Daughter’s Sticker Business Teaches Dad Valuable Lessons

PORTLAND, Maine – A 12-year-old Portland girl is turning her whimsical drawings into a growing business, donating a portion of her profits to local charities. Maddie Landry, the founder of Maddie Moo Designs, began creating stickers featuring her original characters during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period her father, Tom Landry, says sparked her creativity.

Initially, the sticker-making was a family activity. Landry recounted how Maddie, at age seven, expressed a desire to have stickers of her creations, not just for herself but to share with friends. The family collaborated on researching sticker companies and learning the process of scanning and submitting artwork. “At the beginning, it was purely about having fun,” Landry said. “None of us were thinking about this as a business opportunity.”

The designs quickly gained popularity among Maddie’s classmates. When she was eight, Maddie decided to combine her sticker sales with a lemonade stand, a move that officially launched Maddie Moo Designs. From the outset, Landry said, Maddie insisted on donating a portion of her earnings to a local organization, a value instilled in her by her family. “Giving back to the community has always been a priority in our family,” Landry explained. “Maddie clearly took this on board.”

The business has expanded beyond the initial lemonade stand. Maddie now sells her stickers online, at local events, and through partnerships with local businesses, according to Landry. She has generated over $5,000 in sales and donated more than $500 to Maine charities, including Friends of Woodfords Corner and Side x Side. Landry described a system they developed for managing her earnings, dividing the money into “buckets” for fun purchases, charitable giving, reinvestment in the business, and savings.

Maddie’s designs include characters like “Cherry and Cone,” an ice cream cone and cherry who embark on an adventure after deciding to escape being eaten, “Workout Lobster,” a lobster lifting weights, and “THE,” a fuzzy green creature with bunny ears. Landry, a local real estate agent with Benchmark Real Estate, noted that watching his daughter approach her work with curiosity and optimism has influenced his own business perspective. “Watching Maddie approach her work with curiosity, optimism, and a willingness to try things without overthinking them pushed me to look at my own business through a much fresher lens,” he said.

As of December 5, 2025, Maddie Moo Designs continues to grow, with Maddie learning about entrepreneurship and financial responsibility along the way. Landry emphasized that Maddie’s success wasn’t driven by pressure but by encouragement and opportunity.