Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Ring.
Hi Erika, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The Travel Stamps story started as an idea in Estes Park, Colorado in the early 2000’s. Shane, a family man, Desert Storm Army veteran, in his 40’s, was the buying manager for the stores in Rocky Mountain National Park and he had a dream of creating a more meaningful souvenir than what he was seeing in tourism industry at the time. After working in the retail space for decades, he would brainstorm ideas at the family computer and make mock ups with craft paper and (very loud) inkjet printer. Meanwhile, life carried on, tourist seasons came and went, annual vacations would be planned and remembered, and his only child – me, Erika – would grow older and soon be out of the house on her own adventures. Estes Park? Ugh, get me out of here! (insert eye roll and teen angst here)
New opportunities led Shane to Moab, Utah, where his ideas continued to marinate for years until 2016 when a tangible product was finally designed. With the help of Heidi – a designer and artist, and John longtime outdoorsman and editor, Shane finally had the right people, tools, connections, and guts to invest in a new souvenir system, and Travel Stamps was born. It started with 59 designs for the 59 National Parks (there are now 63), a National Park Album & Guide, and a big gamble on whether visitors would buy it.
It’s year 1 – the company hadn’t made any sort of return yet, but Shane needed help so he called on the cheapest labor he could find – his recently returned-from-abroad daughter who he could offer his spare room to and some food money, just for six months…. It’s been 10 years. But I’m happy to say I get paid a little more now and have my own house.
In 2022 we move operations to Olathe, Kansas just outside of Kansas City to be more centrally located in the United States to better serve our partners. With more efficient distribution and more space, we added more stamps, and more tools for our collectors. Like our Voting Platform and Stamp Tracker. We were getting so many requests that we wanted to make it more transparent and fun! So go vote for what you want to see next!
Today, we offer more than 2000 Travel Stamps and add more every month It couldn’t have been done without every piece of the puzzle. Shane had the original vision and investment. The design based on traditional stamp collecting was all Heidi – and it is her original branding we still use today. The editorial piece of every original stamp and book, authored by John, made it possible to sell Travel Stamps products in the National Parks since an interpretive piece is compulsory for product approval. And without me there wouldn’t have been anyone to fill those initial orders, manage our website, or get the word out on social media.
Thankfully today we have a slightly larger team that helps us operate, create, and improve the Travel Stamps system. We now work with multiple artists (never AI). Each artist’s name is printed on the side of every Travel Stamp they illustrate. This is a testament to Heidi’s foresight who designed our original stamps to celebrate artists – before AI was ever used to generate art. We also work with several travel editors and have a small in-house team that keeps everything going! Any time you reach out to customer service, Megan is ready with a warm and welcome answer. And when you place an order, know it’s been thoughtfully packed by Heather!
Today I help facilitate new and existing relationships with public lands, museums, and all kinds of travel-worthy destinations. We try to make it as easy as possible for any site, big or small, to tell their story with a Travel Stamp and connect them to our growing (inter)national network of destinations. When people ask me what I do for work, the easy answer is, “I’m in the sticker business”. But I’m not really. I’m in the “story business”. I get to tell the story of places I never knew existed and learn about places I would have never otherwise visited. Not only that, I get to play a role in every Travel Stamper’s story. As every Philateler’s* collection grows, it becomes their own unique story, shaped by the places they’ve been and experiences they’ve shared.
*Philateler: (fuh-LAT-uh-ler) Collector of Travel Stamps. Merch hopefully coming soon!
For instance – we just finished up a small series of stamps for Smith Island, Maryland. I had never heard of the town until this project, and now I am aware of their delicious multi-layered cake that is recognized as the official state desert. It’s the only Chesapeake Bay community accessible exclusively by boat, and home to beloved watermen culture, which is threated by rising sea levels that are projected to swallow the town by the end of the century. I’m determined to visit!
If you would have told me I would be in the sticker business with my father as my lifelong career I wouldn’t have believed you. But if there’s anything I’ve learned from Travel Stamps is that it doesn’t matter where the journey takes us, it just matters that we go. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s a privilege to work with every single one of our Travel Stamp team members, especially my father.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have constantly re-invested into Travel Stamps to make it what it is, even if that means struggling today to recoup in the future. Shane’s initial investment wasn’t recouped fully until this year – 10 years later. Without his vision and faith in creating Travel Stamps (the system) it wouldn’t be what it is. We’ve all sacrificed during trying times of our lives – through marriages, graduations, interstate commutes, moves, unexpected diagnoses, treatments, and family deaths. We all have held down the fort for one another at some point.
For the business itself, our hardest year was undoubtably 2020/2021 during the COVID-19 shutdowns. Our main source of business was with Public Lands, so when the visitor centers closed, so did we. Plus our own personal heartaches of loss and trauma during that time as a family. Luckily, we were able to get a bit of aid to skate through our already skeleton crew of a team. That year put the privilege of family, experiences, and travel in perspective. We don’t take it for granted.
We’ve also had our fair share of “no’s” in the past, and government/non-profit partners work slow. Sometimes we don’t get an approval for years, but once we do – there is nothing sweeter than getting feedback that it’s a top seller and visitor favorite to collect!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Every Travel Stamp is designed and illustrated by real people – never AI. Heidi had incredible foresight in her initial design to include the artist’s name on the side of each Travel Stamp. She was adamant about celebrating artists and making a product she wanted to see, as an artist. Shane and Heidi knew they were working toward a system that would be bigger than 59 national parks – and they were right. We now have a team of incredibly talented artists we’ve had the privilege of watching blossom in the last handful of years!
Every artwork is a custom digital illustration, while it’s done digitally, it requires an experienced hand to “paint” each line and color. Because of this, we are able to make extremely accurate illustrations, while also taking some artistic liberty with perspective, color, lighting, and composition.
It’s fun seeing the progression of Travel Stamps artwork, some of the original Stamps were designed in a style similar to what you see on pins and patches, with simple defined lines and spot-colors without gradients because that’s the type of artwork Heidi had been working on prior to this project. As time progressed, you can see the use of more fine detail, gradients, and light-play once we leaned into the possibilities of digital printing. And just this year we began using a brand new digital press that prints with even more vivid accuracy!
Aside from Heidi, let me introduce you to the core artistic team. Tim thrives with architectural and historical subjects – from warships to the French quarter, Tim has illustrated the most Travel Stamps designs of any artist. when he’s not illustrating and spending time with his growing family he can often be found on a bouldering wall. Elissa shines in the natural and supernatural world, I’m always impressed by her seemingly effortless ability to tie a scene together, she shines with organic shapes and is always up for doing a funky or spooky design. When she’s not illustrating she’s likely at a music festival rocking her socks off. Laurie is our newest artistic partner and lives across the border in Canada. She has absolutely mastered the art of gradients, lighting, and soft detail, her more ethereal style is absolutely doing the Parks Canada series justice. Fun Fact – Laurie’s floral art has been featured on actual Canadian postage!
If you operate a travel-worthy destination or know of a destination for which you would like to see a Travel Stamp designed, let us know! We do not charge our partners any artwork or set up fees, just their interest is needed to start!
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Be good. Quietly. Slowly. Consistently.
It seems the more the world speeds up, the fewer genuine interactions I have. We’re told that if you’re not grinding and hustling to obtain more, someone else will. And maybe it’s the millennial in me, but I’m tired of that narrative.
When people interact with us, I hope they can feel that we value their time, their support, their partnership. That we genuinely care about helping them remember their experiences and telling their stories, and the stories of the places they visit. We strive to inspire, create, and maintain lifelong relationships – and for that, we don’t have to grind, we just have to keep showing up, listen, and do good.
Investment in people and meaningful systems > profits for the sake of profits. There’s a reason “America’s Best Idea” isn’t Wall Street.
Pricing:
- Travel Stamps: $3.99
- Collection Books: $11.99-29.99
- Water Bottle: $39.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://travelstamps.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/travelstamps/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/travelstamps
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Travel_Stamps
