Postcard artist Katja Saario on everyday inspiration: “I get a lot of comfort from positive images”
Inside the closet of postcard artist Katja Saario is an everlasting Christmas. Her beloved Christmas cards have been popular in Finland for more than ten years.
How does Christmas show up in your home?
I think I’m a bit of a Christmas enthusiast—I end up buying more decorations each year. These days, I allow myself just one new ornament annually. There’s a closet in our house where I store my Christmas items. I display the most beautiful Christmas cards I’ve received on the closet door. One shelf holds a dollhouse where it’s always Christmas—you can peek through its tiny windows and see Christmas all year.
How did you become a postcard artist?
I studied graphic design at Pekka Halonen Academy, but I ended up unemployed. To pass the time, I started painting postcard images, which turned into Christmas cards. When they became popular, I decided to become an entrepreneur, and now mainly work in designing postcards.
“I get a lot of comfort from positive images.”
Do people still send Christmas cards?
A postcard has become a special way to remember loved ones. I’ve heard that people are able to find cards in my collection that fit someone they know perfectly. People have asked if the cards could be named, but I want everyone to interpret them from their own perspective. For instance, I once painted a card with an elf pulling a basket where angels were gathering stars. A customer commented, “I love how the angels are putting the stars where they belong.”
“The foxes’ world is a bubble of happiness that people need in the midst of everyday life.”
What is the story behind the foxes that appear in your cards?
Foxes lift people’s spirits and are empowering figures. They explore recognizable everyday moments and enjoy them. The message is that anyone can savor small moments of joy in daily life. The fox cards are always upbeat—I would never paint a fox wearing a mask, for example. The foxes’ world is a bubble of happiness that people need in the midst of their daily routines.
Your illustrations are playful. Do we need a sense of play in life?
I get a lot of comfort from positive images. My card ideas come from my own life and my friends’ everyday experiences. One summer, I traveled with friends in pouring rain, and we took a photo under an umbrella. Immediately, I knew it had to become a card. Maybe the playfulness in these cards says something about my inner world. Once, at a fair, a customer looked at the fox cards and said with a smile, “Oh, that’s what lives inside you.”
