Hi there, I’m so glad you’re here!

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 kids or animals; and whimsical, magical worlds.

Archie and Pip’s second book, The Halloween Costume Surprise, debuts this summer, 2025!

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 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; and teaching as an Adjunct Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD).

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.