Script:

Today I’m talking about rebooting my stamp collection: a winter‑friendly hobby that pairs nicely with the previous episode about Postcrossing.

I realized recently that my small collection of dragon stamps was being stored in a tiny ziplock bag. It worked, but it felt a little unceremonious.

When I was a child in Singapore, I had a small black stamp album.

My maternal grandfather collected coins and stamps too, and I kept only my favourite stamps from that era in a folder.

I brought that folder with me when I moved to Maine in my very early twenties.

I believe I left most of my coins behind as they were very heavy, and I felt more of an attachment to the handful of stamps that I did bring over.

Back then, I was happy to get my hands on any stamp.

This time around, I’m more aesthetically and culturally focused.

And of course, I wanted to expand my dragon collection, which I did.

My original dragon stamps collection included:

• Year of the Dragon Singapore stamps, from 2000
• A 22K gold plated version of the above
• A few random ones from Japan and Korea

Non-dragon stamps in my original tiny collection included:

• a set of coat of arms stamps from the UK
• some old Singapore dinosaur stamps, and
• a Singapore “Fragile Forest” set from 1998

I haven’t organized everything into my new albums yet, mostly because my hands are constantly moisturized in winter. But I did buy stamp tongs, and they are absolutely fabulous 💖

I also have three Lara Croft stamps, which I’ll share on the blog.

These tiny pieces of artistry in such a small amount of space are so much fun.

I’m planning to make a few YouTube Shorts featuring some of these stamps, because they’re just too good not to showcase.

That’s today’s reflection: a small reboot of a childhood hobby, now with a bit more intention, and an aesthetic that leans towards dragons & adventure.