Making People Smile!

Walls of the Wild thrives on seeing kids and adults get super excited about decorating their walls with realistic mural stickers from our collections. Each sticker we make has been carefully hand-painted by our founder, Dede Lifgren. Her passion, creativity and incredible painting skills blend together to capture something truly special in every single image. That's why our stickers truly bring a room to life!

 

How it all began

When Dede's three sons were small, she painted some wild animals on their walls. A resting chimpanzee over the dresser looked like he was sleeping on it. A giraffe gave the boys something to measure themselves against. Soon she began to wonder if she could figure out how to make those paintings into wall stickers. Life-sized and beautiful for anyone who wanted them.  

It took a few years, but during the 90's, she and her husband, Jeff Bode, figured out the technical side of scanning, printing and cutting out the images. Dede went to work painting animals, and soon realized that her creations needed habitat to live in, so she started to paint plant stickers as well. It grew organically - dinosaurs were a natural progression, because don't all kids love them? (And adults too, right?) Barnyard animals, fish and coral reefs, birds of all varieties, and then magical creatures and scenes.

 

The Process

As is still her process today, she spent weeks researching each animal before starting any painting. Dede studied every angle of the animal, species differences and the dynamics of light under water, through the rainforest canopy or on the sun-drenched Serengeti. Needless to say, she came to know each animal intimately.

Dede has always focused on a very high standard for all of her creations and she and Jeff believed in creating high quality products that are affordable. They have created every sticker according to three guidelines:  

• Every hand-painted wall sticker must look highly realistic and capture the heart and soul of each animal or plant.
• The quality of every piece must look as if Dede came to your home and painted it herself.
• Walls of the Wild products should be affordable so every child (of any age) can appreciate wall art that isn't a cartoon.

Dede's commitment to making all of our wall stickers look realistic and not "dummied down" has made a hit with kids and adults. Her stickers are featured on walls around the world in children's rooms, schools, hospitals, zoos, pediatric offices and hospital floors and more. Even Hollywood has taken notice, featuring her works in countless makeover shows and celebrity homes.

Today, Dede still personally paints each piece. In a recent interview she was asked "What do you love about painting these murals?"
Her answer: "It just keeps me and everyone else smiling!"

The Business Today

Walls of the Wild is and always has been a true "cottage industry." Early on in their success, Jeff built an extra building on their property so they could move the printer (that ran all day and night) out of the house with three growing boys. When production needs required a second printer and they outgrew the first building, Jeff built a larger one and Dede moved her art studio into the first one. Now they have a thriving business focused on beautifying the world, one wall at a time. Unbelievably, those little boys whose bedroom walls started it all are now all grown up and out on their own.

Welcome to our Walls of the Wild family! We are so very glad you’ve found us.