The Carson Show

This coming weekend is the Carson CA Rubber Stamp Show hosted by A Stamp in the Hand. I have been going to this show since it's inception, first as an attendee and later as a vendor. It has been the best of the stamp shows for decades. It was such a wonderful show, that even after I moved from CA to CT, I would fly back to attend. Back in the beginning, I would meet my friends there and we would stay at the hotel across the parking lot, all taking rooms on the same floor. We would shop and shop the show. The big draw booth in those days, was Stampa Barbara which would be 5-10 people deep the entire show until owner, Gary Dorothy, would just simply run out of stamps to sell. It was a feeding frenzy. After we shopped, we would line up all our purchased stamps along the hotel hallway on our floor. The person with the most feet of stamps would be declared the winner and the rest of us would have to pay for her dinner. After seeing each other's hoard of stamps, we were back again the next day to buy what we had missed! After several years, I had my own stamp company, Stampers Anonymous, and I was thrilled to be allowed to have a booth at Carson three times a year. I would fly in with my booth from OH and feel right at home again, chatting and laughing with many of those same old friends. Fast forward to 2007 and there are many, many shows all around the country, but Carson is still at the top for me. This weekend I will still be at the Stampers Anonymous booth as always. The booth, now that I have sold the company to Ted Cutts (who always manufactured for me) is much bigger, sells a ton of accessories and features not one, but two demos going on all the time. It is not quite the same experience for me. I again live in Los Angeles, so I drive in to Carson instead of flying. I work for Stampers Anon instead of owning it. I seldom have a chance to walk around and shop, but it is still wonderful to see those old friends and all the new ones I have made over the years of attending the show. Stop by and say hello.

Comments

[teresa mcfayden]

Hi Ginny....big time Stampers Anon fan here...and I'd sure love to go to that show in Carson. I've always heard it is wonderful! Love your story about lining up the purchases along the hotel hallways. What magic that must be!

[Heidi]

I have been to Carson once, in 1998 and it was everything I hoped! My dad was there demonstrating Xyron machines back when they first hit the rubber stamping market. My fave was the Pit o' Rubber at the Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers booth. :)

I miss Stampa Barbara. I remember their big ads on the back cover of RSM. They always had the neatest images! I especially loved the chocolates at Valentine's and the ornaments at Christmas.