January Doings

January in San Francisco has been cold, dark and very wet. I love it! We need the rain and it is a good excuse to hang out in my studio and play.
I noticed there are a lot stamps in the studio and that got me thinking...well...about stamps.

These vintage Chinese beauties were included in a big batch of ephemera a friend gave me. I think I'm going to have a great year making collages and Rolodex cards and books and altered passports  with all the old paper....I can't wait. But, for right now, I am just enjoying looking at these.

I started noticing a lot of stamps on sheets of paper -- like these.

And like these......

 I got to thinking, it would be fun to sort some of my bags of stamps and stick them in a moleskin....
I find sorting stamps very calming.

I had sooooo many piles going.....I sorted by colors and subject.  And I stuck them in and didn't look back.
The book will be fun to flip through.

Handmade book by Christie J
This little beauty just showed up in the mail unexpectedly one day and what a delight.

Here's a look inside...

and, here's another......
Thank you, Christie! Love it.
(@christie_jz on IG)

More Good Mail
This arrived on another day from Dawn C. Also a handmade book filled with postal goodness and pages to write in.
Dawn knew I've been having some difficult times and thought I needed some cheering up.
How thoughtful!

Cheer me up it certainly did!

Thanks so very much, Dawn. I just love random acts of kindness , especially those sent through the mail.

And, speaking of random acts of kindness, a new Instagram pal, knew I have been looking for these Reader Digest covers to use for altered books and she just sent me a bunch.
I love them and I can't wait to get started making books.
Thanks, @sakameg (on IG)

Any of you make any resolutions? Art ones?

I have a list going.........
I'll tell you all soon. Happy 2017. Make all the art you can!

Postal Playdate with Red Letter Day

Meet Jennie Hinchcliff -- Miss Red Letter Day herself ! Jennie is the co-author of the mail art book
Good Mail Day.
I'm sure most all of you reading this already have a copy . She is also the organizer of the
Ex Postal Facto Event coming up here in San Francisco
February 14 - February 16
2014.
Jennie ( and I) are hoping to see lots of you here at XPF in SF.
 I asked Jennie what she's especially excited about --

--- I have to say that one of the things I'm most excited about, in relation to the Ex Postal Facto weekend is the fact that so many of my postal friends will be in the same place at the same time. There's something really special that is generated, when like-minded folks get together -- especially mail artists! Ex Postal Facto will be one of those events that people look back on and say to themselves "I was there, I was part of it all."--JH

I recently had a chance to spend a wonderful day in the RLD studio with Jennie and I asked her a few questions about the upcoming three day mail art event.
I know you are going to enjoy seeing some of her studio and hearing a little about Ex Postal Facto.

What inspired you to organize the XPF event here in SF in February?

--my main inspiration was 2012's AARPEX (Artistamp Artists Reunion & Philatelic EXpo) event in Seattle, organized by Carl Chew and Robert Rudine. It was a two day event and featured many of my mail art/artistamp heros together in the same room! E.F. Higgins, Ed Varney, Cascadia Art Post, Teesha Moore, Bugpost -- they were all there, and it was unbelievable.  Everyone was so kind and generous; Carl and Dogfish (Robert) were gracious hosts. During the course of the event, folks were asking me why a mail art event hadn't happened in SF (the last big thing to happen here was 1997's Pacific Rim Artistamp Congress). I didn't really think anything about it at the time. But once I arrived back in SF, it was the ONLY thing I could think about! After that, everything started falling into place: the venues, the exhibition, different speakers...it's all come together in this very magical way. -- JH

Three days of mail art events sounds wonderful. Can you talk a little bit about what will be going on each day of the event?

--absolutely! On Friday, February 14th the SF Center for the Book will host an opening reception for the "mail/art/book" exhibition. Ex Postal planners have put together some fun events for the party, such as a mail art creation station and a postal cancellation window, where you can hand over items created at the opening reception. On Saturday, February 15th there will be a vendor expo held in downtown San Francisco at the historic Elks Lodge building -- in a perfect bit of synchronicity, the address for the Lodge is 450 Post! Vendors will have a variety of wares related to mail art, letter writing, and faux postage -- a little something for everyone! On Sunday, February 16th the weekend will wrap up with two different correspondence art/artistamp lectures at the SF Public Library. There are also a handful of satellite events in the works, but I can't quite talk about them yet...--JH

What do you say to those who absolutely can't get to SF for the event?


--Even if you aren't able to attend Ex Postal Facto in person, I would encourage you to follow the blog. I'll be updating regularly and encouraging people to upload photos, documentation, etc. from the weekend. My hope is that the Ex Postal blog becomes a "document" for the weekend itself, but also a way for people to connect and share their experiences.--JH

 Will you be making any artistamps for XPF? 

--yes, indeed! There will be a special issue of Red Letter Day/Barbary Coast Post stamps for the event, which I'm pretty excited about.

  One thing I'm excited to share with C&AJ readers is the news that we'll have a specially issued passport for the Ex Postal weekend. Designed by Happenstance Type-O-Rama, these passports will be a great way for attendees to collect and share artwork and artistamps -- the hope is that by the end of the weekend, each attendee will have a beautiful souvenir! Each day's event will have a special Ex Postal "passport cancel" at a passport stamping station; attendees get their passports stamped for each event they attend. Passports will be available for sale via the Ex Postal Facto website, as well as at the opening reception at SFCB.--JH

 What would you say to encourage someone who is "on the fence" about buying a plane ticket and making it to SF for this?

--San Francisco in February is a lovely time to visit! :-)

   If you're contemplating whether or not you should attend, I'd have to say "yes!" (and I'm not just saying that); the Ex Postal weekend is going to be a great mix of both old school and new school mail artists and artistamp folks from across the country (and a few from the other side of the world!). It's an amazing feeling to be in the same place with artists you admire, people you've only "met" in the mail -- there's nothing else like it. The people I correspond with are like extended family; when I'm able to meet many of them in the same place, it feels like the best kind of family reunion.--JH

I was recently emailed by a blog reader who will be visiting SF for XPF and she wondered about shops that might be really interesting for paper/washi tape fans.
I'm going to write a short post with some ideas for you out-of-towners so watch for that coming up very soon. You know I know the good places to go!
And we can also guarantee if you come to SF in February it will not snow!

SAVE THE DATE
February 4 - 15 -16,  2014

Who's coming? Come on, you can tell us. Any questions for Jennie? Leave a comment and she just might answer.
I am planning on being around for the three days so I look forward to seeing you guys here in SF.
And remember, stay tuned to Jennie's Ex Postal Facto blog for all the exciting updates and information.

A three day mail art event? Special artistamps? A XPF cancellation for your passport? Sidetrips to Chinatown? Venders all day Saturday? 
What's not to love?

(PS I would love it if you would all comment on the blog rather than send me emails or just comment on FB -- then  I'd have everything all in one special place! Many thanks)

Budapest Flea and more Postal Love

Budapest was a very postal-friendly city. Lots of charming post offices and mail boxes to look at, at well as a Postal Museum and a Stamp Museum (another post on those).
And a fabulous flea market. 
Want to come and check things out with me?

POSTA
Post Office and Post Box
No photos inside - no fun. But the outside looks good. And I did get my hands on free postal forms.

The Mail Boxes have legs!

Budapest Flea Market -- my husband always takes me to really cool, really off-the-beaten track flea markets. And then the poor guy has to wait around - forever - while I fondle everything postal.
What a guy!

And, this one had a lot of postal ephemera...loads of old stamps, first day covers, stamp books, old letters....just the sort of things that make me go crazy.
Forget department stores.

Give me the old paper...old photos...

Just look at those little packs of stamps. And they were cheap. Why don't I ever find things like this here in California?

Oh yes....this is where I found many of my treasures. No one spoke English but  writing numbers on paper works fine...

Some nibs for a fountain pen lover..

How could I possibly resist? Right. I couldn't.
Now that I look at this photo I am wondering why I didn't get more postal stuff. 
(It may have been the 50 pound limit on my suitcase)

After all that excitement at the flea market I needed to sit down and  have some  calming coffee and cake at the very beautiful New York Cafe. (Why New York? I don't know. I haven't seen anything like it in NYC)

OOps, I did it again. Another day, another beautiful cafe. This one is the Bookstore Cafe.
Now you know, if you are going to Budapest, you can visit lots of nice post offices, the flea market and eat cake. What more do you need?
(Maybe the Stamp Museum and Postal Museum? I'll show you those soon)

UPCOMING -- Interview with MISS RED LETTER DAY herself.
Co-author of GOOD MAIL DAY and organizer of the Ex Postal Facto mail art event coming up
here in San Francisco in February.
Anything you want to ask Jennie? This is your big chance. I'll show you a little of her studio and she'll tell you about Ex Postal Facto.
Stay Tuned.

Are the holidays over yet? I'm ready for "normal", whatever that may be.
Vintage paper fair here in SF next weekend. Maybe not as great at the Budapest Flea Market but it's one of my favorite local paper ephemera events.
See you there?