Once Upon A Party…

In the beginning

From a kitchen table start up to an international party and lifestyle brand that sets the trend, welcome to the story of Meri Meri.

Meri Meri designs everything fun for life’s celebrations – partyware, seasonal decorations, heirloom-quality children’s gift and dreamy dress-up. Our products are inspired by the imagination of childhood and rooted in sophisticated design.

Establishing her brand in 1985, Meredithe Stuart-Smith worked with 70 San Francisco-based mothers who crafted cards from home, collecting supplies from her basement and working around their family commitments. “I started this because I wanted to pick my kids up from school,” says Meredithe.

Meredithe is arguably the original ‘mompreneur’ and ‘tablescaper’ – long before the terms were both coined. Within two years she’d sold her first range of cards to Bergdorf Goodman in New York City and Meri Meri was officially on its way to success.

Meet Meredithe: Read more about our founder

The brand grows

By 1990 Meri Meri had five employees at a small office in California, and by 1996 the number had increased to 30 employees in the US and UK. Fast forward to 2024 and there are now 85 employees in the US and UK, with a head office in the heart of the Cotswolds in Cheltenham, UK, where Meredithe relocated in 1996, as well as an office in Reno, US.

In 2018, Meri Meri moved to a three-storey creative space in the Cotswolds-based town. This includes a state-of-the-art creative design studio, filled with sketches, drawers full of party plates, hats and decorations and plenty of bows and shimmer, where our dedicated designers make the magic happen.

Meredithe Stuart-Smith, Founder and President of Meri

“I’ve always loved the process of coming up with an idea and bringing it to life. Imagination is freedom”

Meri Meri now sells in 80 countries, in over 5,000 shops and online. The online retail sites (UK, US and Europe) went live in 2017, and are not only a place to buy Meri Meri products, but also feature an inspirational blog with craft ideas to make at home, and ideas to make parties perfect.

Several innovative and on-trend designs have followed to huge success, including statement garlands, themed partyware, home decorations, luxurious dress up costumes, candles, and collaborations with Ladurée, the elegant French restaurant, tearoom, and macaron specialist. Ideas and creations are constantly flowing, with new products launched every spring/summer, autumn/winter, and for seasonal celebrations including Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and more.



Everything Meri Meri produces undergoes an imaginative evolution, starting with that spark of a new idea through to the careful choice of a finish to make a product. Fun, quality, and superior designs drive our team of talented designers, illustrators, and crafters to conjure up our new products. In fact, Meri Meri was responsible for creating the Cupcake Kit in 2008, which became an instant best-seller.

Meri Meri is increasing its reusable partyware ranges, with products available crafted from bolster wood, recycled plastic (containing at least 82% recycled plastic) and a bamboo fiber mix range.

Meri Meri Timeline

Since launching Meri Meri has sold 1.9M + sets of candles, 480,000+ cupcake kits, 175,000+ party hats, and 70,000 + dress up costumes.