Who Is Stampington & Company?:
Stampington & Company is a publisher of periodicals and books located in Laguna Hills, California. It is home to numerous major regular and special edition publications related to beading, jewelry making, wearable art, rubber stamping and scrapbooking art publications.
What magazines and periodicals does Stampington & Company publish?:
These are the Stampington & Company titles that are published on a regular basis:
- Art Doll Quarterly
- Somerset Studio
- Stamper's Sampler
- Inspirations
- Belle Armoire
- Somerset Memories (formerly Legacies)
- Take Ten
- Somerset Life
Does Stampington & Company publish Special Editions?:
Yes, there are many beautiful and collectible Special Editions issued each year, many of which include exclusive artist templates that readers may use in their own artwork, as well as free art papers, paper ephemera, and other useable collage and creative elements to be used by readers. These extras are always lovely and useful, and give the reader the sense of receiving a gift with purchase, although I find myself purchasing two copies when Stampington & Company offer these pull-outs; one to use and one to keep in pristine shape in my collection.
What Are Some of the Special Edition titles?:
Stampington & Company Special Editions include:
- Memorable Impressions Devoted to scrapbooking art.
- Return to Asia With over 1,000 samples of Asian-inspired artworks.
- Salon With special material from the magazine Belle Armoire with an emphasis on wearable art.
- True Colors An experiement by a group of artists to create art using a single color scheme.
- Artist Trading Cards A collection of beautiful Artist Trading Cards and a must if you are interested in learning this new artform.
- Belle Armoire Jewelry The three editions of this publication showcase a diverse collection of art gallery quality handmade beaded jewelry.
Any other Special Edition titles?:
Of course! There are:
- A Somerset Wedding
- Haute Handbags A collection of incredible handmade and embellished handbags.
- Somerset Home Filled with ideas for using your artistic skills, including beading, to decorate and enhance your surroundings.
- Altered Couture A collection of repurposed, remade and hand adorned clothing and accessories using a variety of techniques including beading, rubber stamping, dyeing, alterations, and more.
- Artful Blogging Inspiration for sharing your artwork and writing via the Internet.
- Beyond Paper Dolls A collection of art dolls from paper that go beyond the basic cutouts of yesteryear.
Does Stampington & Company sell art and crafts supplies?:
You bet they do, and some of the finest I've seen anywhere! The Shoppe at Somerset is chock-full of art stamps, papers, ephemera, jewelry components, stamping materials, paper goods, paints, inks, metal components for beaded jewelry, beads, a dazzling collection of rubber stamps, and so much more. You'll just have to take a bit of time and go look around, but be forewarned; chances are, you will not come away empty-handed, even if you only come away with a long "wish list."
Are there more publications in the works? :
The staff at Stampington & Company are always working to bring us more new publications combining our mutual love of all things beautiful and artistic, our various crafting skills and the various beads, ephemera, papers, toys, game pieces, glass slides, and other objects we so dearly love to use in the creation of our handmade beaded jewelry, beaded household objects and other beaded artwork.
There is absolutely no lack of creative foresight and delightful project ideas from the staff at Stampington & Company. And as soon as I am aware of new releases, I will pass that information on to my readers immediately!
Is there any place to see samples of Stampington & Company-inspired artwork?:
Stampington & Company have a wonderful section on their Web site devoted to reader art and to projects created by the staff and writers for the various Stampington and Company publications. It is a feast for the eyes and an excellent source of inspiration.
Stampington & Company has Wonderful Things for Beaders and Other Crafters:
Stampington Company publishes several magazines and periodical publications devoted to beading, jewelry, wearable art, paper arts, art dolls, rubber stamping and other creative interests, along with multiple Special Edition collections and new-material volumes periodically throughout the year.
Each volume is a work of art in itself. The pages are carefully arranged with breathtaking art direction. Projects are displayed with a perfect balance between artistic interpretation and clear detail. Each publication is printed on heavy, low-sheen paper stock using a quality color process that makes each page look as if it were intended for publication in a high-end "coffee table" book, rather than a periodical.
The instructions for projects are well written and carefully edited. They are easy to read and to work from start to finish, and the skill levels suggested are always appropriate. I have not found a project suggested for a beginner that ended up requiring higher skill levels or that took for granted knowledge of a particular technique not generally known to a beginner, regardless of the project type.
The overall culture of the Stampington Company publications is highly artistic in nature, but the publications are never stuffy, intimidating or patronizing to readers who did not attend multiple years of art school. The project material and editorial content reaches out to everyone, as if to say "come on, let's create art" and to share that art with beautiful photography and illustrations. The writing and editorial tone is always warm and welcoming.
Each publication has a common thread, weaving such diverse material as altered clothing, rubber stamping, beaded jewelry and paper arts together with projects combining all of these crafts and their various materials and tools. A beader can find articles and projects of interest in Belle Armoire, of course, and in Art Doll Quarterly with its coverage of beaded art dolls, as well as in Inspirations, with its variety of projects using materials available from the Stampington Company shop. Altered Couture is laced with beading inspiration, Haute Handbags, and Somerset Workshop are filled with projects for beaders and for bead embroidery.
Stampington Company really does have something for everybody, with great crossover projects for beaders in nearly every issue published. I highly recommend all of these magazines, especially for those beaders looking to expand on their bead art experiences.
