In 1995, a small group of stampers who periodically attended workshops together formed a club which we called Happy Stampers North West. We wanted to share ideas and techniques and to enjoy ourselves whilst mixing with like-minded crafters and, at the same time, to further our interest in rubber stamping.
We were, however, frustrated by the lack of events available for rubber stampers in the North West, so we set about organising our own show, which took place in the autumn of 1998 at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight. It was so successful that we were asked to arrange another one for the following year. We were soon encouraged to stage two festivals a year, the retailers taking part more than tripled (with some even from Germany, USA and Nova Scotia) and stampers now come from all over the UK mainland, from Ireland, the Isle of Man, Shetland, Sweden, Tenerife, the USA and even Australia! We celebrated our 21st Festival in May 2009.
For Health and Safety reasons, we had to restrict the numbers attending and so were forced into selling tickets in advance only. Such is the interest that, as soon as the ticket application forms are mailed out giving details of the next Festival, the stampede for tickets starts and we now sell out around a fortnight before the event.
Organising the Festivals takes a lot of work, which is carried out by a committee consisting of four key members of the Club. Also important, on the day itself, are the many members of the Club who give up an hour or more to undertake various roles to help things run smoothly.
It can be tiring and sometimes a little frustrating, but it is so good to see the familiar faces of those who have supported us throughout the years – you almost feel like family! We hope you feel that too and we truly believe that this is one of the things that sets our event apart from all the others, together with the fact that we do what we do purely for the love of rubber stamping.