door On 10 June 2025, PostNL will issue the stamp sheet Camping in the Netherlands, with 6 stamps in 6 different designs. The stamps bear the denomination 1 for mail up to 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. A postcard with summer greetings is attached to the stamp sheet with a perforation line. On the back of the sheet is a typical camping recipe for macaroni. The stamp sheet Camping in the Netherlands is designed by the agency álleburen from Arnhem. The price for a sheet with 6 stamps is €7.26.
Recreational camping originated in the late nineteenth century in Great Britain, with cyclists spending the night in tents set up at hotels. The first British camping club dates back to 1906, and our country followed 6 years later with the establishment of the Dutch Tourist Camping Club. In 1924, the Gelderland town of Vierhouten had the honour of the first official campsite in our country. Camping became increasingly popular in the 1930s, but the real breakthrough came after World War II, thanks to increased prosperity, leisure time, and mobility. The popularity of camping received an extra boost in the 21st century due to the coronavirus crisis. The growth continues. In 2023, 5.2 million guests stayed at campsites in the Netherlands, about 4 percent more than in 2022. The number of foreign guests increased to 1.7 million of the 5.2 million. Most foreign campers (1.2 million) came from neighbouring Germany. When Dutch people go camping, it is slightly more often abroad than in their own country. France is by far the favourite destination. Croatia has the most campsites per million inhabitants in the European Union, with 226 campsites, while the Netherlands is in second place with 151 campsites per million inhabitants. As of 1 April 2024, the Netherlands had a record number of 615,981 caravans and motorhomes, almost 2 percent more than a year earlier.
Source: Andere tijden, CBS, Kampeer en Caravan Industrie, Wikipedia
DESIGN
The stamp sheet Camping in the Netherlands contains 6 stamps in 6 different designs. On the back of the stamp sheet is a typical camping recipe for macaroni, with an illustration of the ingredients against the background of a typical Dutch campsite. A postcard with summer greetings is attached to the stamp sheet with a perforation line. The postcard features a sign with humorous camping tips, against the background of another typical Dutch campsite. All stamps on the sheet have a free form with cloud contours. The stamps feature photos of different camping equipment: caravan, static caravan, campervan, bungalow tent, motorhome, and trekking tents. Four of the six stamps also depict campers. The sheet border features an illustration of a wavy campsite with grass fields, sandy beach, and swimming water against a clear summer sky with clouds. The illustration continues onto the stamps, serving as the background for the camping scene. Details on the stamps continue over the cut lines to the sheet border. Various objects that can be found on a campsite, such as a barbecue, folding trailer, paddling pool, garden bench, flowerpot, football, and kites, are depicted on the sheet border. Birds, butterflies, and a dog are depicted on the stamp sheet and postcard.
TYPOGRAPHY
For the typography on the front and back of the stamp sheet and the accompanying postcard, three fonts were used: Inter (2017) by Google Fonts/Rasmus Andersson from San Francisco, Likewise (2019) by KA Designs, Creative Markets, United States, and STIRMORE (2024) by Jurgen Flick from Nederhorst den Berg.
DESIGNERS
The assignment to álleburen for the design of the stamp sheet Camping in the Netherlands originated from the workshops that the agency regularly holds for all employees. “We invite people from outside to talk about their work,” says Joost Overbeek, creative director of álleburen. “For example, we once invited Haico Beukers and Marga Scholma, experienced stamp designers. It was great fun. We all practised making stamps. That left us wanting more, and we then contacted PostNL. Before we knew it, we were given the topic of camping and asked if that was something we were interested in. We said: yes!”
Dividing tasks
álleburen offers (mostly young) people who cannot do so through regular channels the opportunity to learn and gain experience in a design agency. For each assignment, a team is formed consisting of an experienced designer and several employees. For the Camping in the Netherlands stamps, this was Joost Overbeek, Mirjam Verdonk, and Saskia van Dam. “The three of us started brainstorming ideas,” says Mirjam Verdonk. “This is a comprehensive design, with 6 different stamps, the postcard, and the recipe on the back. That made it easy to divide tasks. For example, if one person was working on the static caravan, another was working on the butterflies, and a third on the recipe and the information board. But the rest of the agency remained involved. We always come together at the end of each workday to discuss the day. Everyone shares what they are working on. Everyone has opinions and ideas about camping. That worked very well.”
Own interpretation
The team was given complete freedom by PostNL to interpret the topic. Overbeek: “They literally said: you can go in any direction. So we chose to focus on camping in the Netherlands. After all, these are Dutch stamps for the Dutch market. And we know camping and campsites best from our own experience in our own country. As with many assignments, our agency style is reflected in the stamps. That happens naturally if the topic lends itself to it. We are not a group to create truly classic designs for classic subjects, with a balanced graphic interpretation and typographic feats. We rely mainly on fun, lightness, quirkiness, and original approaches. Humour is an important stylistic device for us. We also had a lot of fun making it.”
Atmosphere
About 20 years ago, Joost Overbeek produced the leader for the television programme ‘t Schaep met de 5 pooten with his previous agency Overburen. “That was filmed at camping Bakkum in North Holland,” says Verdonk. “You can see that atmosphere in the design. We chose self-adhesive stamps, for the sticker sheet, because it gives you many more possibilities for the shape of the stamps and the back. This led to the idea of a real summer stamp issue, including a postcard to send greetings from the campsite. On the back of the sheet, we included a typical camping recipe, of course with macaroni as the base. I tested the recipe myself; it’s tasty and easy, all in one pan.”
Everyone participates
The design team at álleburen quickly decided which images should appear on the stamps. “We briefly explored whether we could zoom in on details of typical camping items,” says Overbeek. “But we decided to focus on overview images of camping equipment. With the 6 stamps, we could include the most important ones, from the campervan to the bungalow tent and from the motorhome to trekking tents. The stamps also feature campers, including a man in a wheelchair. I am in a wheelchair myself. This way, the guiding principle of álleburen is also reflected in this design: everyone belongs and everyone participates. We did not depict ourselves or famous people. All the people and some illustrative elements were created in Midjourney, an AI image generation programme.”
Total illustration
The background of the stamp sheet features a large total illustration that continues onto the stamps. Verdonk: “Including the animals depicted. Animals often play an important role in our designs. For example, we created an Instagram account for Platform Binnenstad Arnhem around a deer named Bhert Binnenstad, to involve young people more in the developments in the city centre. For Hoffman Outdoor Media, we create so-called pause posters, with, for example, a pigeon in a raincoat saying: ‘Do I owe you something?’ The large background image combines different types of campsites. Both the forest campsite and the field campsite, as well as the beach campsite with the recreational water. You can see from the sky that it is summer, the season when the stamps are issued. The lower stamps also have sky added, simply by bringing a few clouds down.”
The more, the better
All in all, it has become a colourful stamp sheet with a lot going on. “When I was a boy collecting stamps, I preferred Poland and Hungary,” says Overbeek. “Mainly because those stamps were so large and richly coloured. The design has a bit of that. My father was an architect, and he tried to raise me with ‘less is more’. I never agreed with that. For me, it’s always ‘more is more’.”
About the designers
Joost Overbeek studied graphic design at ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem from 1987 to 1992. He then founded the design agency Overburen in Amsterdam, where he remained active until 2017. In 2018, he started álleburen in his hometown of Arnhem together with An de Cock, a design agency specialising in brand strategy, interactive media, graphic productions, animations, and content creation. The agency, under the guidance of experienced designers, is a place of development and inclusion for young people with a distance to the labour market due to a (in)visible disability. The agency álleburen currently works for clients such as the Dutch Autism Association, disaster relief organisation Shelterbox, Open Air Museum Arnhem, Bio Holiday Resort, Clean Arnhem, Speedqueen, and the Jewish Cultural Historical Museum Curaçao. With his agency Overburen, Joost Overbeek previously designed the stamp series Beautiful Netherlands (2007) and the stamp sheet Dutch Delicacies (2017).
Mirjam Verdonk first worked in healthcare and later as a (portrait) photographer and collage maker until she discovered the possibilities of graphic design online. Since early 2024, she has been connected to álleburen as a designer.
Saskia van Dam studied fashion design at the AKI in Enschede and worked as a pattern designer for various companies in the fashion, packaging, and carpet industries. Nowadays, she works as a graphic designer at álleburen.
SALES/VALIDITY
The stamps are available while stocks last at the post office in Bruna stores and via www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club customer service at 088 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.
VALUE
The stamps Camping in the Netherlands bear the denomination 1, intended for mail up to 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. The price per sheet of 6 stamps is €7.26.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Stamp size top row from left to right ± 45 x 39 mm, ± 43 x 39 mm, and ± 51 x 35 mm bottom row from left to right ± 48 x 34 mm, ± 49 x 36 mm, and ± 41 x 41 mm
Sheet size 150 x 108 mm
Paper normal with phosphor underprint
Gumming self-adhesive
Printing technique offset
Printing colours cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Print run 100,000 sheets
Appearance sheet of 6 stamps in 6 different designs
Denomination 1 for mail up to 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands
Design Joost Overbeek, Mirjam Verdonk en Saskia van Dam, álleburen, Arnhem
Printing company Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number 450562
SUMMARY
Issue: Camping in the Netherlands
Issue date: 10 June 2025
Appearance: sheet of 6 stamps in 6 different designs, with denomination 1 for mail up to 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands
Artikelnummer: 450562
Design: Joost Overbeek, Mirjam Verdonk en Saskia van Dam, álleburen, Arnhem
COPYRIGHT © 2025 Koninklijke PostNL BV
