Cynthia Treen - Treenland
Designer and creator of Olivia & Hop, and Iris & Clover characters
I remember the day that I first opened Cynthia Treen's Wind in the Willows Felt Friends book - in many ways, that was the day Storybook Miniatures was born. I had been struggling for weeks with how on earth I could get the vision of these tales about a zany but loveable rabbit named Olivia out of my head and into the world. I tried creating rabbit after rabbit - and they all looked like.....well, like stuffed animals. Cute, but lifeless. Frustrated and tired, I took a break and decided to just make a project from Cynthia's book for fun. So I poured a cup of tea, cracked open the cover, and fell in love with each and every character.
Excited, I went to Cynthia's Etsy shop and found even more of the wonderful characters, peeking out from behind raincoats, lounging in boats...each with their own distinct personality. But I needed a rabbit...Olivia was the heart and soul of my stories ... they simply couldn't exist without her! And then one day, wandering through Cynthia's Patreon content, I found her. Olivia. She was here too....she had been here all along.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Suffice it to say, I am forever grateful and honored to be able to use Cynthia's animal designs as the stars and inspiration of my stories. More than that, I am so glad that I have gotten to know Cynthia, for she is every bit as wonderful as her creations. And she will forever be a friend of Olivia ... and of me.
