Today we’d like to introduce you to William “Picasso” Gaglione and Darlene Domel.
William and Darlene, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In the mid 1970’s I met my wife and best friend, Darlene, while working for a garment company in San Francisco. We had many things in common. We both grew up in big cities, New York for my and Chicago for her. We shared an intense interest in art. I introduced her to my work in the growing circle of Mail Art, an activity that I began in the late 60’s and that was now a worldwide community. I used the name “dadaland” in my artwork as a homage to the Dada and Fluxus art movements that I admired.
I could not afford to shower her with jewels and expensive gifts. Instead I stopped her one day at work and asked her to close her eyes and put out her hand. She smiled as she did so. I placed a very small package into her palm and brushed a quick kiss over her closed hand before I walked away. When looked back she was carefully opening the wrapper to see the tiny rubber stamp of a star. She always says that her life changed under the sign of the rubber stamp.
Rubber stamps had always been part of my artwork. I found old commercially produced stamps and sometimes had stamps made in the images I wanted. I sent Darlene my mail art pieces several times a week. These were often collages that included stamped images. I introduced her to the store in San Francisco that carried an assortment of stamps and soon the mail was crisscrossing with our decorated postcards.
The course of true love was bumpy and involved breakups and heartbreaks but eventually we got together again and in 1981 we started our first rubber stamp company working out of our basement. We called it “Abracadada” in a homage to my Mail Art name. We specialized in intricate romantic images from the Victorian era. Our unique look was perfect for the times. It was rather confounding to our friends and families. “You are starting a business in a recession selling a product that no one understands or wants?” We persisted. We sold our stamps at flea markets, wine and art shows, collectible shows, and other venues around the Bay Area. We watched as retail stores began to carry rubber stamps in their inventory. We began a wholesale business. We grew into a worldwide enterprise.
We changed our name to STAMP FRANCISO and opened a storefront in the SOMA district of San Francisco. We sold rubber stamps, opened StampArt Gallery featuring the works of artists using rubber stamps. I designed a poster and catalog for each monthly show. We introduced our public to works by famous artists who used rubber stamps, like Andy Warhol, Yves Klein and Armand. The complete collection of those catalogs is now in the library archive of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. We had a new show opening on the first Saturday of every month. On the second Saturday of the month we held a clearance sale of damaged, used and discarded stamps. This became a hugely popular event. Third Saturdays were reserved for lectures by visiting artists and for performance art pieces. The last Saturday was a day for hands on classes that Darlene taught.
STAMP FRANCISCO became a social center and was even listed in the SF Phone Directory as a tourist attraction. Darlene and I had been collecting old rubber stamp sets and our extensive collection chronicled the history of rubber stamping from the mid 1800’s thru the twentieth century. It was awesome.
In the late 1990’s the tech boom hit California. Rents skyrocketed. Overseas companies began to infiltrate the rubber stamp market with cheaper, mass produced products. Our business felt the impact severely and eventually we were forced to close down.
In 2000 we decided to move to Chicago. We had family and friends there and it was a good place to downsize, reinvent ourselves and start again. We began our new business under the name STAMPLAND.
Chicago was a great place for me and my art. Within the first few months in town I made contact with many of my correspondent friends, I was invited to contribute to a show at the Museum of Modern Art, I had invitations to art shows and events around the city. I immediately felt at home in Chicago.
We found a storefront on Chicago Avenue and created another gallery and museum, we traveled all over the country to participate in rubber stamp shows. Darlene taught techniques at the shows and we had the opportunity to meet our customers face to face. It also showcased our entire line of stamps and products.
After 35 years of non-stop activity we decided to “semi-retire”. We downsized and moved again to the city of Knoxville in Tennessee. We still have an active website business but we are no longer on the road every other week. It is also great to have time to concentrate on making art. Darlene is a talented writer and we are working on several projects together: a book on the history of our business, another one on Brazilian mail artists and my biography.
Chicago will always be the hometown of our hearts.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
From the beginning we were pioneers in an art form and a business that had never existed. When we started there were only a handful of other people making rubber stamps as art tools. Our customers had the imagination and creativity that helped develop and support the industry.
Contact Info:
- Address: STAMPLAND
300 Macedonia Lane #2161
Knoxville, TN 38914 - Website: stamplandchicago.com
- Email: picassogaglione@gmail.com
- Facebook: picassogaglione and stamplandchicago
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