Hi, I'm Gwen Fletcher. I am married to Martin and mum to thirty-somethings Jen and Cal and a cheeky little cat called Willow.
I opened The Stamp Pad in January 2003 as our children were getting to secondary school age and I needed to carve out a new career for myself. I have always loved making stuff and creating but I discovered a passion for stamps & inks some 30 years ago which have fascinated me ever since.
I lead a busy life running my papercraft shop in Greenfield, Saddleworth as well as regularly appearing on Hobby Maker TV Craft Channel, for Creative Expressions.
Stamps and inks are some of my favourite things to create with. They are extremely versatile and offer so many different techniques, leading to great results.
I love to introduce a non-stamper to the incredibly creative world of stamping, even though I do get blamed for quite a lot of addictions.
I love experimenting and trying to come up with new ways to use products. Sometimes I succeed but I always have great fun.
My greatest passion on the papercraft side is in creating hand made books. I just love to make something from scratch and include lots of hidden pockets, hideaway sections, pull-out flaps, tags and so much more to create an interactive keepsake mini album.
I also adore making one page minis - the challenge of making a few strategic folds in a sheet of paper to create an intricate, folded booklet - little works of art!
I have taught various crafts over the years but what I love most of all is demonstrating and sharing what I have learnt with others. There is such a thrill in igniting a light in others
I have also demonstrated for other companies at exhibitions such as Port Sunight and the NEC and occasionally, at other shops too.
I have also made a few appearances on both Hochanda and Create & Craft and absolutely loved it. This was a perfect avenue for me to get my passion across to so many more people and to get out and about more too. Hopefully there will be more to come.