Hello! Welcome to Little Lion Designs! I do custom fabric collage art pieces for nurseries, weddings, anniversaries ... you  name it! I also have a stock pile of pieces up for sale at my etsy site.

Here’s a little bit about me. My name is Stephanie Urban, and I started doing art when I was old enough to hold a pencil. Most of my adult years were spent as an art director/graphic designer, until now. In May of 2009, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Kaia Belle Urban. Before she was born, I handmade everything in her nursery. After all the projects were finished, I was left with a box full of scrap fabrics. Instead of tossing them into a landfill, I decided to create something from them. I then made my first fabric collage piece named "A Tree for Kaia".

Kaia was born and 3 days later was transported to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital due to a "heart murmor". After running a few tests, they found out that she had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (a congenital heart defect in which only half of the heart forms). She passed away at only 34 days old, after surviving almost 3 weeks post-op from open heart surgery. She is my inspiration, my love, my angel. Two months after she passed, I lost my job as a graphic designer.

In an effort to use art therapy as a way to heal from my loss, I decided to "listen" to my calling and start creating more and more of these fabric pieces. Soon, I started receiving requests for birthdays, showers, anniversarys, etc. I then realized this was a great way to spread awareness for congenital heart defects, which affects 1 in every 100 babies born. 

We called our daughter "Little Lion" because she was such a tough little fighter. I decided to name the work after her, since it was her that inspired me to create it in the first place. Thus was born, Little Lion Designs.

Mindful of the environment and our impact, I try to leave as little of a carbon footprint as possible. I gather fabrics from thrift stores, taylors, quilters, etc. I wash all fabrics in an eco-friendly, unscented baby detergent. All buttons or ribbons used are from the clothes I gather and then cut up for use. I make my own starch from corn starch and water, and I use a very child safe non toxic fabric glue to adhere the pieces together. Each item is completely finished and ready to hang. No frames needed!

I can custom make any requests regarding a specific animal, shape, image, color, size, name...you name it!

Each item is unique. None will be duplicated exactly, as my fabric choices are always changing. You can be assured you are getting a one of a kind piece.

Please email me for any further questions. Thanks for looking!

                                                                   Stephanie