Stampers Anonymous

Most of you know that I founded and owned Stampers Anonymous for almost 10 years. In 2005, I sold the stamp line to Ted Cutts because I was getting married and moving to CA with John. Ted hired me back to be Art Director for a couple of years. At that time we were approached by Tim Holtz to do a stamp line with his name on it. Stampers Anonymous had never put the artist's names on the stamps and none of our excellent artists had ever asked for that recognition. It was during the infant days of family owned stamp companies who were pretty naive about marketing and commercialism. Tim Holtz's popularity is well-known and he works hard to keep his brands forefront, but I think it is just wrong and misleading that his name is on each pack of images that were designed by our original artists.

A number of the original stamps have been released as "Classic Stampers Anonymous" and are now available in cling mount.

The majority of the classic Stampers Anonymous images chosen were designed by Michelle Ward for Stampers Anonymous. I was thrilled to have this exceptional artist and just good human being design for us. Others were by David Simon, a professional artist who works at a local advertising agency. David designed more than 300 images for us and became a good friend. There are images in this collection by Michele Monet, our very first artist who is a wonderful talent and professional photographer. There were also a number of other artists who designed just a few stamps for me back then and all the rest of our images were designed by me. I feel with the new release of these stamps that new stampers should know that the artists for these classic Stampers Anonymous images are not Tim Holtz. I don't want them to be confused with the "Tim" images. The packaging should be clearly marked as just Stampers Anonymous classics. Tim had nothing to do with these images and in my opinion, his name should not be on them.

Comments

[Theresa Loomis]

Cool. Do you know just by looking at an image who the artist is?

[Judi]

Well Said!!!

[Andrea]

Good on you, Ginny!

[ginnycartersmallenburg]

Teresa, I can identify who did which image from my SA era close to 100%, I think. Some artists have such a recognizable way of designing. Michelle Ward who has an architectural background designs images that have that quality. David's images are heavier, bolder and have a more masculine look.

[Sandra McCall]

Excellent announcement Ginny. Kudos to the original artists and to you for giving them the recognition they deserve.

[Kari]

Yahoo Ginny!

[Gayle Pritchard]

Good for you, Ginny. It feels so "special" to recognize so many of the images, and even better to know the names behind them.

[marilyn adams]

could not agree more with you ginny! i certainly remember the days when no one had ever heard of tim holtz and i couldn't wait for the stamp in the hand convention and you and traci & teesha moore were what i most looked forward to!

[Sue Roddis]

Well said...I too remember the pre Tim Holtz days and Stampers Anon was a fav company....a shame he feels the need to put his name to stuff that is not his.

[Wendy Gale]

Hear hear Ginny, I actually have some of these images, in wood ( my fave)on the shelf in my shop.....I must agree I think its very unfair to put your name to another's work.

[niki zipp]

I can't agree with you more Ginny - this is just wrong and hope that you have raised the issue with Ted - here is hoping that he is good enough to do the right thing and relabel and give the artist their due - they definitely need to be recognised.

[Barb]

Thanks for posting this Ginny. I would love to know the artist for each & every stamp I own from SA and all the others I own too! The artists name should have been on them from the beginning and I hope Ted will add it to all future stamps.

[Allison]

at the sake of repeating, "preach it, sister, Amen!!" I always wondered why the artists weren't credited, but I love (and own) many of those early stamps!!

Allison

btw... I love your blog, but don't take the time to get out of my email to go to the internet to tell you so... but you are one of the highlights of my workday!!

[Joyce Wrona]

Obviously, Ted must really be desperate to make a buck, or Tim must have exhausted his clip-art collection. Finally, someone takes a stand. Bravo!

[Dyan]

I am a little confused. These artists recieved no recognition nor royalties when they designed for you, yet it is only now you are standing their corner!! Is this not a little like the pot calling the kettle black.
Tim has made it quite clear that Ted asked him to choose his favourites from earlier times to be re released. Surely that can only be a good thing? I don't see anywhere were Tim is taking the credit for these stamps!

[anonymous]

it's puzzling that the artists didn't get recognition or royalties in the beginning when first working with SA under Ginny. And now this pattern continues where they are not receiving recognition or $ for their intellectual property.

i think ginny's point in her blog post is that the stamps should be marketed as Stampers Anon stamps only and not as "Tim Holtz Stampers Anon Classic Favorites" because it's confusing and it makes it look as if they are his designs and that he is receiving payment for compiling these designs. which he may or may not be.

[Stephanie Fogt]

I always assumed the "Tim Holtz" part of the logo was just that. It was clear the images were clipart and not hand drawn or photographed, so I felt his name was there as an endorsement to SA. Many company's have an attached "more known" artist or presentator's name on their products, but not the actual artist of the image. However, I do agree 100% that a creator of an original piece of art should be recognized on the packaging as well. Seems to me like it could be a copyright issue to me unless the original artist signed a release. I owned a tiny stamp business and EVERY rubber stamp was credited to the artist, Judith Fogt with a copyright date. It was her art, not mine and I wanted people to be able to search her work online if they chose.

[Michelle Ward]

Ginny, thanks for the kind words. I got lots of emails to come over here today....it sure was fun to design with and for you back in the day. Let's hope Ted did the right thing and labeled the back of the packages with the artist credits. Let's also hope that he is putting all of us on the royalty payroll......finally.

[Sandy M.]

Yes, Ginny there is a lot to be said for humility and honoring those that paved the way. Tim needs to learn this. If he did he would be so much more respected. Instead he is ridiculed and now This unethical infraction is what I believe to be the straw that broke the camels back. Most of the stuff that he puts his name on are not his designs but copies of something that someone else did. Everyone recognized this and has sort of laughingly yallowed him to get away with it. But now this rather blatant pilfering, or better yet, stealing of other "well know" stamp designs is just plain pathetic. The best thing that he could do now is apologize and pay the artist that he stole from.

[Jacquelene L.]

Tim Holtz stated on his blog that he didnt know who the artists for these images were. I own some of these images wood mounted and there isnt any artist name on them. Tim doesnt claim these to be his images. I think its great the images are being brought out in cling mount. It makes them more affordable and less weight, and takes up less space. Many of these images I dont own and will buy the cling mount.
Jacquelene L.

[Susan Schultheis]

I dont know why I thought you lived in CA, Ohio is not so far. Will have to keep up with your blog to get all the good news in the future! thanks, sue

[Cindy Lyles]

Agreed and well said. Hoping they consider make a production change so the packaging reads, 'endorsed by Tim Holtz'.