Creative Team Bios
Angela Sage Larsen
Angela has a BA in studio art from Principia College, a minor in theatre, went on two Principia abroads to study art in Scotland, and history and literature in China. She interned at Hawk Creek Gallery in Neskowin, Oregon, where she created and sold her own artwork and managed the gallery. She also served as an apprentice with Mackenzie-Childs, Ltd., (world-renowned maker of hand-crafted, high-end home décor in Aurora, New York) and painted murals, did mosaic work, and continued to learn the business aspect of art and design.
Her art accomplishments have been prolific. She is both artist and instructor. While running her own mural painting business in St. Louis (A. Sage Designs), she was featured twice in the Design Section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and painted murals in two ASID showcase homes and at the upscale Plaza Frontenac mall. She then moved to California and started Jubilee Studio & Gallery and sold her own artwork. Her inventory included her watercolors and painted home décor – furniture, glassware, lamps, and accessories. Upon her return to St. Louis years later, she founded another art and design business – A.L.L. or Nothin’ – contracting out large scale mural work & over-sized scenery flats for well-known event-planning companies and private residences. Her love for color, detail and whimsy is evident in her imaginative designs throughout all the Petalwink art, design, layout, and text.
The Petalwink series ignited her passion for creating positive content for children. As part of her "Strong Girls x Good Books" campaign, Angela creates strong female protagonists with a focus on character education. Her bestselling series for young teen readers called Fifties Chix about five teens who time travel from 1955 to present day includes the first book, Travel to Tomorrow, a Goodreads Readers Choice Nominee and Amazon #1 Bestseller.
Angela and her husband, Whit, are the founders of Three Trees, Inc. and PTF Enterprises, LLC and creators of the Petalwink franchise and venture. They have been gaining attention in the children’s literature and book publishing arenas and forming a fascinating chronicle of two talented life-partners working together to bring a new dimension to socially conscious children’s books, animation, and product. Positive and empowering messages and non-sexist content are disguised in fun, creative, whimsical art and stories. The couple possesses unique and strong complementary experience in all phases of art, illustration, and design – as well as operations and business management.
Co-Producer / Business Manager
Whit has a BA in Communications with a minor in Business Administration from Principia College and strong organizational and management skills. He is a perfect match for his wife Angela’s creative art and design business acumen.
His practical management and operations experience has come in to play when owning and managing Jubilee Studio & Gallery where
he specifically helped design and maintain the gallery website, managed operating budgets and expenses, and improved overall sales and customer service. He was also Director of Student Activities for Principia Upper School – managing budgets and expenditures and counseling students in a private boarding school, character education environment.
Whit manages book fairs, story time events, author workshops, book signings and other public relations marketing events for Angela, Petalwink and Fifties Chix. His web design and visionary video production handiwork can be seen in the Petalwink web site (Petalwink.com), the Fifties Chix website (FiftiesChix.com), Angela’s blog (AngelaSageLarsen.com) and the organization of the enterprise involving management, negotiation, and communication skills. Whit is the social media manager for the couple’s multi-faceted company, coordinating Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google, Facebook and other social media accounts. Whit also handled the incorporation of Three Trees, Inc. and PTF (Petalwink the Fairy) Enterprises, LLC – as well as the research on licensing, publishing, copyrights and trademarks.
Composer /Lyricist
Deborah is a composer, conductor, producer and performer who divides her time between New York City and Los Angeles. She originated her onstage role in the Broadway hit musical Jersey Boys, which won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical and the 2007 Grammy Awardfor Best Cast Album, and she continues to serve as the Music Technical Designer for all Jersey Boys companies worldwide, including the First and Second National U.S. Tours and resident companies in Chicago, Las Vegas, London, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne.
She made her Broadway conducting debut with Miss Saigon, played keyboards for Jekyll and Hyde and The Who's Tommy and toured with the First National companies of Mamma Mia!, Miss Saigon and Aspects of Love. As part of these hit productions, she has appeared on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, CNN's Showbiz Tonight, E! Entertainment Television, The 2006 Tony Awards on CBS, half a dozen national morning shows and twice at The White House. In 2011, she was thrilled to make her debut with Cirque du Soleil as the Music Director of their spectacular new resident production in Los Angeles, IRIS: Journey Through the World of Cinema, featuring a full orchestral score by Danny Elfman.
Deborah has also composed extensively for film and television. Her scores include “Highlander: The Raven,” “Guiding Light” and “Sesame Street” among many others, and she created arrangements for feature films “The Crossing Guard” (Miramax/Jack Nicholson) and “City of Industry” (MGM/Harvey Keitel). In the recording industry, Deborah has worked as an arranger and conductor for such artists as Sinead O'Connor, Gloria Estefan and Sarah Brightman, and she was the Vocal Director of the ABC Television Muppet Special “Elmopalooza,” which won the 1999 Grammy for Best Children's Album. Marrying her theatre experience with her passion for studio production, she has created concept albums for four new rock musicals – “Dorian Gray,” “Funny Business,” “A Day In The Life Of America” and “Sheba: The Musical” – and has music directed dozens of workshops on both coasts while producing tracks for commercial clients such as Intel and Samsung.
As comfortable in the spotlight as behind the scenes, Deborah has toured with Cyndi Lauper and Cher as a keyboardist and vocalist and released two independent CD’s as solo artist Deborah Marlowe. Her single “Mirror” reached #25 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales charts and she was recently featured on CNN Radio and “Voice of America” as an emerging voice in contemporary music. She is committed to making a difference in arts education, and her contributions range from serving as Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music to composing songs for several award-winning “Hooked on Phonics” educational products. She is excited to bring her diverse backgrounds in theatre, Cirque, children’s music and pop studio production together in creating the sound of Petalwink.