An avid collector of all things paper, her studio is filled to the brim in anything from stamps and postcards to washi tape and string. But it’s her unique wax seals that really caught our attention. Decorated with foil, dried flowers, and paint, her seals bring back to life a lost art that is almost forgotten.

“Some of my favorite things to do is decorating envelopes, making flipbooks and collages and write letters,” Hurkens shared with Surely Simple. “I seriously get happy by unpacking mail and discover a little bit of the world from the person behind it.”

Based in Maastricht, situated in the southernmost corner of the Netherlands, Hurkens shares a home with her husband, their four sons, and their four cats and a dog. While most of her time is dedicated to her job as a project manager at the University of Maastricht, she also shares the love for paper through her online Etsy shop where she sells vintage ephemera.

“Creativity comes from a long way back, and has developed throughout the years in an always present character trait,” she shared. “As a kid, I was always busy collecting things, wooden boxes, postage stamps, poetry illustrations, books, paper, but also ladybugs or tadpoles.”

Take a look at some of her collection:

The post Meet the Collector Reviving the Lost Art of Letter Writing appeared first on PlayJunkie.

In a recent project, part of the #100DaysinDinan project, she drew on personalized envelopes. “I’m making the envelopes for each card by tracing one of the original envelopes the cards came in, onto used calendars and magazine pages,” she writes on her website. “A stamp or two, and the address: there’s not much room for anything else, so into the post they go.”

“Writing a letter feels completely different to writing an email,” shared Bulger with Flow Magazine. “It forces you to slow down and be more mindful of what you are saying. Snail mail is where my two joys of writing and painting converge. I like to paint illustrations and incorporate the addresses into the designs to make each envelope bright, cheerful and something unique that will make the recipient—and hopefully also the mailman—happy.”

“I had pen pals when I was growing up but I wasn’t a prolific letter writer,” she recalled. “I rediscovered letters about six or seven years ago when, on a whim, I started offering to send letters to strangers who read my blog. They would write back, and I became hooked by the whole process. It’s so personal, holding something in your hands that they first held, and that has traveled—sometimes—thousands of kilometers to reach you.”

Her envelopes are enchanting works of wonder. Take a look for yourself:

The post Naomi Bulger Draws on Envelopes appeared first on PlayJunkie.

An avid collector of all things paper, her studio is filled to the brim in anything from stamps and postcards to washi tape and string. But it’s her unique wax seals that really caught our attention. Decorated with foil, dried flowers, and paint, her seals bring back to life a lost art that is almost forgotten.

“Some of my favorite things to do is decorating envelopes, making flipbooks and collages and write letters,” Hurkens shared with Surely Simple. “I seriously get happy by unpacking mail and discover a little bit of the world from the person behind it.”

Based in Maastricht, situated in the southernmost corner of the Netherlands, Hurkens shares a home with her husband, their four sons, and their four cats and a dog. While most of her time is dedicated to her job as a project manager at the University of Maastricht, she also shares the love for paper through her online Etsy shop where she sells vintage ephemera.

“Creativity comes from a long way back, and has developed throughout the years in an always present character trait,” she shared. “As a kid, I was always busy collecting things, wooden boxes, postage stamps, poetry illustrations, books, paper, but also ladybugs or tadpoles.”

Take a look at some of her collection:

The post Meet the Collector Reviving the Lost Art of Letter Writing appeared first on PlayJunkie.

In a recent project, part of the #100DaysinDinan project, she drew on personalized envelopes. “I’m making the envelopes for each card by tracing one of the original envelopes the cards came in, onto used calendars and magazine pages,” she writes on her website. “A stamp or two, and the address: there’s not much room for anything else, so into the post they go.”

“Writing a letter feels completely different to writing an email,” shared Bulger with Flow Magazine. “It forces you to slow down and be more mindful of what you are saying. Snail mail is where my two joys of writing and painting converge. I like to paint illustrations and incorporate the addresses into the designs to make each envelope bright, cheerful and something unique that will make the recipient—and hopefully also the mailman—happy.”

“I had pen pals when I was growing up but I wasn’t a prolific letter writer,” she recalled. “I rediscovered letters about six or seven years ago when, on a whim, I started offering to send letters to strangers who read my blog. They would write back, and I became hooked by the whole process. It’s so personal, holding something in your hands that they first held, and that has traveled—sometimes—thousands of kilometers to reach you.”

Her envelopes are enchanting works of wonder. Take a look for yourself:

The post Naomi Bulger Draws on Envelopes appeared first on PlayJunkie.