Love over postcards

photo credit: Studio Saldana

Graffiti photographs stop me in my tracks

I first met Jillian and Curtis at Market Collective, which is an independent market that showcases  local artists, artisans, designers and musicians here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

What first caught my attention, as I was strolling the booth aisles,  was the very beautiful, unique graffiti filled photos. Stunning they were.  And so, me being me, I wandered over and introduced myself and quickly sized up some kindred paper people.

Postcard collage photos by Curtis Dez

Romance the ‘old-school’ way.

As Jillian and I chatted, our conversation soon snowballed into our love of postcards (and letter writing) as it turns out their romance was what inspired Curtis to turn some of his photos into postcard format.

What I love about their story is that they do things differently. When they started dating, they agreed together, not to do the ‘texting’ thing all the time, but actually talk on the phone and go ‘old school’  intentionally as they got to know one another.

A first date involved checking out the wares at a local flea market where they picked up a few vintage postcards.  Little did they know, this was the beginning of a tradition in their relationship. Jillian started to send these postcards to Curtis every week.

“Handwritten letters just for me.”

Being curious (some might say nosy), I just had to ask what Curtis thought about receiving all these postcards. Here’s what he said:

“I loved it. There were several reasons why. Number one, I loved getting a letter especially from Jillian. It is one thing to be handed a card, but to get something unexpected in the mail when she wasn’t around was extra fun. Secondly, I love the photos on the postcards themselves. I could tell that each one was picked with me in mind. Lastly, I loved them because of the history. Vintage postcards all have a very distinct feeling, and each is unique. Beyond the beautiful hand written message, they allowed my mind to wander to a different time.”

When not at his day job in the insurance industry, Curtis is the creative soul interpreting the urban landscape of Calgary behind the camera lens. He is currently exhibiting his work from February 1-28 at Shaun Ford & Company as part of Exposure Photo Festival.

 Photo Credit: Andras Schram Photography

 3 ideas for finding love over postcards via Jillian:

1. Create a postcard ‘mixed tape.’ Send one postcard per song with your favorite lyrics written on it.
2. Write a postcard puzzle. On a series of eight or so post cards, write a message that only comes together when all eight postcards are side by side.
3. Commemorate relationship milestones with a postcards. Anniversaries, first trip, getting engaged etc.

Try it. You never now what might happen by next Valentine’s Day!

What would you think if a romantic interest sent you a postcard?

P.S.  Just in case you missed it in the photo, Curtis and Jillian were married December of 2014.