Snow Globes Stamps Shake Things Up

Illustrator Gregory Manchess is no stranger to working on postage stamps, but for the Snow Globes stamps, he went all the way back to his youth for inspiration. 

“I worked up tiny sketches that reflected my childhood love of Christmastime,” says Manchess. 

The four stamps — featuring a snowman, Santa Claus, a reindeer, and a Christmas tree, each inside a snow globe — have been spreading holiday cheer since 2023. We talked to Manchess about his process of illustrating the stamps.

You have worked on many stamp projects for USPS over the years. What special challenges did the Snow Globes stamps pose?

You’d think that a simple snow globe would be easy to do. But it’s a round globe in a vertical format, so that was a challenge right away! I also wanted to make the glass as clear as possible so we can see the scene inside. Then I had to add snow as well. All of it had to be designed to read quickly. Luckily, Derry Noyes, the art director, shifted the globes slightly to the right, which instantly solved the issue of the round-peg-in-a-square-hole problem!

What was your creative process like? Did the final paintings change much from your original ideas/sketches?

I had to simplify the initial sketches enough to see exactly what was in each globe clearly. I added the snowflakes at the last so I could design them in. I studied real snow globes to get the glass reflections right, and I modeled for Santa!

What is it about snow and the winter holidays that you find so magical?

Snow is like fog. It hides things, makes the world mysterious, and gives one a unique and fresh perspective. The magic is in the light, the way it plays on surfaces and reflects colors in unexpected ways. In winter, the low angle of the sun makes things sparkle. Capturing the light keeps the magic frozen in time.