HELLO! It's so nice to meet you!

I’m Miriam Bos, an artist from the Netherlands who loves bringing ideas to life through art and design.

While still in art school, I began illustrating educational children's books for schools and made editorial artwork for tween magazines.

In 2002, I earned my Bachelor's in Fine Arts, followed by another degree in Teaching Fine Arts two years later. But I never felt the call to become a teacher, so two days after graduating, I hopped on a plane and took off to California to create art and animations for my uncle's audio-visual manufacturing company on a freelance base. The animations and some of the illustrations I made were displayed in the ‘Digging Deeper’ bug experience in Kidspace Pasadena. Despite the experience, I was eager to start my career as an illustrator as I missed drawing very much. I also missed my family and homeland and knew it was time to go home.

Back in the Netherlands, I met my best friend Coen, who is now my husband. Together, we settled in a 70s drive-in home in Apeldoorn, which gave me enough space to build my little studio. Here, in this green city, surrounded by the Veluwe, I create my art with much joy and purpose.

My work has now expanded to include a diverse array of products, from stamps, books, and puzzles to games, fabric collections, stationery, dish ware, and home décor.

“With my art and storytelling, I like to add color to your world, and a smile to your face.”

I traditionally work with gouache, crayons, acrylics, watercolors, pencils, and ink, but I love to mix them up with digital techniques and collage too. Blending these techniques together, I aim to make my artwork look bright and cheerful.

In my free time, I dive into hand-sculpted ceramics and experiment with lettering, needle felting, sculpting, and writing. One of my proudest moments was publishing my first self-written and illustrated picture book, ‘Help! Een verrassing! (Help! A Surprise!), which came out on March 15th, 2022, through Dutch Publisher ‘Uitgeverij Lemniscaat.’ 

I guess it's safe to say that I love making things.

A little trivia

What's in a Name?
My last name, 'BOS,' is the Dutch word for 'forest', which feels just right because I simply LOVE forests, flowers, birds, and nature in general. They’ve always been a huge inspiration in my art.

Nature Lover:
- I enjoy long, winding walks every day, rain or shine.
- According to friends and family, I walk way too fast for them to keep up. 😅

Hot Chocolate Enthusiast: You can wake me up in the middle of the night for a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Home Sweet Home:

Although I wasn’t born here, I live in Apeldoorn and have fallen in love with the city and the surroundings of a forest-rich ridge of hills called De Veluwe.

Packaging Passion:
I am keenly interested in fun and quirky packaging designs:
- I’d love to design my own series of chocolate wrappers or tea tins someday!
- I also collect tins, both vintage and new.

Creative Duo:
My husband is creative too! He draws, sculpts, and even writes
books and comics!

(Late) Pets:
Sadly, our sweet cats have both passed away now, but they have left us with wonderful memories. We had a gentle and calm grey cat named Chip (2008-2023) and a goofy little nut-job of a cat who was always up for a cuddle, named Pixel (2012-2018).

You might recognize the image shown here from my online profiles. It's an illustration I drew in 2017, featuring me and the cats together. I've been using it as my avatar on various platforms for years now. This illustration is my way of keeping their memory alive.

Books I’ve written and illustrated

  • 2022 Help! Een Verrassing! (Help! A Surprise!) - translated to French, German, Czech, Turkish, Italian, and more

    This book was elected Picturebook of the Year 2024 in the Netherlands. A song was composed, and a cute plush finger puppet of August the Fox was made.

  • 2023 Cadeautje! ( Present! ) translated to French, German, Czech, Turkish, and more

  • 2024 O jee, een logé! (Sticky Sleepover!) - no translations yet

  • 2025 Lekker Alleen! (Happily Alone!) - no translations yet

  • 2026 Bijna Gevonden! (Almost Found it!) - no translations yet - part of the Dutch Geef een Boek Cadeau’ event (The ‘Give a Book Away’- event).

Selection of clients:

  • Dear Stella

  • Berry Bros & Rudd

  • Peter Pauper Press

  • Papyrus

  • Design House Greetings

  • Calypso Cards

  • RSVP cards

  • American Greetings

  • Hallmark

  • Publications Auzou

  • Crocodile Creek

  • 2 Coqs D’or

  • Buffalo Games

  • Ceaco

  • Jillson & Roberts

  • Storytime Magazine

  • Intratuin
  • PostNL
  • Uitgeverij Lemniscaat
  • Bekking & Blitz
  • Transavia
  • Peaceable Kingdom
  • Mindware
  • Andrews McMeel Publishing
  • Cottage Door Press
  • Campbell Books
  • Pier1
  • Sanoma
  • Quarto Books

  • and many more…

Other places where you can find me

Spoonflower - For fabrics and more

Uitgeverij Lemniscaat - This is my amazing publisher (NL)

Mini Docu  - (NL video) - follow me on a morning in my studio
Interview (NL) with Prentenboek.nl
Interview (NL) with Boekenbingo
Interview (EN) with Children’s illustrators
Interview (NL) with Leesleeuw
Interview (NL) on radio NPO5 - Creating the POSTNL Christmas stamps (2022)
Publication (NL) Stichting Lezen about being chosen the Picture Book of the Year 2024.
Publication (NL) CPNB about being chosen the Picture Book of the Year 2024.
Publication (NL) in Het Parool about being chosen the Picture Book of the Year 2024.
Publication (NL) in Het Algemeen Dagblad - Creating the POSTNL Christmas stamps (2022)