The annual Stampin’ Up! Incentive Trip is an amazing combination of:
fun, friendship and family;
stamping, product reveals and inspiration;
pampering, ‘insta-worthy’ treats and sightseeing.
This year was so special, with 315 demonstrators and their guests plus corporate staff and Board members all meeting in Phuket, Thailand for a week of all that and more.
I updated my Stamping With Simone Facebook page while we were there, but a few blog readers who aren’t on Facebook have asked about the trip, so here it is! Most of the images will enlarge if you click on them.
Enjoy, and if you make it to the end of this long post, I hope you’ll say hello in the comments below. xxxx
Getting There
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One of the most exciting moments in the lead up to an Incentive Trip, is the moment the courier arrives with our travel documents. But this time I did not open it! Somehow I contained my excitement long enough for hubby to get home and gave it to him to open, yes still in his work clothes. lol. After all, if it wasn’t for his support and encouragement we wouldn’t have gone on any of these trips over the past 8 years.
Earning the incentive trip means you earn flights and accommodation for two people, from wherever you are in the world, to the trip destination. Many meals are also included, and for those that are not included, Stampin’ Up! provides us with an ample ‘per diem’ meal allowance. My goodness, they are so generous.
[Note: Less than 1% of all demonstrators earn the incentive trip each year]
The day finally arrived and we set off from Melbourne Airport. Can you believe it was raining?
Goodbye rainy Melbourne, hello hot Phuket.
At the airport we met up with team members Nicole and Tracy, and shared some celebratory refreshments. 😉
So proud of these demonstrators for qualifying for the trip – through loving what they do and sharing what they love.
In fact, I just worked out that over the past 10 years my team and I have qualified for a combined total of 22 tickets-for-two to these incentive trips. How blessed are we! It’s so much fun to go on these trips but even more when you can share it with people you’ve worked with and cheered along. I love all the Eurekastampers, regardless of their goals in running a business or enjoying a fun hobby, because our team is such a lovely group and are a joy to work with. But to see such success and reward for effort, well, it’s the icing on the cake.
Flying from Australia, it was only about a 9 hour flight before we landed in Phuket. A direct flight for the win!
We were greeted at the airport by a representative from Stampin’ Up! and were ushered to an awesome mini van with party lights and blaring music. Ok, we definitely scored big time with our driver. The drive to the resort got us in party mode for sure!
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The Resort
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Our accommodation for the week was the stunning Angsana Laguna Phuket.
Even though it was late when we arrived, we eagerly explored and took a few happy snaps of our gorgeous room.
They think of everything…
This delicious fruit basket was waiting for us in our room.
It wasn’t until the next morning that we fully appreciated our little patch of paradise and the view we were to enjoy every day.
We had a lovely big lounge area and huge balcony – so spoilt! It was such a delight to sit out there and watch the ferry go by although somehow we never managed to actually go on it!
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Official Welcome Session
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Next morning was the first official function, which was held at a marquee located about 10 minutes offsite. We travelled in style, in fun ‘tuk tuks’.
We heard from Sara (CEO Stampin’ Up!) who welcomed us and gave us lots of gifts, Rich (President) who spoke about the state of Stampin’ Up! in the world and all the good things that are happening, and Paula and Shelli (Co-Founder and Board Member) who shared some great product reveals with us.
Jason and all the other ‘first guests’ received a gorgeous Stampin’ Up! logo shirt.
And of course plenty of yummy treats to enjoy!
I got stacks of stamps and framelits and all kinds of fun craft stuff. Andddddd (drum roll please) the upcoming Holiday Catalogue! Oh my goodness. It’s amazing. 55 pages of stamps, embellishments, new punches, framelits and of course fabulous ideas too.
As if we weren’t excited enough already, we learned that the 2019 Incentive Trip destination is a cruise around the Greek Isles!
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Sightseeing & Official Group Activity
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There was a variety of optional tours we could choose to go on at our own cost, so Jason and I signed up for a couple of them. We’d never been to Thailand before and were keen to see some sights, and it was great that Stampin’ Up! did all the organising for us. Others chose to relax by the pool. These trips are really whatever you want them to be!
We went on a shopping trip to Patong, spent a day on the water and visiting Phi Phi island with a bit of snorkelling thrown in. I LOVE snorkelling, it’s my favourite thing to do in the water. It was a fabulous way to meet other demonstrators from around the world and make new friends.
As an extra gift, Stampin’ Up! paid for every demonstrator and their first guest to join in the group activity on the Wednesday – a tour of Phang Nga Bay and BBQ lunch. This was such a fabulous day, probably my favourite activity of the whole week.
They took us canoeing in the underground caves, which was very special.
We visited a floating village, where all the shops and houses – and even the school – is built on a floating platform.
And we finished the afternoon with a BBQ and swimming on Rang Yai island.
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Pillow Gifts
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Even after going on 8 Incentive Trips with Stampin’ Up!, the daily pillow gifts never cease to amaze me.
After a fun day of activities we return to our room to find adorably packaged gifts waiting on our pillow or on the end of our bed. This year we were treated to so many fabulous products from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue! We calculated it to be $600+ worth of products! I can’t share those with you just yet because the catalogue hasn’t been released yet, but I can share some of the other gifts.
On one evening our gift was a waterproof pouch for our phones and cameras, and a voucher for the full-day tour to Phang Nga bay…
Another was this gorgeous travel bag…
…which did not come empty, of course! Inside we found a couple of packets of 12×12 patterned papers, ready for Christmas crafting.
And how about this detailed Benjarong hand-painted porcelain covered bowl in its own lined box? Gorgeous!
And everything is wrapped and so beautifully presented.
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Swaps & Stamping
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Did we do any stamping in Thailand? Yes!
Three make & takes were available in the inspiration room. You can read more about them HERE [link coming!].
We also participated in a full-card swap with other trip achievers, and participated in a mini themed swap with other achievers from the South Pacific.
We gave a copy of each of these South Pacific swaps as a gift to the Australian head office, and one to the New Zealand office.
On the Thursday afternoon we had a 2 hour Share Fair, which included 6 trip achievers who shared some tips and ideas featuring new products from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue.
And guess what? I was one of them!
You can see the first of my projects shared HERE.
The Hospitality Desk
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One of our fave places to visit each day was the Hospitality Desk. Here we could always find some yummy snacks, a cool drink in the fridge, and always friendly Stampin’ Up! demonstrators and staff to say g’day to.
There were daily prize give-aways to earn by playing the bean bag toss game. I actually got pretty good at that game by the end of it!
We could also organise some excursions and tours here if we wanted.
Farewell Party
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We finished the week with a bang at the Final Event – a very special evening at the Blue Elephant which is a former Governor’s mansion turned restaurant and cooking school in Phuket.
We enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner, explored the mansion and watched local handicrafts being made including flower garlands and soap carving. Live music was playing too.
The huge tent looked absolutely stunning with the mansion as the perfect backdrop.
What a treat to visit such a special place.
And when the night was over, we each received a lovely memento of our time in Thailand, a sweet elephant necklace.
You’re still with me?! Thanks for reading my epic summary of our trip.
Honestly, I tried to make it shorter and there is sooooo much I cut out. Next time you’ll just have to come along too and see how amazing these trips really are!
I’m grateful to so many people, including my customers and team, and of course family. Without you none of this would be possible. I’ll continue to work hard to be your demonstrator and your team leader, and to provide you service beyond your expectation.
Stay tuned for next year’s instalment which will be all about Alaska! I don’t think I’ll be needing the swimmers and sunscreen for this one…
Leave a comment to let me know you got to the end – thanks so much xxx
Simone xxx
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