42¢ Worth of Happiness

Finally! A stamp actually worthy of mailing a 42¢ letter.

We all have things we are picky about. Mine is stamps. I'm sorry, but I hate ugly stamps and am so sick of sad portraits, bells or (sigh) flags. When we send out business or personal correspondance, we need a well designed stamp.

The other day, Matt arrived happily back from making a Post Office run and couldn't wait to show me these beauties just being released.

Over 10 years in the making, on June 17, 2008 the USPS released the husband and wife/design partners Charles and Ray Eames stamp collection - and its sweet.

This gorgeous set of 16 stamps celebrates the beauty and genius of their groundbreaking contributions to graphic design, architecture, furniture design, manufacturing and photographic arts and showcases the Eames House, La Chaise, the Lounge Chair, Crosspatch, House of Cards, the film Tops and more.

The set was designed by Derry Noyes of Washington DC, who designed many of the stamps for the US Post Office, and is also the daughter of Eli Noyes, who was an extremely close friend of the Eameses and the director of design at IBM.

The USPS website describes the Eames collection as "(an) extraordinary body of creative work — which reflected the nation’s youthful and inventive outlook after World War II — also included architecture, films and exhibits. Without abandoning tradition, Charles and Ray Eames used new materials and technology to create high-quality products that addressed everyday problems and made modern design available to the American public."

And the best news: Matt told me the Post Office assured him that they won't be raising the stamp rate again until May 2009!