We met Krista while making stamps for Stationery Store Day in 2024. We fell in love with her work and super-positive, shoot-for-the-stars attitude. We promptly invited her to collaborate on an Artist Series edition with us.
Krista Perry is an independent artist & illustrator living in Massachusetts. In 2015, she received an honors BFA in illustration from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she took a very serious oath to make something fun every day. She believes in hard work and hard play and will NEVER turn down a good meatball sub.
Have you designed a stamp before?
Technically no, but kind-of yes! I first illustrated “stamps” for Stationery Store Day 2024 merch. Kristina Burkey (the founder of Stationery Store Day) and I designed an entire line of merch with our theme, which was cute snail mail stamps. We also collaborated with The Portland Stamp Company, turning my artwork into a sheet of stamps for Stationery Store Day!
What was the most interesting or fun aspect of designing a poster stamp? What unique challenges did it present?
I loved the idea of illustrating tons of little flowers. I had a bunch of small flower icons I drew for fun last year, and I thought they would be a really lovely idea for art stamps. After deciding on a sheet of 88, I began to approach the challenge of “collecting” these drawings in the first few months of 2025. This growing collection of unique flower drawings lent itself super well to this stamp sheet, which I wanted to feel special given that there are no two exact flowers that repeat. I also love using neon pink in my work, which added an extra layer of magic to my design process.
Tell us about the art. Did you create something new for this stamp?
I combined old with new; I think I had about 40 little sketches from last year as a starting point, and then drew around another 50. It was meditative, and a fun task to chip away at over time. As an illustrator who works a lot in the licensing industry, the ideas I work on personally sometimes don’t have an immediate application. Once presented with the opportunity to design an Artist Series poster stamp, it felt like the perfect time to share these drawings. It was rewarding to see all of the artwork come together as I began formatting the sheet.
Anything else?
I love 60’s and 70’s illustration & design. These colorful poster stamps are a playful nod to vintage stationery and the joy of sending fun snail-mail. I also design vintage inspired greeting cards and wrapping papers with Red Cap Cards. My hope is that these vibrant poster stamps feel like they belong on envelopes containing exciting mail meant to brighten someone’s day.