am.

I designed a few pieces of stationery just for the event, and you can come pick some up on Saturday, July 27th, from 11AM to 3PM in the museum's atrium.  There will also be a limited number of vintage first-day covers to use, as well as plenty of free postcards and blank envelopes to send off your missives.

The National Postal Museum is located next door to Union Station at the following address:
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002

Hope to see you there on Saturday!  

*Mr. ZIP was presented to the public in 1963 to help increase the use of the newly-introduced ZIP codes and speed the processing of mail.  He's also pretty cute, doncha think?

Valentine workshop at the National Postal Museum this Saturday!

Have you made your Valentines yet? If not, come make a couple at the National Postal Museum's free Valentine's Day Card Workshop with me on Saturday, February 9th! We'll have tons of supplies: cardstock, pretty papers, cancelled postage, ribbon, rubber stamps, washi tape, and more.  Cards mailed from the museum will also receive a special cancellation (which I will hopefully be able to convince the postal employee to put on all my Valentines that I'm also bringing with me).

The National Postal Museum is located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, right next to Union Station. We'll be there from noon to 4pm. Hope to see you there!

(And if you can't make it to this event on Saturday, take a look at the Handmade Valentine Mart in Mt. Pleasant on the same day!)

postal products

Benita of Chez Larsson put a post up on Friday that immediately caught my eye.  See if you can guess the reason:

Has the USPS ever issued posters of their old stamps?  I can think of several that I'd love in poster form.  Right now, I have to settle for framing the blocks of stamps themselves.

While we're at it, here are some Royal Mail products that I own and love:

 First Class Machin mug, available in several other color schemes:

 

First Class Chef oven mitt, available in one other color scheme:

I feel like other countries do marketing and sale of products featuring their postal service better than we do; I'm not sure, however, if it's that the USPS is just bad at it, or if it's that they're not allowed by Congress to do so.  The way our postal system is set up is so flawed for the world we actually live in.  I love them and want them to flourish, and they're so stymied by such ridiculous rules.

Any other well-designed postal products that I ought to know about?

hello again

I've been busy with some temporary work (which has become a good source of fun crazy-people stories). It was only supposed to last a few weeks, but here it is mid-July and I'm still plugging away. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, but I wanted to explain that I have to strike while the iron's hot.

Today, however, is humid and gross and drizzly, which means it's disgusting out, so I'm avoiding the outdoors by sitting in front of a fan and unloading images from my camera. This has the added benefit of being a quiet activity, which means it won't wake up the birds, who are still sleeping in their cages. (Yes, plural birds. We rescued another cockatiel, because we didn't have enough projects going on.)

Here are just a couple things I've been working on lately.

These were for a handmade notebook swap through a mail art group I belong to on swap-bot.com. We were to mail the notebooks as they were, so I had to think of a way to keep them shut in the mail. Then I realized that I usually have the problem of keeping it shut in my bag, too, so I designed my partners' notebooks with a little flap to protect the pages inside from the postal system's machinery and their errant pens, lip balms, and other purse whatnots. I used color-coordinated rubber bands to keep them from "flapping about like a wounded bird," as one swapper put it, with the intent for them to continue using the rubber bands as a fastening device.

Su's a big postal nerd like me, so I made for her a collage of pretty postmarks on typically American stamps to go on the back of the notebook. The front I designed to look like an airmail envelope using a mostly steady hand and trusty Sharpies.



Lisa enjoys public transit, so I covered her notebook with a Metrobus schedule and stamped it with a bicycle stamp of my own design and carving. Among the themed sides of postage stamps, I also snuck in a vintage one featuring honoring the 200th anniversary of the "treaty of amity and commerce" between Sweden and the U.S., which means she gets Ben Franklin on both sides of her notebook. Lucky gal.

"Mr. Franklin, I would say you are probably one of the sexiest presidents ever." --Michael Scott

The insides are all mixed papers and maps, along with a few little envelopes and other pockets into which I tucked surprises (like "par avion" postal stickers for Su and Metro tickets and found stickers for Lisa).


Both ladies have now received their notebooks (intact!) so I feel safe sharing without ruining their surprise. :)

The other thing I've been working on are these sweet Gocco-ed bicycle map prints.


I drew the bicycle and burned it onto a Gocco screen. Then I cut down a bajillion maps or so into 5x7 pages, then screened the bicycles onto them. (I also did them onto colored cardstock, but I'm more excited about maps because, well, I'm a nerd.) I have them available for a bunch of cities, including Portland, eastern Canada, Dublin, Lourdes, Hamburg, Istanbul, Lisbon, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and of course, the mid-Atlantic/DC-MD-VA region. Plus, sweet jesus, they're only $15! What are you waiting for?

Let's hope my next update won't be 7+ months in the making, shall we?