As part of the Sweetpea rebrand we made some new rubber stamps for using on everything from paper coffee cups to cake boxes. Rubber Stamps are one of my favorite things to work with, as they’re inexpensive (the two above were produced in under 24 hours for under $30), last a long time, and can be slapped on a variety of surfaces from paper to cloth to wood. I’ve seen them used for entire identity systems effectively (across business cards, stationary and envelopes), on zine covers, even on textiles. These days you can get inked stamp pads in a wide assortment of colors at arts and craft stores very inexpensively.

One of my favorite tricks is to make artwork into a stamp, make some stamps on paper, and then scan that artwork for a true worn effect. Sure you can create that effect digitally, but it’s just not the same.

We used Atlas Stamp, mostly because it’s close to my office and they had an online upload system, but you can find custom rubber stamp makers just about anywhere (typically they’re coupled with engraving business and sign shops as many of the processes involved go hand in hand).