Tonya Weakley, owner and primary artist of Peddlers Den Inc, is a well known scenic stamper and instructor. By February 2018, she was convinced that the world needed a wider variety of scenic friendly stamps. While Tonya was definitely going to draw images, she knew she would need additional artists to also contribute. She recruited her artist/stamper friend, Marge Dady, and the two of them began drawing. Equipment was purchased, and in July of 2018 the original stamps were being manufactured in-house by Peddlers Den. Tonya continued to search for a wildlife illustrator, and later that year Ashley Polito joined the team. Since then, there have been additional artists who have contributed. While their focus is on scenic stamping, nearly all of their images can and are used traditionally as well.
MORE THAN JUST STAMPS
As more and more companies went out of business, the supply stream of products and supplies needed to teach classes and create artwork became unreliable. Scenic stampers need inks that are offered in color families. They need special tools, paper, etc. Peddlers Den is constantly working on product development to guarantee a steady stream of needed supplies. Today they have their own ink line and they continue to enhance it. They offer blending tints to make dragging ink easier and smoother. They offer blending ovals (which replace the old ColorBox blending tips, no longer manufactured), scenic elements stencils, and Grip-It (a clear mounting mat that holds rubber images to your blocks and/or platforms) and more. They are constantly working on brand new products and designs!
BIOGRAPHY
Tonya Weakley was formerly co-owner of a fine art gallery. She taught drawing at the gallery, and at the height of that career, had 66 students. Scenic stamping has been an extension of her art background.
A scenic stamping specialist, she has been teaching this genre since the mid-1990’s. Her work has been published in magazines and books. To share with a broader audience, she joined the RSM team in 2019 as a Tips and Techniques columnist. She continues to contribute to RSM on an “as needed” basis.
OUR STORE & EVENTS.
Peddlers Den’s business model no longer includes a traditional brick and mortar store. We now have our manufacturing facility on the same property in Alabama as our home. We do stamp shows, expos, and are the new owners/promoters for the rubber stamp show in Lawrenceville GA. “Up North” we ran an annual stamping retreat that featured classes from beginner to advanced skill levels. We have been blessed to have people from around the world attend. Covid put a temporary stop to many of our efforts, but we are looking for at least one, maybe multiple new venues to host events of this nature at in the future.
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Office Phone 256-660-0999