Ex Postal Facto

Envelope drawing by Philip Carey

Last week San Francisco was host to Ex Postal Facto, a convention for mail art enthusiasts & practitioners. Events included receptions, talks, an exhibition, a vendor fair, &, of course, parties. Attendees came from as far away as The Netherlands. The organizer was the bubbly Jennie Hinchcliff, whom I often cross paths with at various indie publishing events.

I dropped by their vendor fair for half an hour on Saturday afternoon & discovered a happy, geeky subculture of hobbyists who mail one another hand-crafted envelopes & postcards just for the fun of it. I enjoyed chatting with Philip Carey, who adorned the envelopes of his letters with such colorful, detailed drawings that postal workers would pass them around before delivering them. It was easy for me to imagine that Bob Dylan would be the sound track to the lives of many of the conventioneers.

The vendor fair was also worth visiting for its venue, the SF Elks Lodge #3, on the 3rd floor of the Kensington Park Hotel. The high-ceilinged ballroom & lounge were impressively old-school, & the hunting lodge motif naturally included mounted elk heads.

§ Ex Postal Facto
February 13-16, 2014, San Francisco