Meet Amanda!
Amanda Grace Design has grown from a dream and become a captivating reality of drawing and design. Self-taught artist, Amanda Corcoran, has honed her keen eye and natural talent into a profitable design business full of unique patterns, colorful palettes, playful sketches, and sophisticated motifs. When Amanda is not executing her role as CEO of her husband and three inspiring children, she is drawing and creating new pieces and patterns for the world to enjoy.
Amanda is inspired by her faith, family, and the natural beauty of her rural home in Loudoun County, Virginia. (And here’s a little secret, even her business name is inspired by family. The “Grace” in Amanda Grace Design is her daughter’s middle name.)
We are so honored and excited to be working with Amanda again!
When it comes to creating new designs for Audrey & Bear, there are sometimes that I'm looking for something specific and other times I really trust the artist and allow their creativity to take charge. In this instance, Amanda's creativity took over and the outcome was pretty magical. From the color choices to the style and line weights, this design we now call "Midnight Meadow" was born from her imagination.
The original idea was to create a new collection for the spring season, but we all agreed the first drafts didn't read "spring" or "summer" very well but we loved the color so much that we left it in its original state. Then came a few renditions of supporting designs and the collection was born.
A few things I LOVE about this collection:
1. The theme is magical.
Woodland animals is a big trend right now among babies and children. Taking a fresh approach can be challenging with such a popular theme. This collection focuses on sophisticated shapes and playful colors and all of the elements moving together to create a sense of whimsy and magic.
2. It's gender neutral without being bland.
We all know that gender neutral is very popular right now, but it is usually depicted in tan, cream, beige and white with very simple motifs. This adventure collection surprised me as a truly colorful gender neutral option. I have loved mixing and matching all of the patterns together to create our Audrey & Bear offering and every time we complete a product, I think to myself (and often comment) that it could work well for both boys and girls!
3. Would be great for babies AND big kids.
This collection was originally designed for our baby products and wow, it does look stunning on a swaddle! It also looks great as a lovey, hooded, towel, baby minky blanket, etc... which is why it is available in our baby section. As we started working with the patterns and applying the pattern to more and more things, it was overwhelmingly obvious that the entire collections would look stunning on all of the big kid items as well. What a great option for Boy/Girl twins and any baby as they transition into toddlerhood and beyond.
4. It's a complete collection so you can mix and match.
This is the first time that we have been able to offer a complete collection of designs. Thanks to our new website organization and our ready-to-ship offerings, you can now purchase a collection of items that will play well together in any bedroom, nursery or playroom.
There you have it! This collection represents an enormous amount of work, but it has surely paid off. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Best,
Rachel
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