Greetings from a (safe) distance!

I still remember the day I opened my letterbox and saw a colourful A6 card staring back at me. I wasn’t expecting any mail, so when I flipped it over and saw my name on it - I was a little surprised. It was a postcard from my university classmate - all the way from Taiwan. She had been travelling a lot at that time and decided to send me a surprise. 

The postcard contained details about her encounters with Taiwanese street food and the magnificent views of the city. She told me that I would love it there and that if I had the opportunity someday, I should pay Taiwan a visit. That one gesture was what inspired me to start writing postcards to my friends when I’m on my travels. 

Writing postcards made me feel like I’m sending off a piece of my adventure to someone back home. I guess you can say that it’s like I’m sharing a ‘secret’ with someone because no two postcards are ever truly the same - even the postage stamps, markings, and weather stains are unique to each! Besides, nothing beats knowing how excited the receiver will be when they finally see it in their letterbox. I know I’ll never get bored of seeing a new postcard in there! 🤭

What warms my heart the most about postcards is its ability to connect people. I’ve only ever met my classmate’s mother in passing, when she had dropped her daughter off for class. Some time later, I bumped into her mother at an event and I introduced myself, saying that I know her daughter. When she heard my name, her face lit up as she remembered seeing my name on a postcard addressed to her daughter - “I remember you! I’ve seen your name. My daughter was really happy when she got your mail”. 

Isn’t it amazing how a simple postcard can be a link between two strangers? 

In a day of digital text messages, 30 seconds long video stories, and targeted marketing email spams - I’ve grown to miss the personal touch of a handwritten message (more so when it arrives from overseas). Sure, most messages on screen may be written for you, but it cannot contain the same warmth of someone’s distinct handwriting, nor will it hold the exact emotions and personality of the sender. 

As World Post Day approached, we decided to get busy in our humble studio. Gathering with our team to put together a little initiative that will help everyone re-experience the joy of swapping postcards - especially in a time where most of us are not able to freely travel as much as before. 

Postcards are like physical pieces of our memories - little time capsules of adventures that we share with our loved ones. Reading them always makes us feel like we’re experiencing someone else’s adventure. Now that most of us are ‘grounded’, we’re more than delighted to fuel our wanderlust with your postcards and stories through our #PostcardSwapWithLoka initiative! 
 

All you have to do is send us a postcard and we’ll have our adorable responder, Loka, write back to you. The best part of this initiative? It’s absolutely free for you to join! You’ll only have to spend 30 sen on postage fees. 

So, how do you get started?

1️⃣ Fill in your details into this form
2️⃣ Send Loka a postcard (any postcard you’d like to swap with us!)
3️⃣ Loka will write you back once we’ve received your mail
4️⃣ Repeat from step 1 to do it all over again 😉

We’d really love to receive your unique postcards and read all about your exciting adventures, your dreams, or even sage advice! It doesn’t matter if your postcard contains a recent experience or an old one - we don’t discriminate against memories. Heh.

In return for sharing your adventures, we’ll get Loka to help us respond to all your messages with our limited edition postcard swap designs. Yep, that’s right. You’ll receive a specially designed postcard that you won’t be able to purchase anywhere else. These are made exclusively for all who write to us! Here’s a peek at our design of the month:

[Limited Edition] World Post Day 2021 - LokaMade Postcard Design

Our limited edition postcards will change with the seasons. We’ll update our designs over time to fit the occasion and to keep things exciting. So, if you would like to collect a particular design, do try to act as quickly as you can to avoid missing it. 

Need some ideas on what you could write? Continue scrolling to see what memory comes to mind!

• What was your favourite meal of that trip? 
• If you could visit any country in the world, where would it be?
• An idiom or phrase the locals use and what it means 
• What’s the most memorable incident of that trip?
• A hidden gem you found by accident 
• Your favourite souvenir and why
• Write us a poem (or a haiku) about that trip 
• 3 interesting facts you learned about a city 
• What’s one travel tip you wished you knew earlier? 
• Top 3 places that we should visit in that area/country
• Tell us an interesting encounter with a stranger 
• An honest review of where you stayed during the trip

All set and ready to write? Come swap postcards with us at:

Loka Made Gallery
No.35-2, USJ9/5s,
Subang Business Centre,
47620, Subang Jaya, Selangor.

*Don’t forget to fill in this form, so that we’ll know exactly who and where our responses should go :)

We look forward to hearing from you! ‘Til then, do take care and stay safe out there.