Art of Autism

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Anthony Collar is the artist behind the cards for Art of Autism.

Collar, 32, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two and turned to art as a calming mechanism.

Collar lives at home with his parents. He works alongside Yvonne Sampson, who is his business manager.

”The little people that Anthony creates are so whimsical and happy,” said Stefeni Collar, Anthony’s mother.

“The first thing I asked the psychiatrist that day when we got the diagnosis was, ‘Can you tell me anything to expect here?,'” said Stefeni. “He said offer him the moon and the stars as you would your other children and see where it goes.”

And she did. Through the help of his family, teachers, and more information about autism, Anthony was able to turn his passion into a business.

“We never wanted to make this a big business. We needed to make sure that we took those baby steps along the way with Anthony to make sure that Anthony was happy with what he was doing,” said Stefeni.

But it is. Anthony creates cards for his company four days a week from his office space in the Marriott in East Lansing.

You can find Art of Autism cards locally at places like Gigi’s Cupcakes, Al-Lin’s Floral and Gifts and the gift shop at Sparrow Hospital.

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