“A Vast Empire of Cuteness.”
—Wall Street Journal
Mary Engelbreit is first and foremost an artist, but the industry she created around her artwork truly makes her a legend of the business world. She continues to receive high accolades, being called a contemporary Norman Rockwell by People Magazine. Her “vast empire of cuteness,” as dubbed by the Wall Street Journal, began at an early age and has continued to this day as she churns out an amazing number of original works on a yearly basis. In the early 2000s, the “cute empire” had sales of around $100 million a year.
Mary Engelbreit was born on June 5, 1952, and grew up in St. Louis. Her artistic abilities began early, where by the age of eleven she was already producing works of art. Her high school guidance counselor at Visitation Academy encouraged her to go college to become a teacher, but Mary had already decided what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She ignored the advice and skipped both college and design school to begin working immediately on a career in the arts.
*Mary’s first studio was a closet in her childhood home.
*She sold her first three card designs for $150.
*She was eight months pregnant when she decided to start up her own company.
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