strawberry cake is a cartoon character featured on American Greetings' greeting cards. Later, the line was expanded to include toys, posters, and other merchandise portraying the character and an expanding cast of companions and companion animals. The franchise has also inspired television specials, animated television programs, and films. Through the holding firm Shortcake IP Holdings LLC, the franchise is presently held by the Canadian children's television studio WildBrain and the American brand management company Iconix Brand Group.
Strawberry Shortcake was first developed by Barbi Sargent, who was a freelance artist for American Greetings at the time. In 1972-1973, the figure initially featured on a Laurel Valentine's Day greeting card. Girl with a Daisy or Strawberry Girl was the character's original name, and she was pictured clutching a daisy while wearing an orange hat with a strawberry design.
Rex Conners, the creative director on staff at American Greetings, saw that this card was quite popular and concluded that the strawberry theme was to blame. He instructed Barbi to design four "strawberry-like" cards for the Mega Test Market. In early July 1977, Sargent finished the project by providing American Greetings four full-color leader cards showing the Strawberry Shortcake figure. ("Leader cards" are utilized for consumer testing by American Greetings.) The first time the public saw Strawberry Shortcake in her new look was during these testing, and the response was enthusiastic.
Muriel Fahrion, an artist employed by American Greetings' Juvenile & Humorous card division, drew further Strawberry Shortcake concept art in the late 1970s.
Fahrion developed an additional thirty-two characters for Those Characters From Cleveland, the toy and license design division of American Greetings. Cindy Mayer Patton and Janet Jones were responsible for the design of further additions to the range. Numerous freelance artists contributed to the series' artwork, although Frances Kariotakis was responsible for the bulk of the paintings. As the line's editor, Lynn Edwards contributed to the creation of the characters and plot.
Each character in the Strawberry Shortcake series had a fruit- or dessert-themed name, wore fruit- or dessert-themed apparel, and had a pet with a fruit- or dessert-themed name. Similar to the Strawberry Shortcake doll, all of the other characters' dolls had perfumed hair that corresponded with their respective dessert themes. Strawberryland was the name of the enchanted place where the characters lived and played. continue reading....