Janet Chapel from Eketahuna and Brenda Cuff from Pahiatua both started Postcrossing in May last year.
Janet Chapel from Eketahuna and Brenda Cuff from Pahiatua both started Postcrossing in May last year.
Years ago a trip to the letterbox was exciting. Now it's a chore. But not for postcrossers!
Sending and receiving a postcard is having a worldwide revival, and on March 14 the New Zealand branch of Postcrossing had its inaugural meeting in Taupō.
The Postcrossing inaugural meet at Taupo on March 14, organized by Brenda Cuff from Pahiatua.
Organiser Brenda Cuff from Pahiatua said they arranged to meet in Taupō because it is central and more than 2000 New Zealanders were registered.
"I would describe postcrossing as like having a pen pal on SnapChat. And it's so nice to get something in the letterbox that isn't a bill!" says Brenda.
Brenda Cuff designed the card for the Taupo Postcrossing meeting.
Members begin by registering at postcrossing.com and then request an address to send their first postcard to another member. They then receive a postcard from another postcrosser. The process is repeated when they feel like sending another postcard.
When you request an address, a little bit of information about the person receiving the postcard is given. Gerry Edwards from Wellington says the idea is to write a few lines that are meaningful to the person receiving the postcard.
"I volunteer at the animal shelter and that prompts quite a response, even though it's only one day a week. What's on in the garden is another popular subject," said Gerry.
Brenda says she gets quite a few postcards from school children.
Janet Spring from Eketāhuna said her family laughed when she first started postcrossing.
"But when I get a postcard, they all want to know where it's from."
Gerry likes to add in some te reo Māori to her postcards, because she says she often receives postcards in a foreign language.
"People do this for different reasons. Some people request the card has an image of a specific topic. Others like getting fancy stamps," says Gerry.
Getting hold of interesting postcards and stamps is all part of it, as everyone talks about getting cards from op shops, museums, tourist information centres and hand-making cards.
A little-known fact is that stamps do not expire, and Brenda has some beauties that are decades old. Three cent stamps with wonderful artwork, from botanicals to Andy Warhol pop art.
"As long as they are unused, then they are valid. So many old stamps are still in circulation, you can buy them on Trade Me for about 30 per cent of the current retail value," says Brenda.
Julian Atkinson from the United Kingdom was already travelling around New Zealand, so he timed his trip to be in Taupō for the first postcrossing meeting. Gerry actually sent Julian a postcard last year.
"Thirty-eight million postcards have been sent through postcrossing.com so far, so what are the chances!" said Gerry.
Brenda started in May last year at the same time as Janet Chapel from Eketahuna.
"It's quick and easy with a fast response, getting something from around the world. It's the joy of receiving the card," says Brenda. "Not only do they write nice things to us, we get really nice stamps - sometimes people even tell us about themselves.
"Sometimes they write messages in their own language and we use Google to translate them, which is quite neat," she said.
"Most people have a list of the things they would like to see on their postcards. You put on your profile what sort of cards you would like to receive," said Janet
"Postcrossing cards from a meeting are really sought-after. Everyone wants a meeting card. The kids are interested, 'hey mum, there's a postcard, where's it from' and even the postie was really interested in the idea of postcrossing. Its a way of promoting your town.
"I often send postcards which feature Pahiatua or Eketahuna. Its a feel-good hobby at a low cost - $2.60 for a stamp and a $1 for a card," she said.
