Photo of Sandra Boynton by Jesse Dittmar.
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Sandra Boynton's first book, HIPPOS GO BESERK!, the Washington Post's Ellen McCarty writes a wonderful profile of the prolific card designer/cartoonist/writer/songwriter in an article titled "Hippos, birdies, T. rexes, pigs: How Sandra Boynton built an empire and won your child’s heart."
One snippet:
"Just before heading to graduate school in drama in 1976, Boynton swung an invite to a greeting card trade show. Company buyers were interested, but they wanted her to give the characters names and distinct personalities. 'They were basically trying to turn me into ‘Peanuts,’ ' she recalls. 'I said, ‘That’s not what I’m doing.'
"Then she was introduced to the founders of a Chicago upstart called Recycled Paper Greetings. Mike Keiser and Phil Friedmann liked her animals and offered to pay her $50 a design. 'I want a royalty,' she remembers saying. 'They said, ‘It’s just never done.’ ' But in the end, they agreed.
"Keiser recalls that when Boynton signed on, the company was doing about $1 million a year in sales. Within five years their annual revenue topped $100 million, almost all because of Sandra Boynton."
Read it all here.
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