Posti to release stamps on Tatu and Patu next week

The national postal and logistic service operator Posti will release four new stamp publications with a total of 13 different stamps next week as the fall’s stamp season will begin on 2 September, said a press release.

The stamps feature Tatu and Patu, a graphic art that has won Posti’s art award, and a painting of a little dreamer. In addition, September’s stamps celebrate the UN’s International Literacy Day.

Tatu and Patu are characters from a popular children’s book series that have also appeared on stage and silver screen.

The duo’s latest conquest is stamps, where Tatu and Patu romp around in their own anarchic, uninhibited style.

Aino Havukainen and Sami Toivonen, the designers and illustrators of the stamps in the booklet, wanted to stretch the limits of traditional stamps and test technical tricks that have not been possible in the books.

“This was a nice project as we were given quite a free hand in designing the stamps.”

“We started thinking how Tatu and Patu themselves would see this great honour bestowed on them and what they would do if they had the main responsibility for the project. No wonder that, as a result of this weird duo, the stamps in the booklet are all topsy-turvy and there are holes and tears in the stamps,” said Havukainen and Toivonen.

The Tatu and Patu stamp booklet contains six different domestic no-value indicator stamps.

Stamps for this fall also showcase the nature-themed graphic art by Janne Laine, this year’s winner of Posti’s art award. Two images from Laine’s large body of work were chosen for the stamps. Sunset depicts sturdy spruces at sunset, behind which you can see dead trees. Duet features two dark forms of birds perching on a treetop against a background of light sky and reddish clouds.

Janne Laine, inspired by landscapes in Iceland, became interested in Finnish forests after he realised that the old-growth forest in Lavia he knew from his childhood had been cut down.

“Since then, I have wanted to use my works to create my own untouched forests where nature is in balance. For many, forest is a holy place where you can feel a genuine connection to nature,” said Laine.

Due to restrictions related to the coronavirus situation, Posti will not organise a first-day event for the stamps published in September.