B.C. man campaigns for Taylor Swift to be recognized on a stamp

In a Vancouver man’s wildest dreams, Taylor Swift would fill the blank space in the top-right corner of envelopes in her home country.

Brian Grant Duff, owner and operator of All Nations Stamp and Coin in Dunbar is campaigning for the United States Postal Service to create a commemorative stamp honouring T-Swift, and hopes people join him in the cause.

“I know it’s brave of me to tell the United States what to do, of course they won’t like that,” Duff told CTV News.

But he’s made a pretty good case for the idea—and whipped up an example of what a Swiftie stamp could look like using AI.

The Swift Stamp would “make stamps more relevant, raise money for charity, and recognize people while they’re alive rather than while they’re dead,” he said.

Just like how demand for football player Travis Kelce’s jerseys skyrocketed when he began being seen with Swift, Duff thinks the superstar could have the same effect on the stamp world. He added the stamps could be used to celebrate her Eras Tour, for example.

“I think stamps can do and be more,” he said.

Duff said Swift, a philanthropist herself, would be a perfect fit as the face of a charitable stamp—also known as a semipostal stamp. “I just believe that Taylor Swift is having a moment, and she’s a good candidate to get the ball rolling,” he said.

Duff also noted that living people are typically not depicted on U.S. stamps, and he believes Swift is the right person to change that trend.

“I think it’s important to honour living people on postage stamps,” he said. “I think Taylor Swift, obviously a global superstar, seems like a great person, many accomplishments musically and personally, an admirable person and maybe the person to break that barrier and allow living people to be on a postage stamp.”

Several famous, living Canadians have been featured on Canada Post stamps, from actors to musicians to comedians. Duff gave Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Donald Sutherland as an example. The Order Of Canada-inductee appeared on a commemorative stamp late last year.

“Donald Sutherland loved the stamp and said it was the great honour of his life,” said Duff. So much so, the actor asked people to send him postcards using the stamp with his face on it, and he received thousands.

“That was fun, that was good for the hobby of stamp collecting,” he said, adding he wants our neighbour to the south to get a taste of that.

Duff started a petition on change.org last week, which has collected 56 signatures as of Sunday, Jan. 28. “I’d love it if thousands of people signed my petition,” he said. “And help the world of stamps grow and help Taylor Swift be recognized in her lifetime... If it’s a good idea, people will support it, and if it’s not, I understand.”