Finns voted A Little Dreamer, a stamp designed by Netta Tiitinen, as the most beautiful stamp issued in 2020. The stamp’s illustration is based on a commissioned painting that depicts a girl who loves glitter and sparkles and is reaching upwards. The stamp reflects the courage, enthusiasm, curiosity and spontaneity of children.
Finns appreciated the visual arts depicted in last year’s stamps. The second place went to Duet by Janne Laine. The stamp features two birds perching on a treetop against a background of light sky and reddish clouds. The stamp is based on Laine’s nature-themed graphic art. Janne Laine won Posti’s 2020 art award.
A stamp by Paula Salviander featuring a lily of the valley, the Finnish national flower, came in third place. The stamp was issued as part of the Wildflowers roll of stamps, with which Posti celebrated the UN International Year of Plant Health 2020.
Fourth place went to a stamp that features a squirrel, designed by Stiina Hovi. The stamp was issued as part of the Norden series, a joint project of all Nordic postal services. The theme of the 2020 Norden stamps was mammals.
Janne Laine’s graphic art can also be seen in the Sunset stamp, which was voted the fifth most beautiful stamp. The stamp depicts sturdy spruces at sunset, behind which you can see dead trees.
Nearly 10,000 votes were cast using postcards
People could vote for the most beautiful stamp in Finland on the Posti website or by sending a postcard. A total of 29,410 votes were cast, of which nearly 10,000 were postcard votes.
“The number of postcard votes was almost three times higher than the previous year’s. This is in line with the fact that 18 million Christmas cards were sent last Christmas, which is much more than the number sent the season before that. It seems like the traditional postcard still does an excellent job of conveying various messages and feelings. Postcrossing, which is a popular hobby around the world, is also a testament to the vitality of postcards,” says Tommi Kantola, Posti’s Design Manager.
Postcards have conveyed the messages and feelings of Finns for 150 years. To celebrate this anniversary, Posti will hold an exhibition called Best wishes – 150 years of the postcard at the Vapriikki Museum Centre at Alaverstaanraitti 5 in Tampere from February 19 to March 28, 2021.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STAMP IN FINLAND 2020 – THE VOTE’S TOP 10 Place Designer Stamp Votes 1st Netta Tiitinen A Little Dreamer 3,160 2nd Janne Laine Posti’s art award 2020, Duet 2,734 3rd Paula Salviander Wildflowers, lily of the valley 2,251 4th Stiina Hovi Norden: Yard visitors, squirrel 2,118 5th Janne Laine Posti’s art award 2020, Sunset 1,995 6th Klaus Welp Europa: Ancient postal routes 1,843 7th Stiina Hovi Norden: Yard visitors, hedgehog 1,810 8th Suvi Roiko Sled ride 1,330 9th Oona Himanen The Birds from a Spring Poem, swallows 1,115 10th Jutta Luukkonen Christmas cottage 857 Image material for the media: https://digilibrary.emmi.fi/l/BWjqdLsBcRTS