About Us

Serendipity Stamps is located in Smithville, a small town just north of Kansas City, Missouri. It was started by me, Mary Lee, in the year 2000. We've all experienced that moment when you think "Ah! That's exactly what I wanted!" only to realize that you didn't know you wanted it until that moment. That's what happened to me when I walked into a local art gallery and saw the work of the artists featured in this catalog. It was serendipity. And that is how Serendipity Stamps came to be. I hope that you too, will find their art a serendipitous experience!

I owe such an enormous debt of gratitude to two people in particular. They have unfailingly answered every question I've asked, warmly and with much encouragement. Without them, Serendipity Stamps would never have happened. Barbara Zachrel, owner of Creative Images (cistamps.com), lives just two hours away from me. I met her when I joined my first online stamping list and really learned the wonders of rubber stamping. Mitra Friant, owner of Impression Obsession (Impression-Obsession.com), lives thousands of miles away from me, but she's been so generous with her advice that I feel I live right next door. These two women have shown or described to me everything from indexing and mounting stamps to setting up my web page! Thank you ladies.

I've used only a hand-full of artists over all these years. All are local folks who sit down at the table with me to talk through ideas for new stamps. I can't begin to tell you how much I admire their talent and their patience with me as I ask them to make this bow a little bigger, or for one more leaf on this flower stem. These are men and women who earn their bread and butter with fingers, pen and ink. They are truely amazing and I ask that everyone please respect their copyrights.
Over the years Serendipity has gone from employing just me to employing a half dozen part time employees and back to just a couple again. Iv've sold our rubber stamps to stores and stampers all over the world. I made the decision to sell only to small, independently owned rubber stamp stores. I've loved working with our stores and have made some dear friends. In August of 2010 I decided to scale back and bit and sell only to individual stampers. My kids are teenagers now (they were toddlers when I started Serendipity Stamps!) and soon will start heading off to college. It's time to make time for family, friends, my garden, and of course time to stamp!

Mary Dew Lee