I began my writing career at the age of 10, when I wrote a play about a magical music box. I cast the neighborhood kids and charged the grown ups 50 cents to attend the performance. Ever since then, I have been passionate about writing everything from stories to poetry to Sunday school curriculum. After earning a degree in English Education from Miami University, I have taught children of all ages. I have three children and live with my husband and hound dog in the rolling hills of central Ohio. Often, I can be found outside - writing, hiking, gardening, or snow skiing. I am thrilled to join the Lavender Book Co. team and collaborate with writers and artists to bring wonderful, new, modern classics to life for today's children. 

I live on the west coast of Scotland. There is something profoundly magical in the alchemy of words and pictures in children’s books and I’m so excited to be part of a team of like-minded people. There are so many stories just waiting to be told!

IG: @gillian_craig_spiller

I am Lauren—a writer, mom, and lover of all things children’s books. I was born and raised in Arizona but have called many places home, including New York, Vancouver (Canada), and three towns and cities across northern Spain. Currently I live in a small town in the Basque Country in Spain, where I’m raising two little trilingual bookworms.  I have a Master’s in Children’s Literature from the University of British Columbia and have dipped my toes in lots of areas of the publishing industry, from being a book reviewer to chairing a nonfiction book prize for young readers. While I’ve dabbled in writing for older readers, my heart belongs to board books and picture books. 

IG:bilingualbookmom

Hey, my name is Jaymi and I'm from Australia! I am over the moon to be joining the team at Lavender Book Co. as one of Cat's new illustrators! Helping create fantastical worlds that offer children moments of wonder and spark their own creativity is very special to me, particularly in a world struggling to keep authentic individual imagination alive. I can't wait to collaborate with our wonderful team of authors and help bring our whimsical visions to life!

IG: @jaymitoole

Hello! My name is Belen (Buh-len). I am an artist based in Virginia, USA. I’ve always had a huge passion for drawing, painting, and animation. I have a background working as character animator for Pixar, and now I am pursuing my passion as a children’s illustrator. I love all things creative and imaginative, telling wonderful stories with great characters, and fun adventures. I’m super excited to be joining Lavender Book Co. as an illustrator, and I'm looking forward to collaborating with a great team of writers/artists to bring beautiful classic children’s books to life!

IG: @the_art_of_belen

Growing up with a lot of the classics; I cannot wait to share the same childhood excitement and curiosity I had for fantastical adventures, cosy little worlds and whimsy. I'm so excited to see what amazing little worlds we'll create! 

Hi! I’m from the UK. I am very excited to be joining the wonderful Cat and the Lavender Book co. in the inaugural team! I love the ethos of the company and can’t wait to share whimsical, hand drawn books for children that capture their imagination and hopefully the imagination of the parents too! I love to draw whimsical, otherworldly creatures, ocean dwellers and turn everyday objects into new things and I can’t wait to collaborate with other creatives to make something amazing. In an age of AI taking over, I think the world is craving old fashioned pen, paper and genuine human creativity and I am so grateful to Cat for fostering this and bringing us all on board. When I am not drawing and running MindandSeaLTD, I am running Recordare Chamber Choir, am a professional singer and voice teacher. See you out there and Ihope you love what we create.

IG: @mindandseaillustrations

I am from Spain, but currently live in Ireland! I believe the joy of creating on paper travels from the creator to the final artwork. So when you have a team of creatives that experience that same joy working together, that love and creativity will for sure fill the pages of the books that are to come. I'm excited to be a part of this team and can't wait to bring to life lots of beautiful stories!

IG: @arantzabelmonte.artstudio

My name is Anna and I’m from the United States. I’m so excited to be an illustrator for Lavender Book Co., and I can't wait to work alongside other passionate artists to create some magical stories! Art has always been such an important part of my life, so having the opportunity to see and share my illustrations in book form means the absolute world to me.

IG: @anna_iwin_art

I am Sam, a children’s book illustrator originally from England, but now in the Los Angeles area. I work primarily in watercolor. I love creating expressive characters ad finding those little moments in the story that aren’t necessarily written in the test. My work tends to have a gentle sense of humor, but I am equally drawn to quieter moments, and letting the emotion play out on the page. I particularly enjoy picture books that give me room to build a world around the words and let the illustrations tell part of the story. I am looking forward to working traditionally and seeing the books on the shelves for decades to come. 

IG: @samantha.leduc

To me, making art is taking the time to explore my enthusiasm and wonder for everything that inspires me in life (which is quite a bit). I'm always excited to play where art and design meet, overlapping beauty, storytelling, and communication. Working mainly with color pencils, watercolors, and pastels, I aim to create illustrations that feel nuanced, playful, tender, rich with detail, and somewhat nostalgic, with a focus on composition

IG: @Rosariomsoley

I’m and illustrator, mom of two and art educator based in the Deep South in Cape Town. I am passionate about creating warm, expressive illustrations that invite children into a story and give them something new to discover each time they return to it. I love the magic of picture books - the characters you remember, the tiny details you notice on a second or third read, and the worlds that stay with you long after you’ve closed the book. I’m so looking forward to collaborating with Lavender Book Co. and bringing curiosity , warmth, humour and a little bit of whimsical magic to the stories we create together.

IG: @thelittleartstudio_za

Hi I am Jess and I am from England. When I first discovered Cat's profile on Instagram, I found myself gravitating and agreeing with all of her posts! I felt totally compelled to apply for the Lavender Book Co. As so much resonates with me. I am a self taught, illustrator that specialises in watercolour, gouache, pen and ink, with a particular fondness for seeking inspiration from childhood, nostalgia and dreamy stories of adventures in everyday life and beyond. I am delighted to have been selected to join in with the launching team at Lavender Book Co. And cannot wait to create timeless and simply beautiful stories together.

IG: @lalalu_letters

I was blessed with a childhood filled with slow times, stories and imagination. Now as a mother myself, I enjoy reading these same stories to my own children.  Motherhood presented me with a pause – there is a beautiful slowness to this season, and it’s something I want to savor. I want to write children’s books so that I can continue learning to cherish the precious moments of messy yogurt cheeks, of eyes alight with wonder, of chubby arms reaching for me.  I am excited to tell a tale so vibrant, so enchanting, that it echoes into their adulthood, as their little roots dig into the dirt and grow – and then hopefully, the stories will be harvested and held by the little hands of their own babies one day.

IG: @rach_stoltzfus