Pattern Stamps

Recently, I spent a chunk of time carving stamps. I did some sketches of different patterns and chose some of my favorites to make into stamps. The faster and less involved way would have been to have a stamp company make them for me, and that would have made the most sense if they were highly intricate or type heavy, but my patterns were fairly doable to hand carve. Plus, I really like the imperfections and slightly off lines that make the stamps feel handmade and unique. It wasn’t exactly fun carving all my patterned stamps, but I’m happy with the results. I think they’re quite nice. Simple. Geometric.

I decided to use these patterns for the look for Serious Whims (e.g. banner). I’ve been incredibly lazy about creating any sort of look for myself because that’s the sort of thing that always gets put on the back burner. I think most designers would say that creating any sort of look/identity/logo for themselves is somewhat difficult since they’re just too close to it. It’s hard to be satisfied with anything you do for yourself (so it’s often just easier to do nothing or just stick to what you have even though you may not love it—or even it like it anymore).

A look should reflect who you are and I think what I’ve done does give a good sense of Serious Whims. The stamps themselves are simple, handmade and pretty, and the colors I selected that are bright and fun. And the look I’ve created is fairly flexible as I have various patterns to choose from and can always make more stamps (if I feel so inclined). I like that I have some leeway and freedom to change things up if I want because I think I’ll be less likely get bored with it, and thus be able to stick with it for a while.