it was a blockbuster year over here in my little studio.
From starting exciting new things with a new agent, to winning PBParty and receiving interest in my own author-illustrated book dummy, to the successful launch of Archie and Pip’s First Day of School filled with my illustrations. I have to remind myself how much has happened!
With all this growth, it was finally time to update my website, and here we are! Stay tuned for what comes next!
I’m Mari (rhymes with starry) Richards and I’m an illustrator, author, toy designer, and artist. I love drawing and painting our natural habitats; quirky, mischievous characters; and whimsical, magical worlds.
I’m usually sipping tea and staring out the window of my studio, creating lots of illustrations, toys, surface pattern designs, and kids products. I’ve gathered over 30 industry awards along the way. Some of my favorite career highlights include illustrating the picture book series Archie and Pip, designing with Jellycat; surface pattern designing with Nuby; toy designing as a Senior Product Designer at Manhattan Toy; creating the successful design blog Small for Big, being an original Pinfluencer; completing my MFA, and teaching as an Adjunct Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and the College of Visual Arts.
I firmly believe making things is a daily requirement. You can find me sketching, gathering rocks and feathers, sniffing every book I read (and some I don’t), and living a chaotic, wonderful life with my husband, daughter, and two rescue mutts near St. Paul, MN.
For all publishing enquiries, please contact my agent Adria Goetz at KT Literary.
