Barry Lee

Barry Lee (they/them) is an illustrator, muralist & storyteller based in Atlanta, GA. Barry is a creative problem solver who tells meaningful stories using a cast of colorful characters and always a dash of mindfulness and intention. Growing up with a rare syndrome called Nager’s Syndrome, they spent their time drawing constantly as a distraction from endless doctor’s appointments and surgeries. Barry turned that distraction as a child into a career as an adult, learning that “distraction” was a form of healing through creating art. Barry’s process is rooted in making sure that the work they put out is intentional, whether it’s doing extensive research for client projects or looking within their own intuition to create illustrations that resonate heavily with others’ experiences.

Founded by writer and illustrator Emily McDowell, Em & Friends makes products that speak to the human condition with honesty, humor, and heart. As Em & Friends (previously Emily McDowell & Friends), they partner with different authors and artists to create gifts and cards for the relationships we really have. Their mission is to help people connect when they’re not sure what to say.

Em & Friends is perhaps best-known for their Empathy Cards, designed for people going through life’s hardest times: major illness, loss, and grief; and inspired by Emily’s experience with cancer in her 20s. In our culture, most of us don’t learn how to talk about illness and death. Emily was struck by how lonely and isolated she felt when people disappeared because they didn’t know what to say when she was sick—and traditional “get well” card messages weren’t terribly helpful. With Empathy Cards, they created unique sympathy cards to help people going through a hard time, and to help friends and family find supportive alternate sympathy messages to write in a card to offer encouragement when they don’t know what to say.

In 2018, they joined forces with the kindred spirits at Knock Knock—another female-founded company—uniting as two sister brands under one kickass umbrella. In 2019, they added “Friends” to their product collections—outside creative collaborators, including amazing artists and writers like Elizabeth Gilbert, Lisa Congdon, and Nora McInerny. And in 2022, along with Knock Knock, Em & Friends joined the Union Square & Co. family. No matter how they evolve, their goal will always be the same: to help people feel more connected and less alone.