a memorable trip...

hey there bloggers!  hope you've enjoyed your week.  i must say that i had an amazing trip to ohio.  a big shout out and thank you to all of my students in the workshops at the adventures in stamping show last weekend - what a blast!  i had such a great time and sharing with everyone was so inspiring for me as always.  in addition to the day of workshops i spent the next two days demonstrating in the stampers anonymous booth.  the show was busy, busy, busy and that's always a good sight to see.  here are some pics from the workshops and the stampers anonymous booth...

after the weekend i stayed an extra day to visit stampers anonymous headquarters in cleveland.  it's hard to believe i've been designing for them all this time and never had the chance to see how everything works - and you know how much i love behind the scenes stuff!  we were greeted by the staff who were all wearing these very cool, very custom made shirts that said "we are enjoying the journey...thanks tim....your stampers anonymous family" - seriously, how cool is that?  i was just speechless standing there seeing all of these faces as they were applauding me?  me???  they are the ones that deserve the applause for making such a quality amazing hand-made product.... yes each and every stamp is made by hand.  i had no idea how much effort and labor goes into manufacturing every single stamp and how many different people touch it along the way, each doing their part.  i must admit i was so blown away and overcome with emotion that i didn't remember to click a single photo  - i was honestly in the moment.  next trip you guys, i promise!  here's a group shot of the stampers anonymous team and the owner of it all - mr. stampers anonymous...ted!

 
i had a chance to walk around and meet all of the wonderful people who make the stamps, ask about their part of the process and see all of the cool machines and gadgets that make stamps - it's incredible!  hopefully next time i'm there i can do a little behind the scenes "how it's made" video for the blog.  hint-hint ted...  then they planned a cool trolley tour around cleveland to learn the history of this city and check out some local sights.  so about 30 of us piled in the trolley and set out for a fun afternoon.  we drove all over the city, saw such great architecture and learned stories of the history of cleveland.  of course my favorite stop on the tour was the famous "free" stamp sculpture.  talk about a HUGE stamp - check it out, and then see ted and i standing next to the thing.  i would love that in front of my house...

then we went for dinner in little italy and took in a few more sights before calling it a day.  the next morning we headed home for a quick stop.  we're off again tomorrow to teach in canada this weekend and then straight to michigan for the mega meet!  so much to get done, so little time, and yet i wouldn't change a thing.  thanks for sharing the journey...t!m

Comments

[Julia]

Looks like you had a great trip.

[hitomi]

your schedule makes me tired just reading, it tim! sounds like you had tons of fun....and ted seems like he is always fun to hang out with....at least when I've seen him at the Carson shows. happy and safe travels, tim.

[Lesley Gibbs]

I agree, I would also love to have a stamp like that outside my house, cool!!! The photos are really cool, i also love seeing how everything works

[julie howard]

sounds like you had a great time!

that stamp sculpture is awesome!

[Gunn Mandal]

Thanks for sharing. Great photo and fun to see the big stamp.
*Gunn*

[Jamie]

love the huge stamp :)

[Margaret in NY]

Thanks for taking us on this amazing journey!

[steph]

sounds like you had an awesome time. cool to visit the stampers anonymous headquarters! wow, every stamp is handmade. cool! love that HUGE stamp. thanks for sharing, tim! *hugs* steph :)

[Karen Mathews]

What a great trip you had. I love Stampers Anonymous stamps. It is good to see the people behind the stamps.

[Mandy Ni B]

great pics! sounds amazing!