2014 Founder's Circle Highlights: Kanab & Tuacahn + Another Sneak Peek!

I'm back home from Utah now, but I wanted to pick up where I left off with sharing highlights from the Founder's Circle Retreat in St. George. (Read about Day 1 and Day 2.) Day 3 of Founder's Circle was Friday, September 19. We left St. George early and took an hour and a half bus ride to Kanab, Utah.

The Stampin' Up! Home Office used to be in Kanab, Utah. Even though the Home Office and distribution facility moved four hours north to Riverton, they kept the manufacturing facility in Kanab so as not to disrupt the small community. I always look forward to visiting Kanab because we get to go behind the scenes and see how our stamps are made!

It's really a neat process. For rubber stamps, sheets of rubber are cut to the right size to match up with the mag plates. The rubber is placed over the plate and put in a special oven. Heat and pressure burn the image from the plate into the rubber. It's trimmed and cooled and then mounted to foam, die cut, and put inside a clear case with stickers (and wood blocks). See more pictures on my Facebook page here.

There are four stamp sets on each of these plates (under the sheet of rubber).

Everything is done by hand. So every stamp set is handled individually by many people. It's amazing to watch the process and I am so thankful for the fabulous people who work hard to make our stamps!

We spotted a few new stamp sets as we went from station to station and we were so excited when they gifted us with a brand new stamp set that will be released with the Occasions Catalog in January. Check it out!

This year, we got to see how they make photopolymer stamps. This is a new process for the Kanab plant in the last year and it's completely different from the rubber stamps. The photopolymer stamps start as a liquid that is exposed to light for 5-7 minutes. After the extra liquid is squeezed off the sheet (to later be re-used!), they wash, rinse, and dry the sheet of photopolymer stamps before cutting them apart to package. Check out more photos of this process on my Facebook page here.

Stamps are not the only thing they do in Kanab! They also package the Regals collection ink pads and reinkers; and cut, collate, and package our cardstock!

The plastic ink pad case is hand assembled. Then one person applies glue inside the lid and another person adds the inked pad.

Dyed cardstock comes in large sheets which are cut with this giant cutter.

In addition to touring the plant, we did make and takes and got to play with the Hello December Project Life cards and accessories that are coming out in the Holiday Supplement next month.

After a catered lunch with the employees, we went to the Jacob Hamblin Community Park in Kanab -- otherwise known to Stampin' Up! enthusiasts as the Rubber Park! Stampin' Up! donates chopped up rubber bits to cover the ground around the playground. Visiting the park is always a highlight of Founder's Circle retreats!

I took a nap when we got back to St. George because I knew from past experience that if I didn't rest, I would be sleepy during the evening performance at Tuacahn Ampitheatre. It was just what I needed and I enjoyed every minute of the Wizard of Oz!

We didn't get back to the hotel until after 11:00 pm -- good thing I had a nap! How fun to find that our pillow gift was literally a PILLOW gift! The image on the front of the pillow is a stamp image from the Project Life December Wonder stamp set coming out next month.

That covers Day 3 of Founder's Circle Retreat. Be sure to check back for photos and highlights of the last day!

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Featured Stamp Set for September: Fall Fest