Muriel Fahrion
Encyclopedia
Muriel Fahrion is an American
illustrator
, who is well known for being the original designer of the famous girl's toy Strawberry Shortcake
. She is married to Michael Fahrion and has two adult children.
. After high school, she went on to get an associate's degree
in illustration at an art school
in Cleveland. Immediately following art school, she was hired by American Greetings
, as a greeting card
designer. She worked in Juvenile & Humorous greeting card department where she created upwards of 6,500 greeting card designs.
In 1977, during her time as a greeting card designer, Muriel Fahrion created the original idea for Strawberry Shortcake and her cat Custard along with 32 other characters in line. Fahrion’s sister, Susan Trentel, also of Cleveland, crafted the first Strawberry Shortcake doll, based on the original greeting card design. This design made a big impression and in two years, Strawberry Shortcake went from a simple concept to an entire line of books, clothing, dolls and other toy creations. The line became so popular that a new toy and licensing division, called Those Characters from Cleveland (TCFC) was spun off from American Greetings.
While working for Those Characters From Cleveland, Fahrion also worked as a team member on several other toy designs including the concept artist behind The Get Along Gang, and the Care Bears
. Working for Fisher Price Toy company freelance Fahrion developed illustrations for the Puffalump
s. Like the first Strawberry Shortcake doll, many of these designs were first prototyped by her sister Susan Trentel who also worked at TCFC.
American Greetings' toy division eventually shut down, and Muriel Fahrion moved on to be the senior art director for Enesco
in Chicago
. After working a few years at Enesco, Muriel Fahrion got a position in Norman, Oklahoma
, at United Design as their Creative Vice President in which position she served for six years.
, with her husband Michael Fahrion and their two dogs in a house that they designed themselves. They both work part time doing freelance graphic design and web design for their studio Big Rock Works. In 2007 she designed Skamper PD, a mascot for Super Kids, Spirit of Survival Marathon for the Cancer Center of Comanche Memorial Hospital. They are both active artists and are involved community members assisting with planning and preservation to working with the Wichita Mountains Arts Council and the Medicine Park Marauders, a local wild west performance troupe.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, who is well known for being the original designer of the famous girl's toy Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in greeting cards and expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products...
. She is married to Michael Fahrion and has two adult children.
Career history
Muriel Fahrion grew up and went to school in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. After high school, she went on to get an associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
in illustration at an art school
Art school
Art school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
in Cleveland. Immediately following art school, she was hired by American Greetings
American Greetings
American Greetings Corporation, Inc. is the world's largest publicly-traded greeting card company. It is based in Brooklyn, Ohio and sells paper greeting cards, electronic greeting cards, party products , and electronic expressive content...
, as a greeting card
Greeting card
A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feeling. Greeting cards,...
designer. She worked in Juvenile & Humorous greeting card department where she created upwards of 6,500 greeting card designs.
In 1977, during her time as a greeting card designer, Muriel Fahrion created the original idea for Strawberry Shortcake and her cat Custard along with 32 other characters in line. Fahrion’s sister, Susan Trentel, also of Cleveland, crafted the first Strawberry Shortcake doll, based on the original greeting card design. This design made a big impression and in two years, Strawberry Shortcake went from a simple concept to an entire line of books, clothing, dolls and other toy creations. The line became so popular that a new toy and licensing division, called Those Characters from Cleveland (TCFC) was spun off from American Greetings.
While working for Those Characters From Cleveland, Fahrion also worked as a team member on several other toy designs including the concept artist behind The Get Along Gang, and the Care Bears
Care Bears
The Care Bears are characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. The original artwork for the cards was painted by artist Elena Kucharik. In 1983, Kenner turned the Care Bears into plush teddy bears...
. Working for Fisher Price Toy company freelance Fahrion developed illustrations for the Puffalump
Puffalump
The Puffalumps were stuffed animals created by Fisher-Price in 1986 . They were lightweight stuffed animals made of parachute material and filled with poly-fil stuffing...
s. Like the first Strawberry Shortcake doll, many of these designs were first prototyped by her sister Susan Trentel who also worked at TCFC.
American Greetings' toy division eventually shut down, and Muriel Fahrion moved on to be the senior art director for Enesco
Enesco
Enesco is an American company specializing in the sales and distribution of giftware. The company was known as an industry leader during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s, as it carried the Precious Moments porcelain figurine line of products.-History:...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. After working a few years at Enesco, Muriel Fahrion got a position in Norman, Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
, at United Design as their Creative Vice President in which position she served for six years.
Current
Currently, Fahrion lives in semi-retirement in Medicine Park, OklahomaMedicine Park, Oklahoma
Medicine Park is a town in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States, situated in the Wichita Mountains near the entrance to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Medicine Park has a long history as a vintage cobblestone resort town. Medicine Park is also located near the city of Lawton and Fort...
, with her husband Michael Fahrion and their two dogs in a house that they designed themselves. They both work part time doing freelance graphic design and web design for their studio Big Rock Works. In 2007 she designed Skamper PD, a mascot for Super Kids, Spirit of Survival Marathon for the Cancer Center of Comanche Memorial Hospital. They are both active artists and are involved community members assisting with planning and preservation to working with the Wichita Mountains Arts Council and the Medicine Park Marauders, a local wild west performance troupe.