When people visit my shop for the first time, they often see many different postcards and assume they all appeared one by one. In reality, many of them belong to something much bigger: a series.
Some series start as a single experiment. Others grow slowly over years. And sometimes a postcard unexpectedly becomes the beginning of an entire world.
Today I want to share how postcard series are born and why they matter so much for collectors and Postcrossing.
Why postcard series exist at all
When I first started designing postcards many years ago, I mostly created individual designs. A cat here, a landscape there, a nice illustration somewhere in between. But something interesting happened.
People started writing messages like: “I already have two cards from this style. Do you have more?”
That was the moment I realized something important: people enjoy recognizing patterns and collecting them, and postcard series make that possible. Instead of sending one random design, you can follow a theme, style, and a little story that continues from card to card.
For people who enjoy communities like Postcrossing, this becomes especially fun, because you can send different parts of a series to different people around the world.
Some series grow slowly
One of the best examples in my shop is the “Let’s…” postcard series.
What started as a simple idea slowly turned into a large collection. Today there are already around 80 postcards in that series, exploring themes like travel, hobbies, seasons, and everyday moments. The first card was created in 2022. I had the idea for a traveling theme postcard and the “Let’s go travel! born.
Hmm, I thought, maybe a whole series could be born, and in a few days I created the first ten postcards.
The truth is, over time it turned out that not all postcards worked. While some “Let’s” are so popular that I don’t have time to reprint them, others are sitting on the shelves and breaking records of unsellability. It reminds me of those boxes of 100 postcards, where 50% are amazing postcards, 30% are not bad at all, and 20% are wtf, right?
Therefore, the let’s series will be completed when I release issue #80, and will change its face from then on. The most popular postcards will be adjusted, and others will be retired.
When a character becomes a collection
Some series start because of a single character.
The best example is The Window Diaries with Marluki.
It began as a cozy illustration of a cat looking out the window. People loved the quiet mood of the scene, and soon new seasonal variations appeared. Spring windows. Holiday windows. Small everyday moments.
With the newest additions, this series now includes 13 postcards. More are coming. And because the character remains the same, every new card instantly feels familiar. That’s the magic of a series.
Traveling stories: Goose on Tour
Sometimes a series begins with a simple, playful idea. Many people already know the geese illustrated by Mari Kolorowa that appeared in earlier postcards. They had personality, curiosity, and just a little bit of chaos. That’s how Goose on Tour started.
Together with the artist, we decided to send the goose traveling around the world. Each postcard places the character in a different city. The first stops were Berlin, Tokyo, and London, but the journey is only beginning.
Over time this series will grow into a collectible set for people who enjoy travel-themed postcards and country references in their Postcrossing profiles.
Some collections grow around a theme
Not every series has a character. Some grow around an atmosphere or a genre.
The From Fantasy Shelves collection is one example. It was created for readers and fantasy lovers who often write things like “fantasy postcards welcome” in their profiles.
These designs include dragons, castles, forests, and mysterious landscapes. They are inspired by the feeling of fantasy books, but they are not tied to any specific story or franchise. Not “Four Wings”, but yes, dragons. Just recognizable elements that fantasy readers instantly understand.
When postcards expand into stationery
Sometimes a postcard series grows beyond postcards. For example, themes like Everyday Magic or Library Is My Happy Place started with postcard designs but later expanded into matching stationery. Letter paper. Stickers. Bookmarks.
It turns a single illustration into something you can actually use while writing letters or journaling.
And for many people who enjoy slow communication and traditional mail, that matters just as much as the postcard itself.
Why collectors love postcard series
From a collector’s perspective, series have a simple advantage: they give you something to look forward to. You might receive one design today and discover that more exist. Or that new ones are coming.
For Postcrossers, that also makes it easier to choose what to send. If someone likes cats, fantasy, travel, or animals, you can often find several cards within the same theme. Instead of guessing randomly, you can pick something that clearly fits their interests.
One idea can become a whole shelf
Looking back, many of the series in my shop started as a single experiment. One postcard, one illustration, oe small idea.
But when people connect with it, that idea slowly grows into a collection. And over time those collections become the shelves that shape the entire shop.
If you enjoy themed postcards or collecting series, you can explore the collections here.
And if history is any indication, some of these series will continue growing for quite a while.
You may also like:
How many postcards do you really need for Postcrossing?
Why I’m Slowly Shifting from Single Postcards to Thoughtful Collections
The Window Diaries with Marluki: cozy postcard series
If you like the most popular postcard series, you’ll love this one too!
