Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, stamp collecting was a popular hobby. Stamps came in all shapes and sizes and one always looked forward to the next First Day Cover to be issued. For my family, postage stamps became a significant part of our lives after my father- who had been a travelling sales representative for a pharmaceutical company – had his voice box removed in 1968, due to cancer.
How it began!
Stamps would arrive by the sack-full!
It is thought that his cancer was possibly due to his daily exposure to car fumes, at that time heavy in lead. His operation meant that he was unable to continue in his work and so he had to find another income to support a wife and two young children. He turned to stamps. which would arrive at our house in shoe boxes and sacks.
There were several shops in Weymouth, Dorset, where we lived, which sold stamps to collectors and hobbyists. Children would eagerly spend pocket money each week buying stamps to add to their collection. Collections were sometimes themed, for example transport or nature, or contain stamps issued by a particular country.
Dad would spend many hours sorting stamps – checking issue numbers, watermarks and phosphor bands. He would then put them into small cellophane envelopes, always individually priced by hand with his fountain pen, with dates recorded in Roman numerals. He successfully sold the stamps to raise enough money to provide for us all.
As his health and strength improved, Dad sought other work and whilst his interest in stamps never waned, the mountain of stamps he had accrued were packed away into the eaves of the house and, over time, forgotten.
Dad sadly died in 2007. It was then, on beginning to clear his belongings, that my mother was “reunited” with the thousands upon thousands of stamps he had collected. There were so many stamps that it was quite overwhelming! I innocently thought that me and my brother could sell the stamps, and I could retire with my family to an exotic location abroad. We are still in Weymouth.
Auction houses advised that there was little value in the stamps. despite being carefully collected, hinged and put into albums, they were virtually worthless. Sorting through the stamps bought back many childhood memories.
Not wanting to throw the stamps away, and knowing my children would not want them, I was faced with finding a way of using them, given that stamp collecting did not have the same appeal as it had 40 years ago. In talking to friends, it became apparent that postage stamps continued to be of interest and people liked my idea of using them to create stationery and art.
So Crafty Stamps was born and I entered, with some trepidation, the world of craft fairs and markets to sell “my wares”. To my surprise and delight, people liked what I made and they were interested in my story; Fellow artisans were supportive, so I too entered the world of selling stamps, just as my Dad had, but in a way he would never have predicted. I know though, that he would be proud to see me preserving the legacy of his love of stamps. The time I spend in making my products, is time with “my Dad”. I reflect on my childhood and how he dedicated his life to ensuring that, as a family, we had the best he was able to provide. Thank you Dad!
