A drawing student once asked me how she would know if something was art. I answered in a typical teacher fashion by saying she’d know it when she saw it. Suzanne Cannon’s rubber stamps are works of art. The first time I saw them I knew: Each letter, each curve, each tiny detail is evidence that a skilled human hand has created the calligraphy. This kind of artistry and mastery takes years of practice combined with a love of words. My instincts were confirmed when I called Suzanne in 2005 to interview her for a profile I'd been hired to write for a trade magazine. We became friends and finally met in person in January 2011.
Suzanne has had pen in hand since she was eleven. She hand lettered school projects and as a “starving university student” earned money lettering wedding invitations one at a time. She earned a degree in chemistry, using her “left brain, big time” and not doing any art, but made up for it right after university, joining a calligraphy society, drawing and taking pottery classes while working as a research chemist for over a decade. Calligraphy was for enjoyment, though she taught and took occasional commissions. Suzanne believes that it takes a long time to master calligraphy skills so she continued to take every workshop she could during those early years.
After they married, Suzanne and her husband moved to England and then to the US, living in Cambridge, MA where they had their first child. They moved back to the west coast of Canada where they have settled. Lettering jobs allowed Suzanne to be a stay-at-home mom. Suzanne remarked that calligraphy is tough but something she thrives on. She calls it “Practice, but with your heart in it.”
With the birth of a second child, chemistry and calligraphy both went on a back burner. She didn’t have time to do the formal pieces of lettering with all the planning and design that go into that kind of work. She said, "It’s not something that can be done in stops and starts, because it involves warming up and then an uninterrupted block of time so that the work will flow." Suzanne began to bind books, an activity that can be done in small steps and chunks of time. It began as something she did exclusively for her own pleasure, then something she taught, and she sold books at craft fairs.
When there was more time, Suzanne returned to calligraphy. It was “like riding a bicycle” - easy to pick up. Suzanne was ready to sell more of her work, but living in an isolated community made that a challenge so she created a web site in order to reach a broader audience. In addition to her art, Suzanne decided to sell tools and supplies.
Like so many small businesses, Quietfire Design began to take shape in ways its owner might not have predicted at first. In 2002 someone suggested that she have stamps made from her designs. The notion had been in her mind for a long time, so Suzanne decided to go for it. There are now close to 200 stamps, at this time sold un-mounted only, some singly and some by the sheet. Suzanne selects quotes that speak to her, each one just right for stamping cards and art work for life’s occasions, big and small, happy and sad.
The company name Quietfire Design existed long before the company was born. Suzanne took a graphic design class in the late 1980s and as an assignment had to create a corporate identity that included a company name and logo. She thought that the words Quietfire Design suggested subtlety, strength and artistry. It also represents the quiet but passionate way Suzanne Cannon pursues her art, one spark igniting the next, as each letter joins the next to become a word, each word joins the next as a thought comes to life.
Until recently, Suzanne ran Quietfire Design on her own. Now that she has an assistant, she has been able to begin selling stamps wholesale to brick and mortar stores. In 2011 Quietfire Design became a Preferred Product Partner with Spellbinders Paper Arts, which means that her stamps are a precise match for Spellbinders' die templates. In addition to having her stamps used by Spellbinders' design team, Suzanne has her own small design team with a varying range of styles. The group uses Quietfire Design stamps for monthly challenges and in their blogs and published work. You can find Quietfire Design on Facebook and YouTube as well. Even with an assistant, Suzanne works long hours, keeping in touch with customers, coming up with new stamps and choosing new products to sell from her web site.
Writing about stamps is nowhere near as much fun as using them. As soon as I hit the “Send” button to transmit this story to the editor I'm heading straight to the stamping table where my Quietfire Design stamps are waiting to see ink! I'm going to use "Gratitude is the heart's memory" (a French proverb) and "The only true gift is a portion of yourself" (Emerson) to whip up a batch of thank you cards. I've chosen “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher” (a Japanese proverb) to make note cards for all of the teachers I know. And with a long afternoon stretched out ahead of me, who knows what else is in store!
Supplies:
1. Hold on to the Spirit of Christmas by Becca Feeken
- Stamp: Hold on to the Spirit of Christmas (Quietfire Design)
- Dies: Petite Ovals Small, Petite Ovals Large, Petite Scalloped Ovals Large, Scalloped Edge Frame (Spellbinders)
- Embellishments: ribbon, pearls (Artist's own)
- Inks: Versafine Sepia (Tsukineko); Distress Antique Linen (Ranger Industries)
- Papers: Wonderland (Cosmo Cricket); Cream White (The Paper Company)
2. Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun by Becca Feeken
- Stamp: Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun (Quietfire Design)
- Dies: Labels Eight, Vine Border Grand (Spellbinders)
- Embellishments: ribbon, buttons (Artist's own)
- Inks/embossing powder: ColorBox Rousillion (Clearsnap); clear embossing powder, Distress Vintage Photo (Ranger Industries)
- Papers: 140 lb watercolor (Strathmore); patterned (K & Co.); parchment (Pergamano)
3. Queen of Everything Crown by Suzanne Cannon
- Stamp: Queen of Everything (Quietfire Design)
- Dies: Classic Ovals Small, Fleur De Lis Accents, Banner Basics 2, Classic Ovals Large (Spellbinders)
- Embellishments: Foil and Plexi Glue (Jones Tones)
- Ink: VersaMagic Night Sky (Tsukineko)
- Papers: ColorCore (Core'dinations)
4. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Suzanne Cannon
- Stamp: Wicked Halloween 2011 set (Quietfire Design)
- Dies: Fleur De Lis Accents (Spellbinders); TIm Holtz Alterations Weathered Clock (Sizzix)
- Embellishments: ribbon, black buttons, waxed linen thread (Artist's own)
- Paper: Midnight Dreary (Moxxie); black cardstock (Artist's own)
5. Best Friends Forever by Suzanne Cannon
- Stamp: Friends (Quietfire Design)
- Dies: Labels Ten (Spellbinders); Ornate Frame Back #5 (Sizzix)
- Ink: Distress Mahogany (Ranger Industries)
- Papers: Fairy Flora (Prima); ColorCore (Core'dinations)
6. If We Knew Each Other's Secrets by Suzanne Cannon
- Stamps: If We Knew Each Other's Secrets, Eiffel Tower from Francais Stamp set (Quietfire Design)
- Dies: Labels Ten, Large Labels (Spellbinders)
- Embellishments: glue dots, pop dots, ribbon, pearls (Artist's own)
- Inks: Brilliance Coffee Bean, VersaMagic Turquoise Gem (Tsukineko)
- Papers: Parisian Elements, ColorCore (Core'dinations))
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