As of late, the blogosphere seems to have gone rubber stamp crazy. Everywhere I look, I see a new rubber stamp! The uptick in custom rubber stamps makes total sense. Printing promo materials can get get really pricy and the ease of applying your logo and branding to nearly any surface is not only cost effective but adds that personal, hand-done touch.

I’ve been wanting to order rubber stamps for quite awhile but this post took awhile to put together due to some trial and error. On my first custom stamp attempt, I went the Etsy route in an effort to support small businesses but when my designs came, the wood was sub-par and there were no handles or any other way to grip the stamps. The quality just wasn’t there. So, I regrouped, did some googling and came upon Simon’s Stamps. This place is the real deal. Not only do they have super reasonable prices but they ship fast and uploading your designs is a breeze. I cannot recommend them highly enough!

Because of the reasonable pricing at Simon’s, I was able to order a variety of designs and sizes to give a test run. Yeah, I went a little crazy. Most of the stamps are based on elements from my current branding.

Here are some rubber stamp thoughts and tips

1. When creating your design, print it out to scale first before ordering! I’ve ordered stickers and other stamps in the past so I already had a pretty good idea of the sizes I wanted but Simon’s offers a HUGE variety of dimensions.

2. When in doubt, keep it simple. The more clean lines and the simpler the text, the better the outcome.

3. Beyond your logo, think of quotes, shapes, letters and numbers of significance, and your favorite patterns to draw inspiration from.

4. Stamps are MUCH cheaper than business cards. Two agencies I worked for in the past switched their business cards to blanks with just logos and then provided each employee with a rubber stamp containing their personal information. That way, everyone stamps as they go and there isn’t excess, unused stock sitting around.

5. Besides stamping the expected (mailing envelopes and boxes), think of new uses. Maybe you could sign your letters and then stamp your name or logo underneath. How about stamping your logo in the corner of screen prints you make? Or, on the back of photo prints and artwork?

6. Invest in a good, basic stamp pad. Mine is jumbo-sized and features archival ink. Get one here.

Here’s a mood board of rubber stamp inspiration: 1. Olly Sorby. 2. Meanwhile. 3. Semiospectacle. 4. Bigger Than Giants. 5. Lovely Package (unknown). 6. New Amsterdam Gin. 7. Twig & Thistle.

In closing, here’s a trip down memory lane. When I first got into rubber stamps, I was around five. Just for laughs, I dug out my original collection this weekend and, as you can see, back in the 80s I thought dinosaurs, Cabbage Patch Kids and rainbow stamp pads where the ultimate! Should I put that rainbow stamp pad back into rotation? 😉