Saturday, June 29, 2019

Aland 2008 - Fashion Design, Postal Uniforms




2008 Fashion Design. 
12 different designs, each issued at a stamp show attended by the Aland Post. 
Only sold at the respective show or as a complete set of 12 booklets at the end of the year.

Postkleidung Minna Palmqvist
Turku 1-2 March 2008, Turun Kevät
Jyväskylä 28-30 March 2008, Kesfila
Hertogenbosch 11-13.48, Stamp Passion
Helsingborg 12.4.2008, Frimynt
Essen 8-10.5.2008, Int. Essen Essentials Fair
Vienna 18–2.2008, Wipa 08
Stockholm, 27.9.2008, stamp of the stamp
Berlin 10-12.10.2008, Int. Briefmarkenbörse
Stavanger 23-26.10.2008, Nordia 2008
Sindelfingen 24–26.10.2008, Int. Briefmarkenbörse
Helsinki 25-26 October 2008, Stamp Fair
Fredericia 7–9.11.2008, Stamp Forum

Sweden 2019 - Swedish Fashion




Date of Issue: 22 August 2019
Stamps & Collector's Sheet: Mats Gustafson
Booklet, 10 Stamps, 5 Motifs, Domestic Letters

Swedish Fashion


Everyday Style

Swedish fashion has achieved both national and international success. About 70 percent of the fashion industry’s turnover relates to exports. Several brands go in for a simple, everyday Scandinavian look, with comfortable, easy-to-wear clothes that suit most people, made in carefully chosen fabric and with attention to detail. Artist Mats Gustafson has given us his interpretation of clothing items from several Swedish fashion brands.

Swedish Fashion
Over the twelve years that have passed since Postnord first high-lighted Swedish Fashion with a collection of stamps, a lot has happened in what is known as the "Fashion System", a collective name for the complex industry where fashion is designed, produced, purchased, marketed, and finally reaches the consumer.

Online shopping has radically changed the role of the physical store, and following fashion shows live online featuring clothes intended to reach the consumer in half a year's time has escalated the requirements for availability.

Swedish fashion is doing well, both at home and internationally.  Net sales in 2018 totaled SEK 330 Billion, of which two-thirds were exports.  The widespread opinion is that Swedes dress sensibly but with character.  The surrounding world views Swedish fashion as high end and well made, manufactured from good materials.  It is widely known that Sweden is way ahead in its efforts to make the fashion industry more and more ethical, with stringent sustainability requirements and reasonable working conditions throughout the entire chain, making us an interesting country to watch.

Now Swedish fashion is once again under the spotlight in a series of five stamps.  Mats Gustafson, world famous Swedish fashion illustrator, has used his unmistakeable watercolor brush to interpret fashion from five distinctive brands: Filippa K. Whyred, HOPE, Gudrun Sjoden, and ARKET.

Filippa K, founded in 1993, has brought a great deal of inspiration to many with its characteristically laid-back approach to fashion.  Its core values are minimalism, self-assuredness and ensuring that garments are always made from carefully selected materials.  Head designer Filippa Knutsson has returned to her brand after a short break, once again securing the institutional weight she once laid the foundation for.

Whyred, founded in 1999, and HOPE in 2002 are two strong brands that emerged in an era that was dubbed the "Swedish Fashion Miracle".  As head designer for Whyred.  Roland Hjort has made his mark on the brand since the very start.  His strongest sources of inspiration are art, music, and politics, which can be seen in the intelligently constructed suits and outdoor wear.
Always with a sense of humor and a well-calibrated color scale as his constant mantra.

Since 2017 Frida Bard has been head designer for HOPE.  With her visionary outlook and broad knowledge, she has rightfully breathed new life into an already strong brand, broken through the boundaries of fashion norms and rapidly put HOPE back where it belogs - high up on the fashion barometer.

Gudrun Sjoden, a brand founded in 1976, is something of a Swedish fashion miracle in itself.  With roots in the swinging 60s.  Gudrun Sjoden has turned her company into a veritable success story, ruling with a rod of iron and with no need for advice from trend analysts.  With an inexhaustible delight for colors and patterns and a large measure of self-confidence, she has created her own take on how fashion should look.

ARKET, founded in 2017, is the latest addition to H&M's growing brand portofolio.  What was initially described as an unwritten page has - due a head designer Anna Teurnell's keen eye - rapidly developed into a distinct concept that seems to meet all the requested needs: relaxed, sensible fashion with a nod to the best classics.

Tom Hedqvist

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Austria 2019 - Crypto Stamp



Technical Details:
Date of Issue: 11 June 2019
Stamp Size: 85,6 mm x 53,98 mm x 0,79 mm
Artwork: Julia Obermuller
Printing: Variuscard GmbH Slebdruck & Offset/ Silk Screen & Offset Printing
Quantity: 150,000 stamps

About Crypto Stamp

Stamps go Digital
With the innovative crypto stamp, Austrian Post is for the first time offering a stamp which also exists as a digital asset (crypto collectible) in the Ethereum blockchain, and is thus breaking completely new ground.

The blockchain is a special form of decentralised data storage. For this, data are not stored in a single computer centre but are distributed across many independent computers. A sophisticated mechanism ensures that completed transactions cannot be subsequently manipulated. Using the QR code printed on the stamp, the owner can look at the digital version of his/her crypto stamp in the Ethereum blockchain and then transfer it to other users.

The Crypto Stamp
The crypto stamp on the one hand comprises the physical stamp which you can remove from themini sheet along the perforated line and use for postage like any “normal” stamp. The second part ofthe sheet contains (in addition to the stamp), concealed under a scratch-off layer, access data (address and private key) to a so-called wallet, a “virtual wallet”. This contains the associated digitalcrypto stamp. In the Ethereum blockchain everybody can see which wallet address the digital crypto stamp is assigned to. However, the identity of the owner of this wallet address is not visible.

Only the owner of the private key belonging to the wallet can access the crypto stamp. On the minisheet this code is given in the form of a “secret word list” which is revealed after scratching off thecoating on the third section. This code enables the owner to access the pre-configured wallet address and also to transfer the stamp to other wallets. Every transfer of ownership is irreversibly documented in the blockchain so that legal ownership can always be proven.

The unicorn depicted on the stamp block has a symbolic meaning: successful start-up companies valued at at least one billion US dollars are referred to as unicorns in the world of business as they are just as rare as these mythical creatures. The unicorn is also the heraldic animal used to represent the Ethereum community.


That's how it works

Scan the QR code with your mobile phone camera or a QR code app. Alternatively, enter the code [1]. Now you see the unique digital version of your brand.

Your digital crypto stamp is in a preconfigured wallet. The address of this digital "purse" is below the scratchpad for your information [2]. The blockchain records which wallet a particular crypto stamp belongs to. So there is a unique certificate of authenticity that can prove that you are the current owner of this Collectibles. A cash discount of the transaction balance in the wallet is not possible.

With the code [3] you can also transfer your Crypto Stamp to another wallet. For this you need the so-called Secret Word List. You can see this when you scrub code [3].Keep this code well and do not share it with others, it is the password to your Blockchain Wallet.

When you retrieve your crypto stamp using the QR code scanner or code [1] you will see an illustration of the crypto stamp in five color mutations.

These color mutations determine the rarity of your cryptostamp.

The distribution pyramid

"Collectables"scattering
Red mark1500
Yellow mark10,000
Blue mark20,000
Green brand40,000
Black mark78,500