From Pen Pals to Postcards: How One Student Turned a Personal Hobby Into a Community

As a Media Studies student with a natural interest in communication and meeting people, Putri Maysara Binti Muslim never expected that a hobby she discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic would eventually lead her to build a community of postcard lovers.

Putri discovered the world of penpalling and postcard swapping in 2020, when her parents bought her first laptop for hybrid learning during the pandemic. Spending more time online introduced her to an unfamiliar hobby that allowed people from different places to communicate through handwritten messages and postcards.

What began as a simple curiosity gradually became something much more personal.

“At that time, I was quite introverted and struggled with my confidence. Discovering penpalling gave me a reason to communicate with people outside my usual circle. I slowly became more comfortable talking to strangers, sharing stories and putting myself out there,” said Putri.

Some of the friendships she formed through the hobby have continued until today. Over time, Putri also began introducing the hobby to people around her, sending postcards to friends and encouraging them to experience the joy of receiving physical mail.

For Putri, postcards became more than something to collect. They became a way of communicating, meeting people and expressing parts of herself that she was previously hesitant to share.

”Wow, That’s So Old School”

Despite how meaningful the hobby became to her, Putri often found herself struggling to find people around her who shared the same enthusiasm.

Whenever she told someone that she collected postcards, one of the most common reactions was: “Wow, that’s so old school.”

“I understand why people say that. Not many people my age are openly interested in postcards, and sometimes I felt like I couldn’t find someone around me who was as passionate about it as I was. But for me, there is so much beauty in it. I can talk about the artwork, the places the postcards come from, the handwriting, the stamps and the stories behind every card.”

Her search for people who shared the same interest eventually extended beyond simply finding fellow collectors.

In 2025, Putri participated in the Asian Undergraduate Symposium at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where she pitched a postcard-based project focused on sharing stories and amplifying the voices of an underrepresented Indigenous community in Singapore, the Orang Laut.

The project was selected among the Top 50, although it did not progress to the final Top 10 seed-funding stage.

Despite not receiving the funding, the experience left Putri with an important realisation: there were, in fact, young people who were interested in postcards and the possibilities they could create.

“It made me realise that maybe the people I’m looking for are actually out there. I just haven’t found them yet. That made me want to create a space where people could find each other through this shared interest.”

That idea eventually became the Princess Mail Club.

From a Personal Hobby to a Community

Princess Mail Club was created as a space for people to come together through postcard collecting, writing and swapping, while also celebrating the stories, artwork and connections that come with the hobby.

On 3 October 2026, Putri organised the community’s first World Postcard Day Postcard Meetup in Star Planet Cafe, Kuala Lumpur.

The meetup brought together postcard enthusiasts for an evening of writing, exchanging and discovering the hobby together. Participants were able to write and send postcards, explore stationery, visit an exclusive stamp station, take photographs at a photobooth and receive specially designed postcards created in collaboration with local artists.

But for Putri, the most meaningful part was seeing the community she had imagined actually come together.

“I wanted people to have that moment of meeting someone and realising, ‘Oh my God, you like postcards too.’ I know what it feels like to think you’re the only person around who is this passionate about something.”

The meetup also reflected Putri’s intention for Princess Mail Club to be a space for everyone.

Although the word “Princess” may initially suggest a community specifically for women, Putri emphasises that the name is personal and does not define who the community is for.

“Princess Mail Club is not just for girls. The name comes from me, but the community is for everyone. I want people from different backgrounds to feel welcome, whether they have been collecting postcards for years or have never owned one before.”

For Putri, creating a diverse and welcoming community is part of what makes the hobby meaningful. She hopes Princess Mail Club can bring together people of different backgrounds and experiences who may otherwise never have had a reason to meet.

Keeping the Beauty of Slow Communication Alive

In an increasingly digital world, Putri believes that the slower process of sending a postcard is part of its charm.

A person has to choose a card, think about what they want to say, write it by hand, find a stamp and send it through the post. Unlike an instant message that can disappear among countless notifications, a postcard can become something tangible that people keep for years.

“Maybe postcards are old school, and maybe that’s exactly what makes them special. There is something beautiful about receiving something that someone took the time to choose, write and send to you.”

For Putri, every postcard carries more than an image.

It carries a place, a story, a piece of someone’s personality and sometimes even the beginning of a friendship.

What started during the isolation of the pandemic as a way for a young student to communicate with people beyond her immediate circle has since become a hobby that helped her grow in confidence, maintain friendships across distance and eventually create a community of her own.

Through Princess Mail Club, Putri hopes to continue finding and bringing together the people who share the same appreciation for something she once thought was difficult to find.

About Princess Mail Club

Princess Mail Club is a postcard community founded by Putri Maysara Binti Muslim created to bring together people who enjoy collecting, writing and exchanging postcards. The community aims to create an inclusive space where people from different backgrounds can connect through a shared appreciation for postcards, physical mail, art and storytelling.