Jim Phillips and Canadian Pride

Maple Leaf flag: Made from rayon, the stamp features a three-dimensional image of the Canadian flag and provides $5 in postage, according to CTV. While the stamps can be used as regular postage, they are aimed at collectors and those looking for a unique souvenir to showcase Canadian pride. Canada Post created the large, nine by 14 centimetre stamp as the Maple Leaf flag marked its 50th anniversary earlier this year. Jim Phillips, director of stamp services, said the plan was to create something similar to a patch that a person might wear while travelling in a foreign country. You just wouldn't do a cloth stamp for a series of flower stamps or something like that." Phillips said the stamps make a "statement" and are being received very well by collectors. "Sales have been very strong, lots of interest," he said. "I don't expect they'll be around past the summer season," Stamp designer Kostas Tsetsekas said printing the image of the flag on rayon was a unique technical challenge. "There a real coarseness to the material, so ink doesn't quite behave the way that we're used to," Tsetsekas said from Vancouver. Phillips and his team had wanted to develop a fabric stamp for a number of years but waited for the right opportunity. "The flag for Canada first fabric stamp was the perfect subject and the 50th anniversary of the flag was a great time," Phillips said from Ottawa. "It just seemed to be a natural for us on this one. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.