Basilika

I prefer angles to curves, salty to sweet, the details to the overall impression. That sentence was one of the first things I wrote to describe myself when I joined this site in febuary 2007, and I've really enjoyed how some senders have interpreted it (and it's still true). I'm a shy, fairly stubborn human who likes mail a lot. I like getting messages from people about their lives or what they're thinking about at the moment. I love mail art, both sending and receiving it. I want to see what you made and I want to show you what I made.

I'm pretty close with my immediate family because they're good people. I believe the fact that people are different from each other is a good and necessary thing. If something is important to you I want to know about it because I'm interested in you. I don't take the least bit offense to swearing, nudity and other so-called vulgarities, but respect that others might.

I collect ATCs, My Little Ponies made in the 1980's and coloured vinyl singles. I like flea markets and second-hand shops because I like pre-loved and genuinely old things. I like DIY and handmade things (the handmader the better, to quote another swap-botter), and I like to reuse and repurpose. I can do things either fast or well, not both.

I like dealing with shapes and colours and how to best combine them, and I like making things with my hands that require concentration, so doing crafts and making art makes me happy. I like a lot of bright colour, vibrant candy colours, intense jewel tones, light happy pastels that make you think of the 80's or the 50's. Some favourites are fire truck red, neon pink, peach, the aqua-teal-turquoise spectrum, warm purples, but mostly I just like all colourfulness.

I like making things with paper, like notecards and envelopes, origami and other kinds of folding. I like embroidering, mostly cross stitch or on paper, and I often incorporate stitching into collages. Collaging and drawing is what I do the most. I like to draw with coloured pencils, gel pens or paint markers. I paint patterns on things to decorate them, but I don't make paintings. I make a lot of ATCs and mail art things like handmade postcards and decorating envelopes any way I can think of, and I enjoy occasional bouts of art journalling. I have rudimentary knitting and crocheting skills that I rarely use.

Random themes, styles and things that appeal to me:
Images and ephemera having to do with travel, public transport or mail, for example maps (especially subway maps!), used tickets, airmail labels, pictures of old buses and trains, first day covers, the patterned inside of security envelopes etc.
Chiyogami and traditional kimono patterns.
Graph/grid paper, brown craft paper and glassine envelopes.
Art deco and bauhaus style.
Kandinsky, Klee, the Memphis group.
Onion dome architecture and tropical deco.
Graffiti and street art, Juxtapox magazine.
Yayoi Kusama and Hilma af Klint.
Studio Ghibli films and the Cardcaptor Sakura anime.
Botancial illustrations. Floral and nature inspired patterns. Ranunculus, dahlias, chrysanthemum, hydrangeas.
Shiny, metallic, iridescent things. Galaxy print and watercolour effects.
Emotive robots, Princess Peach, kawaii, ugly-cute things, odd/weird things.
Rainbows, snow, sunset clouds.
Logic/math/visual problems and puzzles.
Feminism, LGBTQ-positive attitudes, disability activism.
Insects, hedgehogs, magpies, badgers, seahorses.
Cabinet cards and polaroid photos.
Christmas any time of the year.
Miniatures and things that are bigger than they'd normally be (like clown combs).
When inanimate objects (accidentally) look like they have a face.

For when it's needed, here's a straightforward wishlist of items I would be thrilled to receive. Please don't feel limited by this, surprise me and I'll be just as thrilled.
* Aida or evenweave fabric. I use mostly small pieces, about postcard size. Other colours than white would be especially fantastic as it's almost impossible to get here.
* Any embroidery thread.
* I like any vintage or everyday ephemera that I can use in collages, but especially magazine cut-outs. Images of people are always useful, but also animals, objects, anything really. And bits of sky, that’s probably my favourite collage background. I’m happy to do the more precise cutting around the edges myself, just cut/tear out the piece of magazine page the image is on.
* Other crafting materials like paper, buttons, sequins, craft wire, ribbon etc. Feel free to send me little bits from your stash or left-overs from your latest project.
* Lucky red envelopes, the kind used to give away money at Chinese New Year.
* An ATC made by you.
* Some nice-looking small paper to write swap notes on, like loose memo sheets, pages from notepads or listpads with a nice design, smaller letter writing papers, larger gift tags etc. Any style and design is good here since I'll be using them to write to other people.
* White chocolate or peppermint flavoured hot cocoa sachets.
* Reese's pieces.

For when a swap tells you to check your partner's profile for their preference on a specific thing, here are some of mine (but if I've joined a swap where you can't do any of these then of course follow the swap guidelines first).
* I prefer postcards written on and sent naked rather than blank and in an envelope, unless it's handmade and you think it needs an envelope to survive mailing.
* I think handmade postcards, free ones and ones from zazzle etc. are just as good as storebought ones to recieve in postcard swaps.
* I like salty and sour candy as well as sweet.
* I find all sizes of stickers useful, even the tiny ones.
* If your art/craft needs to be printed to exist as a physical copy, like with photography, digital art or a zine that you print from a master copy, I think those count (and are great!) for handmade swaps.

I'm sensitive to smells and can't really use anything with a strong artificial fragrance, like scented papers.
I dislike the colours army green and khaki.
I prefer no loose glitter, when it's stuck firmly on or in something it's fine.
I don't like eating coconut flakes because of the texture, but I have no food allergies.

I always send my swaps. If you're expecting something from me and it doesn't get there or arrives damaged or doesn't match what you thought you were getting, please let me know.
If you remember to add your swap-bot alias and the name of the swap or tag to what you're sending, that will really help me out. If you live far away from me, please don't feel stressed to send as quickly as possible, I know international mail can take time and I am patient. If something unexpected happens and you need to send a swap late, I'll appreciate it if you send me a message to let me know as soon as you can.
I will never rate you a 1 or 3 without contacting you first, unless you seem to be completely inactive. For me, an extra special swap is one that makes me extra happy for any reason, not necessarily one that includes extra items. If I send some extra thing along with a swap it's because I saw something on your profile that made me think it would make you happy, I'm not fishing for a heart and won't bother you if I don't get one.

For my own keeping track of things other than swaps.

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