Putting young stamp on hobby
National convention attracts next generation with contest
Emily Wang is young for a stamp collector.
Inspired by her grandfather, who passed the hobby down, Emily has started her own small but growing collection.
Now she and her older sister, Amanda, have both won prizes in a stamp design contest.
“I actually use mail quite often, because I send letters to my grandparents in China instead of email,” said Emily, 11, adding that she also sends letters to friends in Calgary and Camrose.
Her winning design shows a dove surrounded by a circle of RCMP officers and children holding hands.
Emily, a student at Westbrook School in Edmonton, was one of four winners of the Alberta Youth Stamp Design Contest. She said she doesn’t take formal art lessons, but both she and her sister share an interest in painting, drawing and of course, stamp collecting.
It was unlikely both sisters would win, but Amanda, 18, also took home a prize. The Old Scona Academic High School student drew famed Mountie Sam Steele in stark black and white, flanked by colourful officers in modern-day garb.
The other winners were Beyata Hackborn, 15, of Camrose, and Hannah Chetney, eight, of Holden.
The contest garnered about 5,000 entries from schools all over the province. The winners will receive $500 in prize money, and their designs have also been made to look like real stamps.
The results of the contest were unveiled at the Royal 2012 National Stamp Convention at the Fantasyland Hotel, which runs from Friday to Sunday. Alberta Lt.-Gov. Donald Ethell was on hand Friday to cut the ribbon for the festivities and for the unveiling of a new stamp marking Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
Hosted by the Edmonton Stamp Club, which turns 100 this year, the contest aims to celebrate the RCMP’s role in Alberta. But despite all of the interest from contest participants, young stamp collectors like Emily and Amanda are a rarity. Most of the conventiongoers this weekend are older than 50, and that worries John Attrell, the contest organizer. He said while the competition encourages a love of art, it also aims to reignite young people’s interest in the hobby.
“Rejuvenating stamp collecting as a hobby is where kids come in,” he said. “In my mind, stamps aren’t just devices for mailing, but they’re little pieces of art.”
At 28, Kelly Liusz Moser is one of the youngest members of the Edmonton Stamp club. She wants to see stamp collecting survive because of its historical value. Some very old stamps are featured in this weekend’s exhibit, including the world’s first postage stamp, an 1840 penny black from Britain.
The Wang sisters see stamp collecting as a way to remain close to their grandfather, even though he lives across the world.
And while Amanda said she prefers email over “snail mail,” she shares her grandfather’s appreciation for his hobby.