Fruit Crate Labels as Art!

Many years ago, I attended my first stamp show here on Long Island. I had been stamping a few years, having been introduced to SU through a friend who was a demonstrator. So, when I heard about the show, I was thrilled by the thought of a room filled with stamps, ink, paper and more! One of the booths at the show caught my eye, and when I took a closer look, I was amazed by the stamped images of what looked like vintage photographs. A woman at the booth came over to say hello and began to explain about the stamps and how to use them. I bought two of her stamps, excited by the creative possibilities that lay ahead. That was the day I met Estelle, owner of the Stampsmith!

One of the stamps I purchased that day was Embarcadero from the Fruit Crate Labels sheet, an image of pears on a vintage crate label. At the early part of the 1900's, they would be attached on each end of a wooden fruit crate that was used in shipping produce, to identify the contents and the seller. The company would have beautifully illustrated labels designed for this use. Today, they can be found at antique shops and flea markets. Being a lover of vintage ephemera, I have many original fruit labels framed and hanging in my kitchen.

I stamped the image in black and over stamped with red script. Patterned paper and stamped pear cutouts make up the background, and a butterfly sticker becomes an embellishment.