Happy 10-Year Work Anniversary!

Ian and I have been working together for a decade.

This month marks ten years of working with Ian from EstateMaster Antiques! Ten years sounds so long, and it feels like we’ve been working together forever and also not at all. (I guess that’s how it always goes.)

Ian trades in collectible coins, banknotes, and stamps, and over the past decade I’ve learned more about these worlds than I ever expected to. Not just the objects themselves, but the  history, the collectors communities, the patience and meticulous care that come with the territory of investing in collectibles…

For our work anniversary, I wanted to give him something personal. So we made a custom stamp!

A framed commemorative stamp featuring a portrait and two additional unframed stamps with similar designs placed on a green cutting mat.

And because apparently the universe likes symmetry, I also received an incredibly thoughtful client gift in return: a custom-made wooden box and engraved whisky tumblers from Germany, sent by one of Ian’s clients to celebrate the anniversary.

Two clear whisky glasses with etched designs, one filled with amber liquid, are placed next to a wooden box labeled "Almostronaut Creative" on a dark surface.

When I decided to make Almostronaut Creative a “proper” business as opposed to “just” freelancing, I really didn’t know half of what I was in for. Our crew has come a long way! One thing that I learned (and that I hadn’t anticipated) is that this is my favourite parts of running a business: Building relationships – trust – building a shared history.

EstateMaster Antiques and Almostronaut got to grow alongside each other over the past decade, and the mutual investment and continuity has paid off beautifully for both of our businesses.

Here’s to the next chapter, whatever shape it takes.

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Written by Almostronaut Marleen, Creative Director & Chief Almostronaut

First published on February 11, 2026

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We respectfully express our gratitude and appreciation to live and create on the unceded traditional territory of the T’Sou-ke First Nation - HÍSW̱KE - as well as the lands around the Mississippi (Bulbancha) River where Native peoples have lived since time immemorial. We strive to uphold our mutual values of storytelling and environmental stewardship.

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