On Wednesday, January 18, Posti will release four new stamp publications with a total of 10 different stamp designs.
Two new designers were chosen as the designers for the January stamps.
“Hanna-Mari Mainelakeus’ charming painting style is perfect for illustrating Valentine’s Day stamps. The handprint of Kreetta Järvenpää is familiar, for example, from wallpapers. “It was interesting to match her rich style of illustrations to the size of the stamps,” says Tommi Kantola, Design Manager at Posti, who is responsible for the selection of the artists and for providing guidance on the artistic work for the stamps.
“Ilkka Kärkkäinen, who has worked with the Arabia brand for 10 years and designed the stamp mark familiar from Arabia’s dishes, was chosen to create the Arabia anniversary stamps. The designer of the congratulatory stamp is the multi-talented KlausWelp, familiar from many stamps,” says Kantola.
Charming animal illustrations are perfect for Valentine’s Day
The Valentine’s Day stamps feature cute animals suited to the theme, such as cats, a dog, squirrels and swans, in soft colors. The illustrations for the Valentine’s Day stamps were made by artist Hanna-Maria Mainelakeus. She used acrylic paints and a brush on canvas to paint the originals of the stamps.
“The small size of stamps brought their own challenges to the design. I limited the detail of the images and paid particular attention to color differences and contrasts. The pictures of the stamps retain a fine painterly element, which was the goal,” says Mainelakeus.
Hanna-Maria Mainelakeus is a painter and entrepreneur who works on bespoke art, paintings, art fabrics of her own production and her own clothing brand, among other things. She has also produced large, photorealistic murals.
The graphic design of the Valentine’s Day stamps is by Paula Salviander.
Close Friend is a 10-stamp sheet containing five different domestic no-value indicator stamps.
Flower stamps are miniature still-life paintings
Postcards and letters can now be finished off with impressive postage stamps featuring floral arrangements that resemble 17th-century Dutch still-life paintings. The stamps were designed by artist Kreetta Järvenpää, who is known for her abundant floral artwork in wallpapers, advertising, postcards and paintings.
Kreetta’s illustrations are based on photographs.
“I use the camera and natural light for painterly photography of flowers. I post-edit the photos with image-editing software. Arranging the flowers is an important part of the work before shooting them. I pay particular attention to the shapes, size, texture and colors of the flowers.”
According to Kreetta, flowers are a versatile and timeless material. “They adapt and change over the course of their lives, just like we humans do.”
In her flower works, she uses flowers grown in Finland whenever possible. The stamps show, for example, Persian buttercups and tulips.
“I wanted to make the postage stamp images airy and at the same time full. Not the easiest idea, but very rewarding when I finished them.”
The graphic design of the stamps is by Ilkka Kärkkäinen.
The Language of Flowers will be a 10-stamp sheet containing two different domestic no-value indicator stamps.
Arabia’s tableware has been part of the daily life of Finns for 150 years
By 2023, Arabia’s tableware will have been part of the daily life of Finns for 150 years. To commemorate Arabia’s anniversary, Posti will publish two stamps featuring older and newer Arabia products.
Arabia 150 Years is a 10-stamp sheet containing two different domestic no-value indicator stamps.
Read more about Arabia stamps.
A golden gift for many purposes
The Golden Gift is an elegantly minimalistic and versatile stamp suitable for various types of congratulations, invitations or other festive occasions. The stamp with unique perforations was designed by Klaus Welp, a graphic designer familiar to many stamp users.
The Golden Gift stamp sheet contains 10 domestic no-value indicator stamps.
First-day event at Helsinki Main Post Office on January 18, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The first-day event for the January stamps will be organized on Wednesday, January 18 at the Helsinki Main Post Office (Elielinaukio 2 F, 00100 Helsinki) from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
New stamps, first-day covers and other stamp products will be sold at the event, and visitors can get first-day postmarks on their items. The stamp artists will be present to sign their works from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The first day of the stamps to be published in May will be held at the Helsinki Main Post Office on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
All of the stamps for sale are featured in Posti’s online shop.