Leave it to the clever Dutch to brighten up your daily trip to the mailbox… with their blooming postage stamps, you can affix some living flora to that thank you note or birthday card! Dutch postal service TNT recently announced the production and sale of the seeded stamps, which were designed by Martin van Vreden, and hold the seeds of a variety of flowers, including petunias.
Despite the photograph, the stamps won’t bloom en route, but rather are embedded in the stamp beneath a thin layer of plastic. The lucky recipient simply peels back the plastic, plants the stamp and seeds, and watches them bloom. We love the fact that the poetic design is issued through such a civic entity, and the concept of delivering something cheery (and natural) through such an everyday object.
Related Designs: + Sprouting Business Card + Botanical Business Card
Thanks to a commenter from the Growing Business Card post for the tip and Dutch translation!
14 Responses to “NEW SEEDED DUTCH STAMPS bloom into living plants!”
get the free Inhabitat newsletter
more popular stories >
more popular stories >
more popular stories >
So, no roses in the mail?!
I wonder if the seeds would not get crushed when letters are canceled my the postal machines?
I live in Holland, so will check my local post office tomorrow for these beautiful stamps! What a wonderful idea.
How bloomin’ lovely!
Now that’s an invasive species I can get behind!
Whoah, I bet this would really freak out Homeland Security!
Wonderful idea.
This won’t last long guys, sorry to say. Once the drug marketeers start mailing weed seeds, this will stop. Get in while you can!
not to worry about invasive species : i live in the netherlands so i know these stamps are only meant for inland postal deliveries.
so sorry, rest of the big wide world !
Looks like such a marvy idea, who can argue with flowers? and if they’re strictly for
dutch consumption the invasive exotic issue is null and void. BUT the little plastic throw away piece probably does enough harm to nullify all the warm and fuzzies folks get from the flowers. A recent issue of “Harpers”, sorry I forget which one, had an extensive article about plastics in the oceans, and all plastics that aren’t carefully placed in landfills eventually find their way to the oceans. People can buy packets of seeds if they want to plant flowers.
Fantastic idea! Lol, Stina.
i bet licking the back of the stamp doubles as watering the seeds
A really stupid idea and many countries (including mine, New Zealand) would destroy such mail entering the country.
Where can you purchase the seed stamps?