Farewell, Lynn Richardson

For the 13-odd years in the life of Inkling Stamp Company, I had the great pleasure and privilege of being Lynn Richardson’s business partner. I was also privileged to be asked to produce Mostly Santa Barbara, the book mentioned in her obituary which collected many pieces from her voluminous body of work.

Lynn was a talented, kind, bright, and funny woman. I had the rare opportunity to experience her as also being the business partner from heaven. Her talent was what made our company a success, but she was also hardworking and unfailingly responsible in creating new designs, and in managing the finances and shipping duties in our company. She provided a standard I failed to match, but I tried. In 13 years, there was never an angry word between us. As a bonus, I also got to forge a strong friendship with her equally talented and wonderful husband, Armin Muller.

Lynn and Armin lived in a home on Coyote Road, in the design and construction of which they both participated. They bought their property from Bobby Hyde, as part of the rich tradition of the Mountain Drive community. My son Mike and I once went there on an evening, to deliver some stamps to Lynn. As we were chatting outside, Mike casually asked if they saw many coyotes. They said they saw some and heard many more in the evenings. Lynn then went on to say they had recently seen a bear on the periphery of their property. Mike suddenly became much quieter, and suggested to me that it was probably time that we get started for home.

At Armin’s memorial, I noted these same qualities about the two of them, and I also said that as a couple, they were more than the sum of their parts. They were both highly talented and productive artists, the embodiment of the quotation “Art is hard work.” Relationships like this have been known to foster competitiveness and jealousy. Happily, the unfailing support and appreciation for each other made them both better. Theirs was a wonderful relationship to watch.

After her many years at a drawing table had taken a toll on her back, Lynn decided to take a shot at carving porcelain, alongside Armin. I would describe pen and ink drawing, and carving porcelain, as wildly divergent disciplines. You certainly would not have thought so if you had seen the wonderful pieces Lynn produced, as she converted the brilliant images in her mind from two to three dimensions.

It was an honor to be her friend and business partner. I’m confident I won’t meet another like her in my lifetime.