Lansing Neighbors Collaborate on Custom Greeting Cards

An 11-year-old student and her 85-year-old neighbor are turning original animal marker drawings into professional stationery.

Updated on Oct. 27, 2026 in Painting

Bold vector editorial illustration of hand-drawn animal artwork and blank greeting cards, representing an intergenerational creative partnership. — Riley Haughey, 11, and neighbor Tony Klain are partnering to produce greeting cards featuring animal illustrations to fund her dance training. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Fifth grader Riley Haughey is partnering with her 85-year-old neighbor, Tony Klain, to produce and sell greeting cards featuring her animal illustrations. Known as Riley's Critters, the project serves as a creative collaboration that funds the young artist's dance classes.

Why it matters

The partnership offers a unique way for the pair to utilize their respective skills while supporting the extracurricular interests of a young student. By blending traditional marker art with digital editing, they have created a sustainable model for funding youth activities.

The project features original marker drawings created by 11-year-old Riley Haughey. The collaboration is facilitated by her 85-year-old neighbor, Tony Klain, who handles the digital scanning and Photoshop editing process for printing.

The players

Riley Haughey

She is an 11-year-old fifth-grade student who produces original animal illustrations known as Riley's Critters.

Tony Klain

He is an 85-year-old resident who uses his background in digital editing to prepare artwork for printing.

The details

Riley Haughey creates her animal illustrations by hand using markers, which are then digitized by Tony Klain. Klain uses his experience from previously digitizing his late wife's journals and drawings to refine the images for high-quality card production.

The pair became friends with the Haughey family six years ago.

Culture Shift

This collaboration reflects the growing trend of intergenerational creative mentoring models that bridge age gaps through shared projects. By pairing the creative enthusiasm of youth with the technical experience of older generations, neighbors are building new community-based economies.

Residents in Lansing looking to support youth arts or purchase unique stationery can engage with this local project. The initiative demonstrates how small, home-based collaborations can effectively utilize local talent to fund personal development goals.

The takeaway

This partnership highlights how neighborly connections can be leveraged to support creative expression and financial goals. Residents can look to their own neighborhoods to identify skill-sharing opportunities that might benefit both younger and older community members.