Susan Crilley

senior designer

Susan attended Purdue University and received a degree in Graphic Design / Technical Illustration. For a final project, she designed a greeting card that included an essay about her dream of someday working for Hallmark. Her dream came true in the year 2000 when she began her career as a designer at Hallmark Cards.

Susan grew up in Indiana and has been living in Kansas City for almost 20 years. She shares her home with her husband, daughter, two cats, two keeshonds, a chinchilla and a leopard tortoise. She has been drawing, stitching and crafting as long as she can remember. When Susan was young, her mother would encourage her to decorate their home for the holidays. She was known to spend hours completely covering the many windows with tissue paper and black construction paper to look like stained glass.

For Susan there is not a week that goes by without a new project being dreamed up. A serious project will be honored with a plastic tub, labeled and placed in a room in her home dedicated to all things creative. It’s called the “yellow room,” and she will tell you it’s a very cheery space that just makes you happy. Many of her creations are day-brightening, tiny gifts for family and friends. She eagerly brings her creative passion to work each day and enjoys dreaming up meaningful ways to help others connect.