Postcrossing 2014

For immediate release – 24 April 2014  

Guernsey Post is delighted to announce that it will issue its first Postcrossing stamp in celebration of a hobby enjoyed by over 470,000 people worldwide (issue date 28 May).

Following Royal approval, The Bailiwick is the first in the Channel Islands – and one of only a handful of European postal administrations to produce a Postcrossing stamp.

The Guernsey issue stamp, designed by Guernsey Post’s in-house marketing team, depicts an outline of Guernsey with a smiley face, giving the thumbs up to the hobby of Postcrossing.

Paulo Magalhães, who founded the Postcrossing project in 2005, commented: - “We’re absolutely thrilled that Guernsey Post has chosen to feature Postcrossing and we love the finished product.  For us, it's a huge honour that the project was deemed worthy of being featured in a stamp.”

Said Dawn Gallienne, head of philatelic at Guernsey Post: - “We are thrilled to be launching our first ever Postcrossing stamp, in celebration of a hobby which is enjoyed worldwide.  In Guernsey, postcrossers will be able to use the stamps to send their postcards to other members around the world.”

The Postcrossing stamp is available to preorder…. And can be purchased from 28 May.  

[add a para here about the plans for the ‘launch’ of the stamp as a teaser?]

-End release-

Press enquiries to:
Sarah Amies, pr consultant, 01484 687040/07811 133973
Dawn Gallienne, head of philatelic at Guernsey Post, 01481 733524

 

Notes to editors: -

Postcrossing is the union of the words "postcard" and "crossing" and its origin is loosely-based on the Bookcrossing site (with postcards, instead of books). However, the "crossing" or exchange of postcards works in a different way. Members send postcards to random members of the project, and in turn receive postcards back from other random postcrossers. This means that members cannot choose where their next postcard is going to and likewise, they don’t know where their incoming postcards come from, thus ensuring the element of surprise when one opens their mailbox. Exchanges are always unique and never more than once between the same members. The project is completely free and anyone with an address can create an account. However, the postcards themselves and postage fees to mail them are the responsibility of each user.

In April 2014, Postcrossing has over 470,000 members in 218 different countries who had registered and exchanged over 23 million postcards that have traveled almost 118 billion kilometers.

ENDS