The Art of Storytelling
Nina Rowan and Lisa Mueller are creative partners who know how to spot the heart of a story—and know how to bring it to life with clarity and craft.
Nina is the founder of TOT Industries, with 15 years of experience producing award-winning live-action and animated work alongside a trusted network of illustrators, animators, and crews.
Lisa is a seasoned Creative Director, with an international background across agencies and in-house teams, known for uncovering the insight that makes a story resonate—and shaping it into work that performs across channels.
Together, they move quickly and collaboratively from idea to execution, creating everything from short-form videos and product demos through customer stories, all the way to cinematic brand films—designed for social, web, broadcast, and events. Their work often begins by helping define the strategy—then expands into cross-channel marketing content, presentations, and content systems that bring the story to audiences wherever it matters most.
Our stories are told in film and animation. We use the camera to pull out the essence of a person, to discover what makes them tick. Or we deploy artists and illustrators and set their vision into motion to bring ideas to life, to educate, or bring order to complex schemes.
As storytellers, we are patient listeners and thoughtful synthesizers. We seek out the strategic nugget or gleaming insight that will infuse your story with the kind of magic that can engage an audience, move them to tears, stir them to action, or just make the feel a little bit better about everything.
Every brand has a story. We’d like to hear yours, then help you share it with the world.
Meet the Team
Nina Rappaport Rowan
Executive Producer, President
Ms. Rappaport Rowan, is a leader in the field of animation. Producer of the 1998 Academy Award® winning Best Animated Short Film, Bunny, and Executive Producer of Universal’s blockbuster animated feature Despicable Me, Rowan is known for her expert knowledge of animation and her skill in developing teams that can tackle innovative and complex animated and live-action projects.
Ms. Rappaport Rowan is currently President of TOT Industries, located in Marin County, CA, which she founded in 2006. TOT develops creative content, provides strategic guidance, and flawlessly executes all manner of creative products including books, live-action film, toys, animated feature films and animation television production for companies large and small, and kids of all ages.
From 2006-2009 Nina produced a series of children’s books for Simon and Schuster titled Trucktown created by renowned children’s book author Jon Scieszka. Trucktown has appeared on the New York Times Children’s Best Sellers List. Ms. Rappaport Rowan has since consulted on multiple feature projects, children’s books and commercials, including 20th Century Fox’s Rio.
Prior to TOT, Ms. Rappaport Rowan helped lead the expanding computer-generated animation and visual effects division of Wild Brain, an animation movie studio. She was responsible for recruiting artistic and technical talent, developing a production pipeline to efficiently create and manage film assets, and developing production and business strategies for the company.
Lisa Mueller
Creative Director, Collaborator
Lisa Mueller is a Creative Director with more than 20 years of experience shaping stories for brands through thoughtful, strategic video and integrated marketing campaigns. She partners closely with Nina, with whom she’s created a wide range of work across companies and teams, a collaboration grounded in trust, shared taste, and a deep love of storytelling.
Lisa focuses on the heart of the story. She helps define what needs to be said, who it’s for, and why it matters, then shapes the creative vision across video, campaigns, and creative systems that bring ideas to life. Her work is known for turning complex ideas into clear, human narratives that connect emotionally and serve a real purpose.
She brings curiosity, care, and clarity to every project, creating an environment where collaboration thrives and the work feels both meaningful and well made. For Lisa, great creative isn’t about spectacle, it’s about connection.
Jacoby Grant
Director, Collaborator, Magician
Between transmutations and teleportations across physical and ethereal realms, Monsieur Grant conjures digital illusions that boggle minds and are dangerously transfixing. We shall speak no more of it here. Let it simply be said that it would be most providential should Monsieur Grant elect to involve himself in your business.