I was so happy to locate a card with this image on it at last. This is not exactly the card i was looking for , but certainlly the character. This is the Argentina Birthday version. It is not labeled a Strawberry Shortcake, but has American Greetings on the back. This character first was painted by Barbi Sargent in 1972. It was later released as a Laurel Valentine's Day card in 1973. That Valentine became the very reason we have Strawberry Shortcake today. Rex Connor found this card and decided to create a character based off of this little girl with the daisy.
I have added an article below with his interview. He is pictured next to Tom Wilson the creator of Ziggy, also an American Greetings well loved character. Barbi was asked to create several other characters from this one as leader cards for market testing. It was a grand success. There are many more details to the story but that is the most important part. The rest is history ! I am berry happy to finally add a card with this first Berry Gal on it to my collection. She goes at the front of all my cards. This one is my No. 1 now !
I have added an article below with his interview. He is pictured next to Tom Wilson the creator of Ziggy, also an American Greetings well loved character. Barbi was asked to create several other characters from this one as leader cards for market testing. It was a grand success. There are many more details to the story but that is the most important part. The rest is history ! I am berry happy to finally add a card with this first Berry Gal on it to my collection. She goes at the front of all my cards. This one is my No. 1 now !
