Christmas stamps 2009 light and cheerful

During this process, what emerged were images with presents in various forms and colours. The gifts represent the attention we pay to each other during the festive season, just like a Christmas or New Year card, which is also a gift. What’s more, the form of a present – more or less rectangular – works well on a stamp.

The cheerful illustrative style fits in well with the feeling that arises during the festive month of December. “This is because you can look at the stamps in two different ways. What happened without us even realising it was that, during the design process, we started drawing gifts that also served as windows through which you look into a house from outside. This point of view represents the ‘depth’ you can experience during Christmas. In the gift we see the warmth of a living room and its occupants and experience a sense of togetherness. You, the viewer, can choose between gift or window.”

Whatever you decide to see, the snow will keep falling in these December stamps. The dots – a familiar feature in the designs of BLOND-Amsterdam – have gone white on these stamps, turning effortlessly into gently falling snowflakes. Past the snow and through the windows you can see a Christmas tree, a candelabrum with lit candles, and a man and a woman, each raising a glass. Using just the basics the images illustrate the year’s most important celebrations. The figures were originally given individual faces, but during the design process these eventually became more iconic, universal symbols of the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

“The work we do here at BLOND-Amsterdam is almost always handiwork– no computers. We work exclusively with ink, paintbrush and pen, and that goes for the December Stamps as well. The lines were drawn by pen and the colours painted in using Ecoline liquid watercolours.” The December Stamps designed by BLOND-Amsterdam are back to basics, and back to simpler times. You could hardly conceive a better Christmas sentiment.

Designer

“We saw immediately that designing a stamp would be a unique, challenging commission. When we were studying at art school we also learned about the rich postage stamp culture we enjoy here in the Netherlands.”

BLOND-Amsterdam was launched in 2001 by Femque van Geffen and Janneke Dröge. “We started off producing paintings and painting china services on request. After a few years we discovered that designing a lifestyle line was also fun.” BLOND-Amsterdam’s design can now be found on many a consumer product, from school diaries to sweaters, from bathroom accessories to bedding. They are also well known for their Delfts BLOND range, a modern take on traditional Delft Blue pottery.

BLOND-Amsterdam has also had commissions from Douwe Egberts, Fiat, KLM, Unilever and Vespa, in addition to the December Stamps for TNT Post.

Availability and validity

The stamps are available while stocks last from the Collect Club in Groningen, online at www.tntpost.nl/collectclub and from the usual outlets. They are also available at Kruidvat and Trekpleister shops. The stamps are valid for a set period of time. Customers in the Netherlands who purchase three sheetlets of December Stamps will receive a free 2010 Home Diary, designed this year by BLOND-Amsterdam. The limited edition Home Diary also includes eight exclusively designed greetings cards.

Value

The face value of each stamp is EUR 0.34.

Technical details

Size : 25 x 33mm
Perforation : slit
Paper : normal with phosphor tagging
Gum : self-adhesive
Stamp type : Sheetlet with 20 special December Stamps in ten different designs with a special rate
Product code : 291661, Kruidvat/Trekpleister: 291665
Print colours : yellow, magenta, cyan and black
Print process : offset
Print run : 11,647,150 stamp sheetlets, of which 752,250 sheetlets with the Kruidvat/Trekpleister logo
Printer : Joh. Enschedé Security Print, The Netherlands

Go to Dutch article

(nog geen stemmen)

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