Post Office Posters

UPDATE: I'm now sharing my collection of Royal Mail advertising posters over on a dedicated Post Office Posters blog. 

One of the things I'm lucky to have inherited from my grandparents is a collection of old Royal Mail advertising posters, from the days when they ran a village shop and Post Office.

 
If you've been reading my blog for a long time, you might have seen some of these posters before as I had a few of my faves framed and on display in my old flat. I only have wall space for a few of them, though, and I thought it might be nice to have a space to share the whole collection, so...

... I've started a new Instagram account for them: Post Office Posters.

 

I'll gradually be photographing and sharing all the posters over the coming weeks and months, as and when I have time to do so. If you're a stamp nerd like me, are interested in typography or poster design, or just like old stuff then do follow along!

Some Positive Posters

I love these free printable mini posters from Oh My! Handmade...

I first saw the phrase "don't compare your insides to someone else's outsides" in a comment on someone's blog sometime last year and it has really stuck with me.

It is SO easy to get caught up comparing yourself (or your house or your life or your blog or your business) to other people (and their apparently perfect houses, lives, blogs and businesses)... when in reality they've probably got as much stress and mess and general chaos going on "behind the scenes" as you do.

I will definitely be printing one of these out for my studio wall! Click here to read the original post on Oh My! Handmade and to view and download a printable version for yourself.

Wonder-Cat!

I am very definitely a "cat person", so - even though we don't currently have a cat of our own - I just had to buy this fantastic poster by What Katie Does:

It's inspired by vintage advertising, and lists all the health benefits of cat ownership in classic Victorian style.

Want your own wonder-cat poster? You can buy them HERE.

Pigeon Post

We've not been getting much post lately thanks to all this winter weather. I'm waiting for a few supply orders (so I can get everything restocked after Christmas) and other assorted bits and pieces.

One bit of nice post that has arrived is a little something I treated myself to as a post-Christmas present, this gorgeous poster from Edinburgh-based artist Alice Melvin.

As always with my art purchases, I've got no idea where it's going to go but I just couldn't resist its loveliness.

With more cold weather forecast I've got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to get to the Post Office next week (and that it'll actually be open!) when I'm supposed to be resuming shipping orders after my Christmas break. I'm hoping to have everything shipped by the end of the week but if there are snow-related delays and you're expecting a parcel from me I'll be in touch :)

Lovely Post

More great post yesterday - two fantastic posters from lovelydesign:
I fell in love with these after the first edition had already sold out, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw a second edition is now available.

The attention to detail in them is lovely, and those colours! Yum. I can't wait to get these framed and to find space for them on our walls...

365 / 159 - Building up my Collection, plus: Tea Things

I continue to be working on little batches of my designs - yesterday I finished a batch of pansies, and started sewing together a batch of red teapots. As well as helping me build up a stock of items for sale, the batch-making process is helping me build up my own personal brooch collection as I've finally got enough of certain designs to be able to keep one for myself. Here's the collection so far, including the newest addition (the pansy) ...
As you can see, there are plenty of designs still missing - ie lots of batches still to make!

In non-crafty news, I have stumbled upon a shop selling excellent mugs for your tea. Discovered via Hazel Nicholls' blog (in turn discovered when she left me a comment), SuckUK sells a drink selector mug enabling you to display your tea/coffee tastes and also a colour-matching mug to help you make perfect-strength tea or coffee. The latter reminds me of the Pantone mugs and the work of Onkar Singh Kular, who also designed a charming "pair" of three socks (the 3rd for when one gets lost) and a picture frame with a built-in spirit level (as I'm preparing to frame some pictures this one appeals to me particularly strongly!). While I'm on the subject of mugs, if you've never seen the Dunk Mug it's really worth a look. A mug with a built-in biscuit holder? Just genius, although as a friend of mine commented "it doesn't hold a whole packet though, does it?" (I do eat rather a lot of biscuits...).

Back to Hazel Nicholls for a moment though - what lovely things! This image particularly caught my eye:
It seems in my mind to be a sort of biscuit-obsessed version of Anthony Burrill's Work Hard and Be Nice to People. A copy of "Work Hard" is waiting to be framed and hung up somewhere in my house once I can work out where to put it... probably somewhere near my cheap-as-chips Keep Calm and Carry On poster (in my kitchen and much looked to during times of culinary crisis!). To continue with all this going-round-in-circles I'm doing today, checking out the fancy screenprinted versions of the Keep Calm poster (handprinted, lovely soft colours: delicious!) I found that Keep Calm Ltd now stock one of Hazel Nicholls' pieces and also (wonderful, wonderful) this completely cracking tea-themed poster:
- you've gotta love that little teacup inside the A! One last bit of tea-obsession before I sign off: a Crafting 365 photo from Seaurchin of a spilled drop of tea photographed for glazing inspiration. A quirky image in itself, I think this photo is a great example of finding inspiration in the everyday.