The story behind the crayons

Happy Crayon Studios didn't start in a boardroom. It started at a kitchen table, with a big brother who wasn't so sure about sharing the spotlight.

When my eldest's little sister arrived, he loved her - but he was also starting to notice everything that came with her: less attention, more noise, a lot of change for a little person to process. I didn't want him to see her as something that had happened to him. I wanted him to see her as his.

So I started drawing - simple pages of the two of them having the kind of adventures I hoped they'd actually have together. Not a book about a new baby. A book about him, and the little sidekick he was about to get to know.

It worked better than I expected. He carried that book everywhere, proud of every page, and started looking at his little sister a bit differently - less like an upheaval, more like a playmate who just hadn't caught up to him yet.

That's how Our Big Day Out was born - and looking back, I realised a book like this would have been just as useful before she arrived too, in those strange in-between weeks of waiting and wondering what having a sibling would even feel like. That's what became Our Story Starts Here.

That's the whole idea behind Happy Crayon Studios. Every book is made for a specific sibling combination, so a child sees themselves on the page and feels celebrated for exactly who they're becoming. Big feelings, big change, one calm crayon at a time.

It's a small family studio, and every title is made with the same care as that first one. Thank you for being part of the story. 🖍️