My unique collection: Wooden Postcard from Taiwan

Taiwan-map-(wood-postcard), originally uploaded by naya_hachi.

Have you ever seen a wooden postcard before?

Well, now you have =)

This card is one of my favorites since:
1) It's a map postcard (my favorite theme)
2) It's very rare and quite expensive
3) and.....It will not bend easily

Thanks so much Chia-sitine in Taiwan for this one of a kind postcard!!!

Things I learned from postcard: ERITREA is a country….

Asmara,-Eritrea, originally uploaded by naya_hachi.

D’oh….maybe that’s the first word you said after reading my headline. Well, I don’t blame you. But I suppose, you must have an excellent knowledge of world geography. Definitely not like me…LOL. Yeah, it’s kinda embarrassing really for me to admit that I didn’t know this simple fact. And even my hubby is still teasing me about it (you know you have to cut it out dear)

Anyway, this is one good reason why I like this hobby. You will simply learn new things. My first contact with Eritrea is through postcrossing of course. I got in touch with one of Eritrean users and we agreed to exchange postcards to one another.

In July last year, finally I received my first card from Africa…Yipppeee. I was so thrilled. My dear friend Mansour sent me 3 cards from Eritrea. All the cards were awesome, but my most favorite card was the one showing its capital city. Eritrea capital city is Asmara. Yup, it’s Asmara. Hmm…I wonder if you…yes you who said D’oh before, do you know this fact? I bet you’re not :)

The country’s touristy official website stated that “Asmara is possibly the safest African capital for travelers. It is one of the cleanest cities in Africa. The streets are elegantly lined with palms and a string of boutiques, coffee-shops and restaurants reminiscent of southern Italy.” So for me, it is really interesting to have a glimpse of this city through a postcard without even have to travel there myself (since of course i can’t afford to…at least not yet).

As an additional twist, asmara is actually a very meaningful word in Indonesian language. Asmara means love (as a noun). So, I felt extremely lucky to have a postcard sent to me from the “city of love”. As written in the postcard...I'm glad to see Asmara.

5 easy steps to start your own postcard collection

I'm aware that starting something new is not easy. As a beginner myself, I found it's kinda hard to start my own blog. However, in regards to postcard collecting experience, I believe that I can share you some easiest steps to start your own. These steps are mainly based on my own experience. Nevertheless, I hope that they will be useful and applicable to any of you guys.

1. Grab any postcards that are available--- As a beginner, you need to initiate your intention. Smaller steps can be a perfect way to start. Once I started to have an interest in this hobby, I searched any postcard look-a-like items from every corner in my house. I pretty much found plenty of things such as: a number of old postcards from my high school pen pals, some free postcards from my movie magazines collection, various free postcards that I took from the malls, etc. Grab them as they are your first treasure. No need to be picky, your main goal is to have as many postcards as you can.
   
2. Inform others about your ‘new’ hobby--- The fastest way to build up your collection is to use other people’s help as much as possible. Family, friends, and relatives are usually the best candidates to do that. Since I start this ‘thing’, I end up with plenty of postcards from my friends’ last trip abroad, my colleague’s business trip, and even a greeting postcard from my facebook friend. So, be nice to the ones you loved as they are your closest ally.
3. Join a postcard forum or community--- I believe that this is one of the best things about living in this connected world. You can expand your collection with the help of other people all over the world in just a simple click away. My favorite website is www.postcrossing.com. In fact, this is the main cause I started this whole thing of so-called obsession. This website will facilitate you to exchange postcards with random people all around the world. You can also join various mailing lists that facilitate postcards exchange. These communities are usually built based on trust. Thus, it is very important to maintain your integrity and commitment in order to be well accepted.
4. Build up your interest, be passionate--- Once you have some exposure on this exciting experience, you will start to have more interest in certain (more specific) kind of postcard. That is called your preference. Now, you can shift your focus more to your favorite themes. For example: postcards showing maps (my favorite ones), lighthouses, religious buildings, beautiful castles, landscapes, and plenty of other things. Be passionate about your collection as this will represent your interest and who you are as a collector.
5. Store it well, and share it with your loved ones--- Your collection is your treasure. Based on my experience, the easiest way to store your cards is in a plastic box or in a photo album. However, if you are willing to ensure that your cards will be fully protected, you have to use archival-quality plastic holders for storing postcards that are acid free and contain no PVC. This material will prevent the forming of acidic oils that can destroy the appearance of your postcards. Direct sunlight is also a big NO NO as it can fade the color. Preserving your collection is an essential thing to a collector. Store it well and you can enjoy your collection longer. Who knows you might be able to share them later to your loved ones.

Why post-aholic?

On the verge of doing something new, i have an idea to start my own blog. Hmmm...then i wonder what things i can write about? Well, i remember a saying that writing can be fun if your writing on topics about which you are either knowledgeable or passionate. Passion sells.

I'm a passionate person for sure. I have a lot of interests in my life. My friends even called me a person who has many hobbies, well too many maybe . I find that quite hillarious, but yet they are probably (or absolutely) right.

After having a deep thought about it, i believe that my number one passion (at the moment) is my obsession on any post related items, especially postcard and stamps. Since this blog will be a direct way to express my enthusiasm toward my main interest, that's why i called this blog post-aholic.

I wish that my blog can inspire someone to start considering this very interesting hobby. Act on it and find more excitement in life.