Tag: Åland Post

Åland Post issues a new series of self-adhesive franking labels on 4 January 2023. The theme is garden berries, and Finnish artist Mari Oksanen illustrates her first postal labels showing delicate berries that are grown in Åland gardens. 

 The four berry varieties shown on the franking labels are black currants (Ribes nigrum), raspberries (Rubus idaeus), gooseberries (Ribes uva-crispa) and strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa). 

The issue marks Mari’s debut as a stamp artist, and she immediately fell for the illustration assignment: 

“Creating something for the small space was a challenge; to make the motifs appear rich in detail yet simple enough to strike the viewer’s eye. I really enjoy working with flora and fauna related objects and design organic forms, so the garden berries were well within my comfort zone. The idea of giving the berries different moods and personalities came to me almost immediately, and I appreciated being encouraged to create playful and colourful labels rather than realistic images. The black currants look a bit mischievous and secretive, the raspberries are wild rascals, while the gooseberries are the gentle sweethearts among thorns. The strawberry is the juicy one, basking in sunlight,” Mari explains. 

With the self-adhesive franking labels, the customer chooses the denomination, and you can purchase the labels by mail order from Stamps or at the post offices in Mariehamn or Sviby. 

 2022 Christmas seals sold in support of Åland youth workers

 On 20 October, Åland Post issues this year’s sheet of 

Christmas seals for decoration of your Christmas cards and parcels. Illustrator Sami Saramäki has illustrated the self-adhesive stickers with well-known Christmas and winter symbols. As in previous years, proceeds from the sale are distributed to socially useful activities in Åland. This year’s beneficiary is “Fältarna”, a team of street workers working with and for teenagers. 

Since 1993, Åland Post has supported non-profit associations and relief activities in Åland through the sale of Christmas seals. The beneficiary of the 2022 Christmas seal grant is “Fältarna”, a team of community-based street workers working with and for teenagers aged 13–17. The youth workers strive to create safe connections and be a continuous support on the youth’s terms, and serve as a link between parents, school, social services, and police. Visiting schools, youth centres, and parent meetings and organizing youth groups, they offer teenagers an opportunity to discuss subjects such as domestic violence, drugs, alcohol, bullying, love worries, and loneliness. The grant will be used for study materials and activities for the teens.

Sami Saramäki lives in Helsinki and has worked as an illustrator in the advertising industry for some 20 years. Sami often illustrates winter motifs and says: “For some reason, I’m often asked to illustrate winterscapes, but I don’t mind. I like winter, so, this assignment suited me perfectly.”

Facts about the issue

Name Christmas seals 2022

Date of issue 20 October 2022

Artist Sami Saramäki

Design Johanna Finne

Edition 3000 sheets of 20 self-adhesive seals 

Price €5.00

Size 30,6 × 25,8 mm

Sheet size 210 × 145 mm

Paper Sticotac Semigloss, White 80 gsm

Process 4-colour offset

Printer Cartor Security Printers

The stamps are available for purchase in Åland Post Stamps webshop www.alandstamps.com.

Modern version of classic gnomes on 2022 Åland Christmas stamps

 Christmas starts early with the release of this year’s Christmas stamps on 20 October. Finnish illustrator Sami Saramäki debuts for Åland Post with a retro-inspired and poetic Christmas series. “I made several sketches, but those with small gnomes quickly became favourites, so, they became my focus point for the stamp motifs”, Sami reveals. 

Christmas is the holiday when we send most greetings by post. Scandinavians’ image of Christmas celebrations has been influenced by the card motifs. Many Christmas symbols have been around since the first cards were imported from England and Germany in the 1800s, introducing foreign traditions such as gnomes, Christmas tree, and presents to the Nordic peoples. Swedish artist Jenny Nyström’s illustrations of gnomes and Åland descendant Haddon 

Sundblom’s drawings of Santa Claus in the 1930s have also contributed to our image of Santa and his little helpers.

For this year’s Christmas stamps, illustrator Sami Saramäki created a modern version of the classic gnomes. On one stamp, the gnomes are on their way to Åland with the Christmas mail, guided by the lighthouse on the island Sälskär, located northwest of main Åland. On the other stamp, they have taken a break from their delivery round at the 13th century St. Michael church in Finström.

Sami describes his creative process: “I started by researching which visual elements would be suitable for traditional stamps. Those with small gnomes quickly became favourites. Pondering on different settings for the gnomes, I liked the Finström church and Sälskär lighthouse. I made 3D models of the church and lighthouse on my computer to better understand their forms.”

Facts about the issue

Name Christmas 2022

Date of issue 20 October 2022

Artist Sami Saramäki

Design Johanna Finne

Editions 130 000 & 45 000

Denominations Julpost (€1.20) & Världen (€2.60)

Price FDC €4.80

Price maximum card €3.50

Stamp size 35,6× 25,5 mm

Sheet size 2 × 20 stamps

Paper 110 g/m2

Perforation 13 per 2 cm

Process 4-colour offset

Printer Cartor Security Printers

The stamps are available for purchase in Åland Post Stamps webshop www.alandstamps.com.