Hey y’all!

wedding photo, wedding dress, ann barge dress, blogger photo, profile photo

I’m Rachel, or as a lot of my friends call me “Bama"—the face behind Bama to Brooklyn. I was born and raised in Dothan, Alabama and it is and always will be an incredibly special place in my life. It’s the place that made me, me… where I made lifelong best friends. It shaped me into the person I am today. *Cue Miranda Lambert singing “House that built me”*

Park Slope, Brooklyn, NYC, NYC Life, blogger

I now live in New York City, specifically Park Slope. I love it here! There is nothing like the hubbub, buzz and energy of the city. Plus, I met my husband here, so I guess that makes it kind of a cool place. We got married in August 2019, and plan on living here for the foreseeable future. As much as I’ll miss the South, as long as he’s by my side I think I’ll be pretty dang happy (plus we plan on traveling back a lot to visit… so it’s really the best of both worlds)!! Alabama and Brooklyn couldn’t be more different but I couldn’t love either of them more.

watercolor, watercolor painter, watercolor paintings, design, graphic designer

I spend the majority of my time painting and designing, and when I’m not doing that I’m exploring the city with Noah, organizing, watching Netflix (my new fav show is Selling Sunset) or reading. I’ve always had a passion for gift-giving… for searching and finding that perfect gift that I know will bring a smile to someone’s face. Then this past year I discovered that I can use my paintings and designs to create affordable products for others to give and receive—the ultimate goal being for these gifts to bring joy!

Rachel, Auburn Graphic Design, Auburn University, Graphic Design Graduate, NYC Blogger, Designer, Painter, Watercolor Painter

A Little Background
I graduated from Auburn University with a BFA in graphic design and started my design career by spending two years working in branding/logo design for a company here in NYC. I worked on projects big and small, like logos for vet clinics and startups, advertisements for pharmaceutical companies, and even got to work on larger brands like AT&T & BP. While I loved the design foundation that job built for me, in time, I realized it wasn’t the direction I wanted to go in. I was and have always been obsessed with two things: watercolors and children’s illustrations. I love cute little whimsical illustrations and the use of watercolor to bring the organic shapes and bright colors to life so I decided to make a career switch.

In June of 2016 I shifted my design focus from branding to baby product design and joined a company called Pearhead Inc. here in NYC. I was a senior product designer at Pearhead for 3.5 years. By day, I was working on anything from swaddles, to frames, to plush animals or board books. By night, I was working hard on my own personal designs (Bama to Brooklyn!) In November 2019, I decided to leave Pearhead and go out on my own. Now I am a full time freelance designer and have created my own baby line which is launching March 14th 2020! 

curated box, gift box, mug, silk sleep mask, tshirt, kisses shirt, lips shirt

Curated Gift Boxes!
For now, Bama to Brooklyn is a collection of different products printed with my watercolor designs. My goal is to create affordable gifts that bring joy to others. I recently have been working on gift boxes... which I am so excited about! I can’t wait to release them.

BOX 1—The Engagement Box (for those friends preparing for a wedding!)
BOX 2—The Birthday Box (it’s time to celebrate, y’all!)
BOX 3—The Joy Box (because we all just need a little pick me up sometimes)
BOX 4—The New Baby Box (for the sweetest little newborn nuggets & their mamas)

 

“Walderwinks”—My Baby Line!
On March 14th, 2020, I will be introducing my baby line “Walderwinks”. The title comes from a combination of two things: walder means “woodland” in German and it’s an ode to my German grandma, Owee. “Winks” comes from the nickname my Grandpa, Popee, used to call us “Tiddlywinks”. I have quite the imagination and have always loved to develop silly short stories about imaginary creatures so this new line is me illustrating them and sharing them with you via products. Think swaddles, bodysuits, teethers and bibs!

Well that’s all I have for now. Thanks for stopping by!
If you want to drop me a line feel free to email me: bamatobrooklynstudio@gmail.com