A Chance Encounter in Barcelona: Discovering Postcrossing
Sometimes the most interesting discoveries begin with a simple conversation.
A few days ago, in our Myretroposter gallery in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, we had the pleasure of meeting Mildred Ashley, a visitor who had just left us a kind review. During our conversation she mentioned something I had never heard of before: Postcrossing.
As someone who has been creating travel posters for years — and more recently postcards as well — discovering this global community was both surprising and inspiring.
What Is Postcrossing?
Postcrossing is a worldwide postcard exchange project that connects people through real mail.
The idea is beautifully simple. You register on the Postcrossing website and receive the address of a random participant somewhere in the world. You send them a postcard with a unique ID. When the recipient registers that postcard online, the system ensures that another participant, somewhere else on the planet, will send one back to you.
The magic lies in the unpredictability: you never know where your next postcard will come from.
The project was created in 2005 by Portuguese developer Paulo Magalhães and has since grown into a global community of postcard enthusiasts exchanging millions of cards every year.
Why People Love It
In a world dominated by instant messaging and social media, Postcrossing offers something slower and more tangible: the pleasure of receiving real mail.
Participants often describe the joy of opening their mailbox to discover a postcard from a country they have never visited, decorated with unfamiliar stamps and carrying a few handwritten lines from a stranger.
For many, it becomes a kind of slow travel experience through the mailbox.
Every postcard is a small window into someone else’s daily life. And sometimes it travels farther than the person who sent it ever will.
The Quiet Persistence of the Postcard
Postcards may feel nostalgic, but communities like Postcrossing show they are far from disappearing.
Instead, they are evolving.
Today postcards are at the same time travel souvenirs, small artworks, collectibles, and simple ways to connect people who may never meet in person.
In a single piece of printed paper, they combine art, geography, memory and human connection.
Where Myretroposter Fits In
At Myretroposter, postcards have always been part of the story. Our posters reinterpret destinations through vintage-inspired artwork, and many visitors naturally gravitate toward the postcard versions of these designs.
Discovering Postcrossing highlighted something beautiful about these small printed pieces.
A postcard created in Barcelona can travel to Finland, Japan or Canada. It can carry not only an image of a place, but also a personal interpretation of that place through the eyes of an artist.
For collectors, travelers and postcard lovers alike, that idea is quite special.
A Small Discovery That Opened a Door
What started as a casual conversation in the gallery turned into the discovery of a worldwide community connected by something wonderfully simple: sending postcards.
It reminded us that the objects we create — posters, prints and postcards — often live lives far beyond the walls where they are sold.
They travel.
They connect people.
And sometimes they lead to unexpected conversations in a small gallery in Barcelona.
So thank you, Mildred, for introducing us to Postcrossing.
You never know where the next postcard — or the next idea — might come from.
Sources
Paulo Magalhães, Postcrossing Project, 2005
https://www.postcrossing.com/about
Wikipedia contributors, Postcrossing, accessed 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcrossing
