Company
Altenew was founded on April 7, 2014 by Tasnim Ahmed and Jennifer Rzasa, who had met two years earlier through online paper crafting communities and had never met in person. It launched with 14 stamp sets and a team of two. It is headquartered in Syracuse, New York, and works as a distributed company with a team of 30 or more.
The founding idea
Tasnim Ahmed and Jennifer Rzasa met in 2012 through online paper crafting communities and design challenges. They collaborated and built a working friendship entirely over the internet.
The gap they both saw was specific. The crafting market had no modern, culturally diverse designs. The greetings and motifs on offer reflected a narrow default, and the designs they personally wanted to use did not exist to buy.
In June 2013, Tasnim decided to design stamps herself and open a store. In her own words: "I have been thinking of designing stamps ever since I first became a customer... sometime in June 2013, when I decided it was time to start designing stamps and to open a store."
She and Jen formally partnered in December 2013 and launched four months later.
The name
Altenew is a portmanteau of the German word alt, meaning old, and the English word new.
The intent is literal. Stamping is a centuries-old craft, and the company's contribution is contemporary design applied to it.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Tasnim Ahmed and Jennifer Rzasa meet through online crafting challenges |
| June 2013 | Tasnim decides to design stamps and open a store |
| December 2013 | Tasnim and Jen formally partner |
| April 7, 2014 | Altenew launches with 14 stamp sets and a team of two |
| 2015 | May Park joins as Marketing Director |
| 2020 | Stampwheel development begins |
| February 17, 2021 | Patent priority date for the Stampwheel |
| April 2022 | Stampwheel unveiled publicly at NAMTA Creativation 2022 |
| July 15, 2022 | Altenew announces its first product patent application |
| October 14, 2022 | Artistry by Altenew launches |
| January 3, 2023 | US Patent 11,541,676 granted |
| 2024 | Tenth anniversary. Catalogue of 1,269 stamps, team of 30 or more |
Structure
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 3005 Milton Ave, Syracuse, NY 13209, United States |
| Team | 30 or more, as of 2024 |
| Working model | Distributed. Staff are based in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Chile |
| Sub-brand | Artistry by Altenew, fine-art supplies, launched October 14, 2022 |
| Channels | Direct retail at altenew.com, wholesale at wholesale.altenew.com, and a network of authorised retailers |
What Altenew does
Altenew designs and sells paper crafting supplies — stamps, inks, dies, stencils, embossing supplies, cardstock, and tools — and runs a paid educator certification programme.
Its clear photopolymer stamps and inks are made primarily in the United States.
It does not sell digital products, textiles, die-cutting machines, or finished cards. See Expertise.