Bhutan Releases Red Panda Postage Stamp

November 30th, 2009

The Red Panda is a small animal native to Bhutan and other areas of Asia, and as an endangered species, the “Lesser Panda” is commemorated on this postage stamp issue. The stamp was produced in partnership with Bhutan Postal Corp., Ltd., the World Wildlife Fund and Creative Products International.

These stamps were issued officially on October 9, 2009.

The sheet was issued with two sets of four illustrations of the Red Panda, and a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) logo on the border. The sheet consists of four NU25 and four NU20 values, printed on paper and perforated. The stamps sell for US$6.60 at www.bhutanpostagestamps.com. First day covers with postmark are available as well at US$7.22. Shipping charges are additional.

The stamps were designed by Barbara Knolle, and produced by Creative Products International (visit www.CreativeProductsIntl.com).

World’s First CD-ROM Postage Stamp from Bhutan Now Available in Hong Kong

October 23rd, 2009

Bhutan’s series of world’s first CD-ROM postage stamps now are available in Hong Kong, where they were produced. The extraordinary computer-age postage stamps chronicle the remarkable recent accomplishments of Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom-turned-democracy.

The new CD-ROM postage stamps with web portal were offset printed by Toppan Forms (HK) LTD 凸版資訊(香港)有限公司 of Hong Kong (http://www.toppanforms.com), and the CDs were replicated by Smartlink Group Hong Kong Limited榮星集團(香港)有限公司 (http://www.smartlinkgroup.hk). Toppan is one of the world’s top security printers, and is listed on the “Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.” Smartlink is a worldwide leader in the secure replication of digital material.

The CD postage stamps are available for purchase in Hong Kong through First Creative Products Intl., LTD, in Hong Kong by contacting Cathy Wong at cathyw@creativeproductsintl.com. The stamps also are available for purchase at www.bhutanpostagestamps.com.

The CD, “Bhutan: Voting for Happiness” illustrates the country’s peaceful transition from a heredity monarchy to a constitutional democracy. A second CD, “Bhutan: Coronation 2008” documents the coronation of Bhutan’s new king, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. The colorful stamps illustrate for all time Bhutan’s recent history that made news around the world.

These new CD-ROM stamps follow in the footsteps of the two CD-ROM stamps released by Bhutan in 2008, and are the latest in a series of philatelic “firsts” by Bhutan since the 1960s. The stamps are mini-CDs that fit into exquisitely decorated, self-adhesive envelopes. When affixed to a larger envelope, the CD-ROM stamp can be used as postage in Bhutan. When inserted into a computer, the CD-ROM plays an 8-minute video about Bhutan, and also offers a web portal (hyperlink) to www.BhutanToday.net, with news about Bhutan in real time.

The stamps were developed by Bhutan Postal Corp., LTD. in partnership with Creative Products International, a product design, custom outsourced manufacturing and importing company known for its innovative manufactured goods.

Creative Products was founded by Frances Todd Stewart, whose father, the late Burt Kerr Todd, is believed to have been the first American to visit Bhutan, back in 1951. He also developed more than 60 distinctive and unusual postage stamps for Bhutan, including the first phonograph record postage stamp.

More information is available at www.bhutanpostagestamps.com and www.BhutanToday.net.

September 2nd, 2009

The Top Ten Reasons To Collect Stamps From www.BhutanPostageStamps.com

1) EXPERIENCE
We have been involved with Bhutan Postage Stamps since the 1960s—more than 40 years. We helped Bhutan to build its reputation for innovative postage stamp issues.

2) SELECTION
We offer a variety of stamps from Bhutan, from vintage paper stamps to the world’s first “talking stamp” (a tiny phonograph record) to the latest computer-era collectibles, postage stamps on CD-ROM complete with mini-documentaries about Bhutan. We offer both individual stamps and collector sets.

3) FOCUS
We sell only postage stamps from Bhutan and related products.

4) INFORMATION
Since we were involved in the manufacture of many of the Bhutanese stamps that we sell, we have historical information about these amazing stamps.

5) PERSONAL SERVICE
We are available by phone, fax, email and internet…and, of course…by postal mail. We welcome your inquiries and orders. Visit us at www.bhutanpostagestamps.com for more information.

6) AVAILABILITY
We sell some rare, vintage Bhutanese stamps that are unavailable elsewhere. Quantity purchases welcome—please inquire.

7) CONNECTION
We are connected with many of the world’s collectors of Bhutan postage stamps. Join us by placing an order or signing up for our email newsletter.

8) ADDITIONAL OFFERINGS
We frequently add to our inventory of stamps for sale.

9) COMMITMENT
We are dedicated to Bhutan. Visit our sister website, www.BhutanToday.net for information about Bhutan, including regularly updated news headlines direct from Bhutan.

10) VALUE
In this day of internet and email, postage stamps reflect an era in human history that has produced items that continue to increase in value as time goes on.

Blog by BhutanPostageStamps.com
“The black of the night was surely followed
by brightness of a new day.
We awake
happy to be alive,
eager to see the first ray of sun,
rising in a hurry above the ocean,
warming our faces
illuminating our souls.”

from the poem “Hope”
by Faye Hosein
posted on Lasting Happiness
http://www.bhutantoday.net/happiness.htm

Bhutan, the country that developed “Gross National Happiness”
inspired Lasting Happiness on www.BhutanToday.net. You are cordially invited to share your thoughts on lasting happiness in your life. Please see www.BhutanToday.net/happiness_submissions.htm for more information.

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Bhutan: Preserving Identity A Traveling Exhibit

August 4th, 2009

Bhutan: Preserving Identity, an exhibit featuring rare vintage and recent photographs and elegant postage stamps, tells the history of this once-mysterious, hidden kingdom now discussed around the globe as a leader in cultural and environmental preservation.

The stamps and photographs trace Bhutan’s preservation of its traditional culture, art and architecture, as well as its pristine environment through generations.

Bhutan’s postage stamps are rare, miniature works of art featuring the country’s culture and rituals. Subjects include Bhutan’s legendary masked ceremonial dancers, which represent the Buddhist heartbeat of the country; architecture depicted in exceptional temple-fortresses; natural environment, a birthright for the Bhutanese and a legacy for the entire world; a century-old monarchy; and the national sport of archery—all treasures of the intricately detailed cultural legacy that the Bhutanese have selected to keep vibrant and vital from its beginnings until today.

Bhutan’s decades-old postage stamps have become lasting icons of the country’s culture, having recently been featured in the Washington Post, Time Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, CBS Sunday Morning, Today Show and BBC Worldwide Radio as well as publications in Italy, Thailand and Great Britain. This exhibit truly evokes the splendor of Bhutan.

Bhutan: Preserving Identity has been featured in locales including The Asia Society in New York City, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. The exhibit is easy to ship, and easy to hang in a wide variety of exhibit spaces or other places such as a reception area or boardroom. Vibrant and richly cultural, this is a fascinating exhibit.

For additional information, contact: Creative Products International
1236 S. Negley Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 USA
412-521-2237
or visit: www.BhutanToday.net/exhibit

Ask about a related lecture: Bhutan: Preserving Culture In An Ever-Changing World

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June, 2009 Scott Stamp Monthly Cover Story: Bhutan’s Amazing CD Stamps

June 1st, 2009

This week at Creative Products, we are excited about Charles Snee’s cover story in the June, 2009 edition of the print magazine Scott’s Stamp Monthly on Bhutan’s long-time history of unusual postage stamps. While proofreading a 2008 entry in Scott’s annual catalog about Bhutan’s innovative new postage stamps made from colorful, functional CD-ROM’s, Mr. Snee remembered his own experiences as a young stamp collector attending stamp shows and longing to own Bhutan’s unusual stamps. So he decided to follow his curiosity, and the long and detailed article “From 3-D to CD: Innovative Firsts Found Among Bhutanese Stamps” came about, along with 11 full-color photo’s of Bhutan’s stamps.

The following is excerpted from Mr. Snee’s article:

“As I examined these most unusual creations, I wondered about their source of inspiration. Who, after all, would be so audacious as to produce a memory-storage device for a computer and call it a postage stamp? A quick chat with Scott new issues editor Marty Frankevicz revealed that the stamps are a product of Creative Productions International, a Pittsburgh-based firm founded more than three decades ago…More research revealed that the impetus behind CPI’s philatelic foray is Burt Todd, a gifted businessman…in 1966, Todd began to bring his dream to fruition, with the release of the nine circular King Wangchuck stamps embossed on gold foil. Though these were not the first of their kind, they marked the beginning of a remarkable run of stamps produced using technologies that broke existing boundaries of what comprises a stamp.”

and another excerpt:

“Todd’s expertise in the steel industry helped blaze the trail toward the next philatelic milestone for Bhutan: stamps printed on steel. The history of steel-making is depicted on the set of 12 self-adhesive stamps issued in 1969 whose designs are lithographed on steel foil (Scott 103-103k). A steel rolling mill is pictured on the 5nu airmail stamp (Scott 103j).”

To read the entire article, you must be a paid subscriber of Scott’s, one of the premiere philatelic information organizations in the world. The $9.95 fee gives full access to Scott’s entire website and all of the articles for an entire year. Visit http://www.linns.com for more information. This is the combined website for both Linn’s Stamp News and Scott’s Stamp Monthly.

“The black of the night was surely followed by brightness of a new day. We are happy to be alive, eager to see the first ray of sun, rising in a hurry above the ocean, warming our faces illuminating our souls.”

From the poem “Hope” by Faye Hosein
Posted on Lasting Happiness

You are cordially invited to share your thoughts on lasting happiness in your life. Please visit http://bhutantoday.net/happiness.htm

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Bhutan and Incurable Optomism

May 27th, 2009

Bhutan and Incurable Optimism


When actor, advocate and optimist Michael J. Fox visited Bhutan, he almost tumbled down a hillside during a hike.  The possibility that this might happen didn’t stop him from visiting.  His positive outlook on life is what led him to Bhutan in the first place.  Bhutan’s focus on contentment is so important that happiness is written into the country’s constitution.  Not just a phrase (like “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in the constitution of the United States), Bhutan’s constitutional passage describes the four pillars of Gross National Happiness:  equitable and sustainable economic growth; environmental conservation; cultural preservation; and good government.  But at the root of all of these is the commitment to contentment that the Bhutanese have to be content with what they have.  Further, strong relationships, in families, neighborhoods and communities, and around the country are important to contentment.  Happiness inspired the mini-documentary on the CD-ROM postage stamp “Voting for Happiness.”  For more information, please visit www.BhutanPostageStamps.com <http://www.bhutanpostagestamps.com/> .

“The black of the night was surely followed by brightness of a new day. We are happy to be alive, eager to see the first ray of sun, rising in a hurry above the ocean, warming our faces illuminating our souls.”  From the poem “Hope” by Faye Hosein posted on Lasting Happiness

You are cordially invited to share your thoughts on lasting happiness in your life.  Please visit http://www.bhutantoday.net/happiness.htm.

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Bhutan Resumes World’s First Philatelic CD-ROM Series

April 28th, 2009

Bhutan Resumes World’s First Philatelic CD-ROM Series 

Documentaries Commemorate Bhutan’s Historic Year, 2008

Bhutan Postal Corporation LTD announces its second issue in a series of world’s first CD-ROM postage stamps.  The extraordinary computer-age postage stamps chronicle the remarkable recent accomplishments of the Himalayan country.  

“Bhutan: Voting for Happiness” illustrates the country’s peaceful transition from a hereditary monarchy to a constitutional democracy, and “Bhutan: Coronation 2008″ documents the coronation of Bhutan’s new king, His Majesty, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

These new CD-ROM stamps with web portal follow in the footsteps of the two CD-ROM stamps released by Bhutan in 2008.  The CD stamps are the latest in a series of postage stamp “firsts” by Bhutan since the 1960’s.  The stamps are mini-CD’s that fit into exquisitely decorated, self adhesive envelopes.  When inserted into a computer, the CD-ROM stamp actually can be used as postage.  When inserted into a computer, the CD-ROM plays an 8-minute video about Bhutan, and also offers a web portal (hyperlink) to www.BhutanToday.net (http://bhutantoday.net/), with news about Bhutan in real time.  The “stamp that never goes out date” also can be added to a collection or displayed in a frame.

With these CD-ROM stamps, Bhutan continues receiving world attention for its decades-long standing in releasing distinctive “first-ever” postage stamps, including the Exchange of Gratitude Color-Your-Own postage stamps, and stamps of silk, steel, playable phonograph records and many others.

The “Bhutan: Voting for Happiness” stamp captures the lines of Bhutanese who gathered to vote in elections for the new democratic government.  Though voting is not a new concept in Bhutan, the implementation of a new constitution giving the rights of governance to the people over the monarchy represents a new way of life.  The stamp also depicts the country’s flag surrounding the line of voters.  In addition, the bright faces of men, women and children on the CD-ROM stamp represent that spirit of contentment the monarch and the new government seek to preserve - a land where Gross National Happiness can thrive.

The documentary for this stamp describes how Bhutan is perhaps the only country in the world that sets the goal of “Gross National Happiness” as a pillar of its governance.  In 2008, after a successful reign of 34 years, His Majesty the Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck announced that it was time for his people to govern their own country and transition from a monarchy to a constitutional democracy.  ”Bhutan:  Voting for Happiness” documents the thoughts and feelings of the Bhutanese people as they experienced this transition and considered their new responsibilities.  

The “Bhutan: Coronation 2008″ stamp depicts the pagentry of the coroantion of Bhutan’s fifith King, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.  Small images reflect defining sentiments of the coronation day (November 9, 2008), especially the deep respect for the king by the people and the people by the King.  The images of His Majesty are set against the gold carvings of the throne and the five colors of silk, which represent valor and in Bhutan are only worn by a King.

This documentary celebrates the crowning of the Fifth King of Bhutan.  Though Bhutan has recently become a constitutional democracy, the King will retain an important role in the future of the country.  This young King has won the hearts of his people following many of the principals of good will and governance toward the people established by his father the Fourth King.  Coronation 2008 reveals the nature of this man behind the crown and why his people honor and love him as they do.  The celebrations colorfully documented and preserved in this stamp record an important next step in this century-old monarchy’s life as a new democracy.

The stamps were developed by Creative Products International of Pittsburgh, PA, USA, a product design, custom outsourced manufacturing and importing company.  The company is known for its innovative manufactored goods and manufacturing supervision experise.  For the last three decades, the company has been involved primarily in importing from Asia and the Pacific Rim to the US.

The company was founded by Frances Todd Stewart, whose father, the late Burt Kerr Todd, is believed to have been the first American to visit Bhutan, back in 1951.  He also developed more than 60 distinctive and unusual postage stamps for Bhutan throughout his lifetime.

The new CD-ROM stamps were offset printed by Toppan Printing Company LTD of Hong Kong, and the CD’s were replicated by Smartlink Group, also of Hong Kong.  Toppan is one of the world’s top security printers, and is listed on the “Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.”  Smartlink is a worldwide leader in the secure replication of digital material.

 

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