Island of Culture 2014 will be marked with a set of new stamps

A year-long festival of the arts will be staged in 2014 to mark the Island of Culture and coinciding with the launch on January 6 will be the release of a celebration issue of stamps.

Born and raised in the Isle of Man, Juan Moore is a talented Manxman with degrees in illustration and computer animation respectively. His artwork has found acclaim in exhibitions featured in Cornwall, Wales, London, France and New York. Some of Juan’s artworks are part of both the Isle of Man Arts Council’s collection and the Manx National Art Collection.

His latest work will feature on a set of stamps to celebrate the Island of Culture having been commissioned to produce the new artwork celebrating eight cultural topics – dance, music, drama, literature, visual arts, design, film and craft, by Isle of Man Post Office. The stamps are Isle of Man Post Office’s contribution to the lasting legacy of the Island of Culture 2014 and Juan admits having his work showcased in this way is a real honour.

“It feels so good to have my artwork on the Island of Culture stamps. Art is always something that people have an opinion on and I hope my work will be noticed on these stamps. It is important to me that my work is not only thought-provoking, but that it is accessible to everyone. One of the aims of my work is for it to be as understood by not only those from an art background, but for someone who knows nothing about it” he said.

Juan added: “I generally get my ideas for my art from everyday life and once I have an idea I just paint. I’m a big fan of the white page and don’t always know where my journey is going to take me and what the end result is going to be like until I get painting. I love having something physical at the end of it and I’m really looking forward to seeing the actual stamps when they are issued in the New Year.”

Maxine Cannon, General Manager Isle of Man Stamps and Coins said: “We are delighted to be involved in the Island of Culture and our set of eight stamps, kindly designed by Juan, will be launched in conjunction with the actual launch of the festival on January 6. Culture means different things to everyone but there is set to be something to suit every taste throughout 2014, with a colourful spectrum of events planned by the Isle of Man Arts Council to celebrate the richness of our Island and its cultural scene.”

To view the Island of Culture stamps and to pre-order please click here.

Our Very Own Fashionista!

Michael Starkey And Mirella

Designer of our Christmas 2012 stamps, Michael Starkey dropped in to see us today and revealed that he has branched out into fashion by designing a ‘Summerfruits’ fabric.

The original design was produced on board, digitally scanned and transferred to cotton print. Two dresses were then made by a lovely lady called Barbara.
One of the dresses has been auctioned for charity. Michael is hoping to interest designers or retailers in taking the fabric design into production.

The almost-unique dress is modelled by our very own IOM Stamps in-house model Mirella!

London 2012 Olympic Games-It’s nearly time…

Hi everyone, well, what an exciting time we have coming up in the next few months! Not only is it the Diamond Jubilee in the UK but we also have the London 2012 Olympic Games!

This is a perfect time to remind you about our exclusive Olympic stamps which were designed by none other than our friend, world famous fashion designer Sir Paul Smith with contributions from world cylcing champion and BBC Sports Personality Of The Year (and fellow Manxman) Mark Cavendish MBE! You find out all about them here.

Highly collectable, contemporary and beautiful to look at, they bear all the style, coolness and colour you would expect from Sir Paul’s designs.They were featured online in GQ.com, Harpers Bazaar, Vogue and Mens Health just to mention afew. They also got a massive viral buzz going on Twitter with everyone commenting on their style and beauty with people even talking about them now (4 months after their release)….not got yours yet? Why not make a purchase for that sports fan, stamp fan or style icon in your life? Just click here.  Keep you’re eyes peeled to our blog for more news coming soon 😉 !

Look Who Loves Our London 2012 Paul Smith Olympic Stamps!

Lord Sebastian Coe - chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games.Exclusive picture by Peter Jennings FRPSL, FRGS

Look who’s a fan of our London 2012 Olympic Games Stamps by Sir Paul Smtih…Lord Sebastian Coe! Lord Coe was kind enough to pose for us and sign some of our stamps for us.What a gent!

LORD COE AUTOGRAPHS IOM OLYMPIC “RUNNERS” STAMP

 

By Peter Jennings FRPSL, FRGS

 

 

Lord Seb Coe, the world-famous Great Britain middle-distance runner, and Chair of the  London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, has autographed a sheetlet of the superb IOM £1 “runners” 2012 Olympic Games stamp, designed by Sir Paul Smith.

Seb Coe, who headed the Olympic bid to bring the 2012 Summer Olympics to London, won the 1500m gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games and successfully and mesmerisingly defended his title four years later at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, also agreed to be photographed holding the IOM stamps.

 

Lord Coe, a former conservative MP, and Sir Craig Reedie, IOC Member, are both members of the East India Club in London and had spoken and answered questions together with Sir Keith Mills, Deputy Chair of LOCOG, after a recent “London 2012” dinner for members and their guests.

 

A range of penetrating and discerning questions were all answered with candour and sparkle but under strict “Chatham House” rules, meaning that nothing may be divulged. Such was the enthusiasm of the distinguished trio  answering questions that the event did not finish until after 11pm, an hour way beyond Club custom. The exclusive photograph I was able to take shows Lord Coe holding the IOM stamps as he left his club.

 

The Olympic story began in February 1894 when the father of the modern Olympic movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, visited England as a guest of Sports Club president, Sir John Astley. He had come to England to gather support to re-launch the Olympic Games. Among the people he talked to were the Prince of Wales, Lord Desborough, founder of the British Olympic Association, the Rt Hon Arthur Balfour, the future Prime Minister, and Charles Herbert, Secretary of the Amateur Athletics Association, who helped to design the Olympic track and field programme.

 

A dinner was held at the Sports Club, (now part of today’s  East India Club) in what would be Coubertin’s last planning meeting before the Sorbonne conference in June 1894, where the International Olympic Committee was  officially established. From those early beginnings to the present day, the East India Club has retained its connections with the IOC. What a very fitting  venue for Lord Coe to autograph this splendid sheet of IOM 2012 Olympic stamps!

 

 

Our London 2012 Olympic Games stamps by Sir Paul Smith as signed by Lord Sebastian Coe!Exclusive picture by Peter Jennings FRPSL, FRGS

The Island Meets The City

The Island Meets City - L to R Dot Tilbury, Chief Minister Allan Bell, Lord Mayor Alderman David Wootton and Geoff Corkish MHK.

During his recent visit to the Island, to promote good relations between the Isle of Man and the City of London, Lord Mayor Alderman David Wootton met with IOM Stamps & Coins Manager Dot Tilbury, Chief Minister Alan Bell and Geoff Corkish MHK (Chairman of the IOM Post Office).
The Lord Mayor believed the partnership between the Isle of Man and the City would be crucial in helping to create wealth and economic well-being. For the UK and the City he shared Chief Minister Allan Bell’s vision for the Isle of Man of maintaining a prosperous and caring society based on fairness, opportunity for all, social cohesion and quality of life.

‘We are both small in size – but punch well above our weight in the global economy. We can be justly proud of the standards and governance we demand. And we are also well placed and well able to meet the challenges of the future – and play our part in creating jobs and growth.’

We, at IOM Stamps & Coins, feel that we “punch well above our weight” in the global stamp world and were pleased to present Alderman Wootton with a framed collection of our London 2012 Olympic Games stamps designed by Sir Paul Smith. He received the collection enthusiastically, praising their high quality of design and print and his belief that they stood a very good chance of being the best Olympic product of the year!

An overview – Isle Of Man Stamps And Coins London 2012 Olympic Collection by Sir Paul Smith

Our Paul Smith Olympic stamp issue contains a mini sheet presentation pack which has a cycling themed £3 stamp, a history of the Olympic Games, a brief history of Sir Paul Smith and an item on Mark Cavendish. Reference code number is QA42 and it retails at £3.75.

Our presentation pack contains seven values of all Olympic stamps, a history of the Olympic Games, a brief history of Sir Paul Smith and full technical details and it’s all contained in a beautiful silver folder, product reference QA41, £5.67.

Our mini sheet first day cover comes in a beautiful gold envelope, containing information on the London Olympics, on Sir Paul Smith and Mark Cavendish – QA92, £3.70.

Our first day cover comes in a beautiful envelope stamped with with the date of the first day of issue (1st January 2012).  A stamps collectors ESSENTIAL.  Inside contains a history of the Olympic Games and a write up on the designer, Sir Paul Smith MBE, reference code QA91 – £5.62.

Our souvenir sheetlet incorporates two full sets of stamps – ideal for framing.  Reference number QA64 – £9.84.

Our stampcard set – a beautifully printed set of eight full color postcards includes a pre-paid world wide stamp on reverse. Product reference number QA27 £6.08.

There is free delivery worldwide on ALL orders over £7.50 and you can buy these on iomstamps.com

Isle Of Man Stamps & Coins Presents Sir Paul Smith London 2012 Olympic Games Special Collector’s Book

The Isle Of Man Post Office is pleased to present a most prestigious issue, inspired by the London 2012 Olympic Games.  Designed by the iconic fashion designer, Sir Paul Smith.  The collection is inspired by Paul’s passion for cycling and the Olympic legacy.  He has designed this beautiful compendium of stamps and postcards for the Isle of Man Post Office to commemorate the London 2012 Olympic Games.  This hardback book includes images and text by Sir Paul Smith with contributions from Mark Cavendish MBE and David Brailsford CBE.  It incorporates sets of eight pre-paid postcards and eight gummed full-page stamp sheets set in to the pages.  The book is printed in full-color and measures 210 x 210mm.

The Special Collector’s Book, product code referent QA43 is available from iomstamps.com at a retail price of £50.00 (free global postage and shipping on any product over £7.50)

I Heard It Through The Grapevine….

Click on the picture below:

Hi everyone! Well well, things are starting to hot up with regards to the word on the street about our brilliant Paul Smith London 2012 Olympic Games Stamps.  We got front page of Harpers Bazaar website with this article, featured on Vogue’s UK website  with this article here, had a feature on GQ magazine here, got exposure from ITV and went viral on Twitter with thousands of lovely things said about our collaboration with Sir Paul! Here’s an few examples of things said about our stamps on the buzzy social network:

eBay Fashion

Communilicious

themotely

We have also now received a new video blog from Paul with him talking about the collection.

He says:

“Hello everybody.  One of the most fantastic things that I did outside of my designing job for clothes was designing for the Isle Of Man Post Office some Olympic stamps and that is, as you know, we’ve got the Olympics in London 2012. So, designing the stamps was a really great thing – a big job but so far the reaction to it has been brilliant and I hope you enjoy them!”

What a brilliant start to 2012!

Oh What A Night!

Aalin George / Dot Tilbury / Kirsten George

Sir Paul Smith’s Isle of Man 2012 London Olympic stamps launched on the first minute of January 2012 at the Regent Street Post Office in Douglas.

The O'Sheas Enjoy The Evening's Proceedings

Regent Street Post Office opened its doors on New Year’s Eve to launch the Isle of Man’s 2012 London Olympic stamps which are designed by Sir Paul Smith, the iconic British fashion designer and great friend of cyclist Mark Cavendish.

Policemen Paul Cubbon and Juan Killip

Dot Tilbury General Manager of IOM Stamp and Coins welcomed all the guests which included British National Archery champion Aalin George and her sister Kirsten, Olympian Marie Morgan (formerly Purvis) Tom Black (cycling) and Stewart Bennett (cycling training partner for paralympian Ian Sharpe) Red Cross chairman, Peter O’Shea who will be on first aid duty at the Games together with his daughter Sadhbh who is a volunteer at the Olympic cycling road races.
An enthusiastic crowd turned up to launch the stamps and the staff were kept going till 1.00am.

Stuart Bennett / MarieMorgan / Tom Black

Happy New Year – Here’s to a fantastic 2012!

Happy New Year everyone!  We hope you’ve had a brilliant Christmas and New Years Eve. We wish all the health and happiness in the world to you for a prosperous 2012! We are so happy that our London 2012 Olympic Games collection is proving such a hit already at this pre-release stage and give our warm thanks for your support. Designer and our good friend Sir Paul Smith  is so happy about the collection he created for us, so he sent this video greeting to post to you.

Sir Paul says ” Hello, I’m Paul Smith. It’s the new year and it’s time for my lovely Olympic stamps to be launched and I hope you like them! Bye!”

Don’t forget you can by the stamps online from 12.01am News Years Day 2012 from our website here, or our eBay shop or our eBay tab on our Facebook page

We hope you enjoy the video and once more Happy New Year!!! 🙂