Why not show your stamps?

Showing your stamps at an exhibition can be really rewarding - here's why!

Showing your stamps can be a really great thing to do! I did it last year, and so did my little sister. We both entered the Stamp Active competition, which is a national competition for new entrants. You can submit an entry of anything between 4 and 24 pages, and it can be be about anything you like so long as it relates to stamps and postal history. It could be on a theme or a particular country. Last year my display was about the British Millennial issues of 1999 and 2000. It was 16 pages long and took quite a lot of time but I was happy with my work. I displayed the stamps, offered some descriptions and chose my favourite stamp from each issue. I also explained why the Millennium issues were so culturally important. My sister did something very different and instead decided to do an 8 page project on the history of Thailand definitives, talking about the different kings and the designs of the stamps. We both did quite well and won a prize, but it is a really good thing to do even if you don't win. Why? a) You create something about what you're interested it. You put a lot of yourself into it. When I went to see the exhibition at the York Stamp Fair I saw my work alongside lots of other people's and I was quite pleased that anyone reading it would get a feel about what I liked. I really like the Millennium stamps and I wanted people to know that. I also got an idea about what some of the other exhibitors liked - some of them had very specific interests like Scottish Highland postmarks and displaying their work allows them to share those interests and their knowledge with other people. b) You learn a lot. Well, I certainly did anyway. It isn't as simple as just mounting some stamps and covers. I had to do some research and found out a lot of new information about the Millennium stamps, especially what happened to some of the projects pictured on them. My sister definitely enjoyed learning more about Thailand's kings (and she already knew quite a lot). I think working on my Millennium project developed my understanding of not just the stamps but also exhibitions - it was a good learning experience.

c) You get a great sense of pride when other people look at your work. It's really great to share your hobby with other people and maybe inspire them to do the same thing. At York the junior exhibition was in the same place as the adults' work, so there were a lot of people looking around and taking an interest, which it made all the effort feel worthwhile. d) You get some really good feedback from the Stamp Active judges. I think they were pretty fair and their comments were constructive. Not everything about my display was perfect but they gave me advice in ways that were really encouraging. They really helped me think about how to organise my stamps. e) You can compete with your sister! She got a higher level award than me last year and she was very happy, obviously. She was awarded a gold award while I achieved a Silver Gilt. So it would be nice to improve on last year's score.

I will be entering the Stamp Active competition again this year, and next year I might think about entering at the higher level which is the British Youth Championships. I'm still new to exhibiting but so far I am enjoying it. I would definitely recommend it to other young people into philately. It would be great to have even more entries into the Stamp Active Competition this year. You need to complete an entry form by 31st August and then submit the completed exhibit by 30th September. This year the exhibition will be at the Royal Philatelic Society in London. As always, there are some great prizes on offer and all the information you need is here. You know what to do! (Stamp Active also have a great booklet called Have a Go, Show! which might be of interest if you're a young person thinking about exhibiting your stamps.)