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:
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 as @mailboxmemories
Her physical shop can be found in Little Rock, Arkansas, at South Main Creative.
And on her personal Instagram site as @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:
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:
Where to get Evan’s post office calendar
York International Postcard Expo
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.
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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):
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
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.
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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.
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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.
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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”
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There will be no return address so the card will be seen as just a surprise piece of snail mail.
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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 RomanoFB:Postcards for Good
Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
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