Spellbinders Was Busy While I Was Hiking . . .

I went off the grid about 5:00 Friday afternoon – went home, walked to the high school, announced the football game, walked back home, got a few hours’ sleep, and headed for the Grand Canyon.  For the first time in many years, I literally did not think about work once for nearly four days . . . until I got to the Phoenix airport late Tuesday morning and checked my e-mail for the first time.

The first two e-mails I read wanted to know why the new Spellbinders dies weren’t on our website yet.

My initial reaction was “What new Spellbinders dies?”  I usually get an advance notice with graphics and descriptions and such – and I get them ready in advance so I can make them visible on our website at the exact second they are released, no matter where I am (except maybe at the bottom of the Grand Canyon).  But I didn’t get an advance notice this time, so thanks to the loyal customers who were kind enough to ask instead of shopping elsewhere.

When I got to Denver and discovered that our flight to Cincinnati was going to be delayed at least two hours (ended up being four), I assumed that it was time to figure out if I could add new items to our site from my iPad.  It was possible, but it will be easier next time.

So with no further delay . . .

These are all D-Lites dies – the first five are from the S2 series with an MSRP of $12.99 (our price as always is 20% off the MSRP).  The last one is from the S3 series with an MSRP of $17.99.  Spellbinders says they’re ready to ship them to dealers like us, so we should have them by the end of next week.  For more details and/or to place an order, simply click on any of the graphics above.

And once my brother and I are able to organize the pictures we took, I’ll be back in a few days to regale you with tales from the Grand Canyon – tales of moisture, mud, mammals, and (sore) muscles . . .

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I cannot put a post on this blog on this date without pausing to remember the men and women who lost their lives in cowardly acts of terrorism twelve years ago – and the police, fire and military who risk theirs daily to protect us.  Thanks.

Our Customers Are Always on the Lookout for New Items . . .

Last night, I was getting ready for bed – pulled out my cell phone to set the alarm because I needed to get up earlier than normal (usually, I don’t need an alarm).  And in the notifications bar at the top of my home screen was the message “Robyn Josephs has posted a message on the Marco’s Paper Facebook Page.”

And so she had – it said “OK Marco’s – the new Distress Paint color special???”

So in my mind appeared the typical “50-something male at 11:30 at night” response -- “Huh?”

But somewhere in the fog, I reasoned that there must be new Distress Colors and I was going to have to forage for information when I got to work today.  Unnecessary thought – five minutes after I walked in, Gary walked in and thrust an e-mail from Ranger into my hands.  And now I understand . . .

Guess what?  Ranger has six new colors of Distress Paint!  And they should be in-stock and shipping next week!  Since Robyn asked (and you probably would have as well but she beat you to it), we’re doing an introductory special on them through the end of September – Order All Six for 20% Off the MSRP with Free Shipping in the Continental U.S.  Just click on the graphic above and you’ll go to the product page.

That, of course, assumes that you already have the other 27 colors of Distress Paint.  If you don’t, here’s a link to the product page for the whole set of 33 colors – same offer!

And with that, I am officially going off the grid for a few days.  Friday will be a normal day, but after work and an evening announcing the local high school football game, I’ll grab a few hours of sleep, go pick up my brother at his house in the predawn hours of Saturday, and head for the airport.  Dad, Blake and I will be hiking the Grand Canyon on Sunday and Monday – Dad has wanted to do this with us ever since we hiked half of it together 4½ years ago.  That was a little more than a month after this blog was born, so of course there was a story.  There will be one after this hike, too – but with lots more pictures.  I have learned over the years that some of you enjoy seeing God’s creations through our eyes.

A Scavenger Hunt to Pay Tribute to a Pioneer . . .

If you have been a part of our little traveling minstrel show for a while, you may already know this – but if not, I’m going to fill you with a lot of random images and knowledge with links to find out more.  It seems like spontaneous and random would be the best way to pay homage to a guy who has lived his whole life that way.

Because without him, it’s likely we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing today.

If you have ever been to a rubber stamp show, I’ll bet you have shopped in this booth . . .

. . . and had interactions with this man.  But how many of you know that William “Picasso” Gaglione is truly the Father of Rubber Stamping?

It’s a truly fascinating story with words many of you have never heard like “Dada” and “Fluxus” that basically started in the 1960s in New York, moved to San Francisco in the late 60s and then to Chicago around the turn of the century.  Along the way, he created a persona that he called “dadaland” as he became involved in the mail art movement and used his love of collages, drawings and rubber stamps in his creations.

But I can’t tell the story nearly as well as Picasso’s darling wife Darlene Domel can – I did a web search for “Picasso Gaglione” and among other things came up with this great and detailed article that Darlene wrote three years ago about her husband.

After reading Darlene’s essay, I got hooked on trying to find pictures of Picasso from earlier times.  Found a lot on his Facebook page, and others on various blogs and gallery sites.  This was the earliest one I found – he’s the guy in the middle and at the time he was about 25 years old.

Here are some others that I found – yep, look closely and you’ll recognize him.

I suspect Picasso’s life really got interesting when he and Darlene intertwined . . .

And they started this place in San Francisco eventually was called (naturally) Stamp Francisco.  And part of it was a Stamp Art Museum – but why should I try to explain it to you when you can get a personal tour?

It’s not always in focus, but the view of Picasso in the 1980s is priceless – and the voice hasn’t changed to this day.  If you’re getting this by e-mail you’ll only see a black box above, but you can click on that box or this link -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppkdGs1M8Co – and you’ll be able to watch it.

Here are some posters I found from some shows that Picasso has done over the years.

And here’s a link to an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about an exhibit at the San Francisco Public Library in the late 90s.

And another from a blog post in 2000 just before Picasso and Darlene moved to Chicago.  If you love history, read them both when you have some time – you’ll get an education.

Once they made it to Chicago around the turn of the century (doesn’t that sound like a long long time ago?), they set up a new company called Stampland and a whole new museum.  And you get to take another tour that was shot in 2009 . . .

Again, you can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rTAAFT5B94 if you get the black box.

And here’s another blog article written about the same time that has pictures of a trip through the world of Stampland.

Here are two pictures just because I loved them . . .

If you’re in or near St. Petersburg, you can actually see a Picasso Gaglione exhibit that starts September 7.  Here’s an article that Darlene wrote along with information about the exhibit.

I posted this video a while back, but until I scoured the web for information to feed my idea for a blog post, I really didn’t realize how honored my niece should be that four weeks ago she got to participate in a piece of performance art with a true pioneer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fvU8u7Tbsw

If there is a point in all of this randomness that I have assembled, it is this – sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life, we forget to take a moment to look back along the path that got us to where we are.  At some point, Picasso Gaglione created a fork in his own path and ventured off in a whole new direction.  And because he did, around the world there are people who are indebted to him – even if they don’t know it.

But now you do.  Thanks, my friends.

What Keeps a 99-Year-Old Man Busy in Our Backroom . . .

Longtime readers of this blog might be able to find these pictures – they originally appeared here about 2 1/2 years ago . . .

. . . the first time those dollar packs appeared in our booth.  I took eight boxes of them with me on a trip south, thinking they would last through shows in Atlanta and Clearwater.  The view at right is what was left at 3:00 on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta – they didn’t even make it through the first day.

And as a customer came to the register with a handful of them, I would say “Thanks for keeping a 96-year-old man busy in our backroom.”  The customers who really heard what I was saying were amazed – and some asked for more information.

Walter White is Gary’s father-in-law and he is a fascinating man – a World War II veteran who has lived many places and spent much of his life working as a research chemist for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York.  He and his wife came to our area to be closer to their children as his wife’s health was failing, and he started working with us shortly after she died.

Walter’s life is filled with stories, and I got to hear many of them when I drove him back and forth to the store several years ago after Gary tried to see how many bones he could break by falling off his horse.  One of the best stories came 12 or 13 years ago when Walter decided that his eyesight was failing and he needed to stop driving.  So he drove to the store that day, announced to everyone that it was going to be his last day of driving – and rear-ended a car on his way home.  It was the first and only auto accident of his life.

Every year in late July I have to change the dollar pack spiel as Walter gets a year older.  So about a month ago, what was once 96 became 99.

Yesterday afternoon, I brought the truck to the store to unload some boxes after last weekend’s show in Collinsville, Illinois.  And when I walked through the backroom, Walter was hard at work.  He doesn’t get here as much as he did a few years ago – maybe a couple of hours two or three times a week.  But he’s still amazed that so many of you find treasure in the little bags of paper that he creates.

He has his two tables full of little scraps of paper, cellophane bags to stuff, and boxes next to the tables to fill with finished bags to fill those plastic tubs at shows.  And if there’s an afternoon baseball game on the radio, he’ll have earbuds in his ears – Walter loves baseball as much as I do.

Twice last weekend, customers came to me with dollar packs in their hands to ask if the price on them was correct – in one case a pack was marked $10.05 and in another case it was $0.05.  Of course, they were all $1.00 – and when I explained that Walter is 99 and doesn’t see very well anymore, everyone seems to understand.

Walter is the first 99-year-old man I have ever known.  On his 98th birthday last year, he announced to his family that there wouldn’t be a 99th – he knew that his health is not what it once was and body parts are wearing out.  But he was wrong, and he’s still here – and I really hope that at the end of July next year, he will become the first 100-year-old man I have ever known.

And I’ll have to change the spiel again . . .

Will Work for Food . . .

I am not a foodie – I think I have made that quite clear over the years.  Zoe is – I think I have also made that quite clear over the years.  As such, from time to time I am greeted at shows by customers bearing gifts of food – for my dog.  But last weekend, in the shadow of the Gateway Arch, the scene was different . . .

Sally Holcomb was one of the first people I saw when the show opened on Saturday morning – she brought a container filled with snickerdoodles and chocolate cookies for me!  That container kept Doreen and me energized most of the day.

Ah yes – Doreen.  Hard to believe, but it has been ten years since Doreen Chambers brought this cake to Collinsville for us.  The year before, she had helped in our booth for the first time and told us of her baking talents.  So in 2003, she brought proof.

Ten years later, she’s still feeding me – chocolate cupcakes this time!

Of course, I needed more calories – I played a lot of golf this weekend.  After setup on Friday, I drove a short distance to Gateway National Golf Links for an evening of activity.  I had found it online and it looked interesting.  And it was – the course was in great shape and had a view unlike any other . . .

From many parts of the course, you could see downtown St. Louis and the Gateway Arch.  I played until it was almost too dark to see – which provided an added bonus . . .

. . . the moon on the left and a gorgeous sunset on the right.  Enjoyed it enough that after the show on Saturday, I went back again.

And got another sunset – but this one wasn’t nearly as spectacular as the one the night before.

But I digress . . .

Our booth was full of busy little beavers.  Beth Wilkinson was filling in for Sue Rothamel’s talented fingers in the USArtQuest portion of our booth, and Doreen was showing folks Envelope Punch Boards and Perfect Rulers and Perfect Layers and Gelato Kits – every time I turned around, she had moved to a new subject.

One lady brought her own “pack mule” sporting this on his back – I couldn’t decide whether she had bought his t-shirt or he had figured it out on his own . . .

Just like teachers when you were in school – they don’t eat and they don’t go to the bathroom.  So imagine my surprise when I turned around and noticed that Nancy and Brian from Rubber Stamp Events had found time for a break.  Brian is the “voice” of Barbara’s shows – it just isn’t the same when he’s not the one handling the microphone.

One … two … three … awwwwwwwwww.  This “crafter in training” (or maybe he’s a “pack mule in training”) was parked near my cash register on Sunday while Mom was catching Beth’s demo and Grandma was watching Doreen’s.  He never stirred – found out later that Big Brother was already a veteran of two years’ worth of shows, but Mom and Grandma realized last year that he (or they) didn’t have the patience for another trek.  So Mom went forth and multiplied and brought a replacement.

Thankfully, The Winner Was Not Present . . .

One last tidbit from Stampaway – again from the giveaway.  It’s funnier if you watch it in real time . . .

Again, if for some reason the video doesn’t show up in the box above, you can watch it by clicking on this link -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JfhKK5vEog

Look for more stories from a different location soon – this weekend, we’ll be in the shadow of the Gateway Arch in Collinsville, Illinois!

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A Request from Me . . .

I hear it all the time . . . at shows, when I’m in the store, in my e-mail inbox -- “I just love your blog.”  And I am simply humbled every time I hear it.  So many of you have embraced our company . . . and our families.  Thank you – it means a lot.

I have noticed, especially at shows, that a significant portion of the customers in our booth are there for the first time.  That’s fantastic -- “new blood” is the future of any business.  We need more of it – and to quote the old saying, “Word of Mouth is the best advertising.”

So if you like the blog, would you do me a favor and please encourage your friends and online acquaintances to read it and subscribe?  And if someone you know is looking for a source for cardstock, envelopes, accessories, etc., please recommend us.

Honestly, we’ll do everything we can from our end, but a little assistance from you helps keep our paychecks coming – and keeps these stories, travelogues, specials and more coming your way.

Thanks!