I grew up on a farm near Brooklyn, Wisconsin. Outside of chores, I probably had too much time on my hands. I
developed a healthy fascination for rubber chickens and whoopee cushions. I also appreciated newspaper comics. How
can you not be drawn to a world where you can slip on a banana peel, fall down a manhole and not even get hurt!
Gradually, my muse turned toward greeting cards. We started Byrne and Schmidt Greetings (sounds like a law firm
doesn’t it) in 1991. I wrote the content and copy and Dennis Schmidt did the illustration. The cards were
well received and we changed the name to Raspberries!
