The Mississippi River has always held a special place in my heart. I first beheld it when I left my home in Michigan to move to San Francisco (sight unseen), and so it represents for me the crossing over into adventure - from the familiar to the new frontier.

I've crossed it many times since then - in both directions. Sometimes you need to go “home again” - if only for awhile. And, every time, I remember that first time, with its promises of new horizons, incredible freedoms, and unbounded possibilities.
This last trip, we stopped for awhile (my dog and I), to visit a couple of wonderful women we know - each quietly running a successful business of her own, each having just built a brand new studio to house her growing business, each living in idyllic American small towns, each on her own side of the Mighty Mississippi. While their lovely daughters took Raven on sniffing adventures, we were able to chat about old and new directions.

Vicki Davis lives and works on a quiet street in Fulton, Illinois. Her beautiful new blue studio hummed with activity as she got orders shipped out - so that she and her family could go camping by mid afternoon. Vicki’s company is called Stamping Sensations, and she manufactures and sells a vast line of images in both mounted and unmounted rubber stamps, covering just about every style imaginable. But, Vicki is also the manufacturer of great quality “rubber” for many other rubber stamp companies (including mine). Her product is perfect, her customer service is impeccable, and doing business with her is a joy. Because she knows rubber stamps so intimately, we asked if she would give us a walk through of how a rubber stamp is made. She graciously did so, and that “Behind the Scenes” article follows.

Then, Raven and I let the Davis family go camping, and we drove over a very pretty bridge into Clinton, Iowa - to find the home and studio of Angi Black (Angi-B&Co). Angi also sells and manufactures stamps (but just for her own company). In fact, she and Vicki were once partners before they both decided to try different directions. Angi went into publishing craft books, and Vicki opened a retail stamp store for awhile, but both are now back in the rubber stamp business, having learned a lot from their adventures.

From the standpoint of women’s consciousness and exploring one’s spirit, Angi B has some of the most intriguing designs I have seen in the rubber stamp world. I am such a huge fan, that Angi’s images are the focus of this month’s “Great Impressions” article.

Hopefully, you will enjoy sharing our visit to the Mississippi.
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