Our Story

When Sylvie was adopted at age two, she knew only one word in Cantonese.

She had needs. She had feelings. And she was desperate to make them known.

We tried everything we could think of. And then, one day, a story changed everything.

That story was written by us.

It gave Sylvie words when she didn't yet have them. It gave us a way to understand one another. And it showed us something we would never forget: stories have the power to connect us, teach us, comfort us, and help us make sense of our world and of one another.

Many of the best stories are born this way—from people inspired by the lives they are living, the children they love, the communities they know, and the experiences that have shaped them.

As someone certified and endorsed in Infant and Family Mental Health, I have seen firsthand the extraordinary power of stories to help children understand themselves and their world—and to strengthen the relationships between children and the people who care for them.

So Sylvie and I began to dream.

We wanted to create a company that would honor the people who create these stories and the inspiration behind them. We wanted to build community around creativity. And we wanted to do it in a way that respects the remarkable natural world that makes all of this creativity possible.

That dream became Pufferfish Publications.

We saw two problems.

What if creators didn't have to do all of that themselves?

What if someone else could take care of the business behind the creativity—while making sure the people who actually created the work received a meaningful share of the value it generated?

But as we thought more deeply about the marketplace, we realized there was another problem.

Customers deserved more choices, too.

Most of us want our purchases to reflect what we value. We want to support artists and authors. We want our money to strengthen our communities. We want to know where our products come from and who benefits when we buy them. And we want to make choices that are kinder to our planet too.

But those choices aren't always easy to find.

A purchase from a large marketplace can make it difficult to see the person behind the product—or to know how much of what we spend actually makes its way back to the creators. And when a product travels halfway across the country to reach us, there may be few opportunities to choose something different.

We believe there is another way.

Pufferfish Publications is local by design. We represent local authors and illustrators and connect their work with people in their own communities and beyond. When possible, products travel shorter distances. And because we believe creators should benefit meaningfully from the work they create, we structure our marketplace so that significantly more of the value of each sale goes back to the people who made it.

We also believe customers should have meaningful choices.

That means being transparent about how our marketplace works. It means creating opportunities to support local creators. And it means giving customers the option to make more environmentally conscious choices—including choosing eco-friendly shipping options when available, even when that means paying a little more.

We don't believe there is one perfect way to shop.

We believe in giving people information, choices, and the opportunity to decide what matters to them.

Because when we change the way we buy, we can change what—and who—we support.

We believe creators and customers deserve more.

And we believe creativity, community, and the natural world are worth protecting.

When you choose to purchase books and products through Pufferfish Publications, you are helping to build a better marketplace and contributing to a better world.

- Elizabeth and Sylviah Seeliger, co-founders of Pufferfish Publications