Makkum on a sheet of stamps

This year, five historically prominent ceramics centres will be highlighted in several sheets of stamps. The issue of the postage stamp in Makkum was the fourth in the new series called ‘Fine Dutch Ceramics’. By issuing these sheets of stamps, PostNL is focusing attention on the exceptional position our country occupies in the production of ceramics. In addition to Makkum, this year’s other places in the series are Harlingen, Loosdrecht, Tegelen and Delft. Rutger Fuchs designed this Fine Dutch Ceramics series of stamps for PostNL. His principle was to design the stamp and the whole sheet at the same time and thereby emphasise the beauty and versatility of the ceramics. For the sheet of Makkum stamps he devotes a lot of attention to the local history and cultural wealth of Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum and Kingma Makkum.

Ceramics from Makkum
However, for the design of the stamp itself, Fuchs looked for a specific detail that is quite characteristic of modern ceramics in Makkum and with which Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum has become world famous. He found this in the splendid rendering of the blue butterfly forms made by Studio Job. ‘This shows that contemporary Dutch designers with an innovative eye are constantly discovering the potential of ceramics. On the postage stamp, I have alternated modern objects with various historical pieces from Tichelaar and Kingma Makkum.’