Stamping was a hot category at CHA as many companies that previously had not sold stamps introduced them as part of their product lines. Specifically, it was clear stamps that were everywhere on the show’s main floor.
It was a different story in the new exhibitor area, however. In that area, two companies exhibiting unmounted rubber stamps or “cling” rubber stamps made the big splash with stamps. These stamps provide the benefits of rubber such as durability and detailed images, while combining those benefits with the storage and cost savings of acrylic stamps.
Besides the similarity in their materials, the two companies could not be more different. The first company, Lizzie Anne Designs, offers hand-drawn designs with a casual, even whimsical look. Their Little Bits sets come pre-cut and packaged in jewel cases for easy storage, with an MSRP of $19.99. The company also offers two-stamp card-making sets for an MSRP of $6.50, along with alphabets with an MSRP of $27.99.
The second company offering rubber cling stamps in the new exhibitor area was Art Declassified. Already known by some stampers for their original release of military-themed stamps, the company now has added photorealistic stamps with a vintage look to their offerings. The heavily detailed stamps are sold in jewel cases for easy storage.
Now, all those stamps are gorgeous, but wouldn’t it be great if you could make your own acrylic stamps out of your artwork or a photo? British company Photocentric was exhibiting a product in the New Exhibitor area that will let stampers do exactly that. The company sells the imagepac stamp maker kit, which allows stampers to print an image from their computer and use a gel hardened with a 60watt light bulb to turn it into a clear acrylic stamp. This amazing-sounding process is already in widespread commercial use in the U.K. and sold out on U.K. QVC before it could even be demonstrated!
The downside of the process is that there is an initial large investment in the kit, which retails for $140, after which the company claims that individual stamps cost only 20% of a similar retail product to produce.
Up next…new paper companies at CHA Winter 2007!
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