Have you ever struggled to find good-looking, outdoorsy clothes for your children? You might remember your own struggles of finding clothes to fit your outdoor lifestyle as a kid. Maybe you had to wear hand-me-down camo T-shirts or pick out clothes from the boy’s section.
Amanda Lundgren, of Aledo, knew that feeling all too well. When it came time to clothe her own children in outfits appropriate for their outdoor lifestyle, the options were limited, so she decided to create her own line of clothing.
“It all started before I even had kids of my own,” she said. “A lot of my friends were having kids, mainly boys, and we were all com- plaining about the options for boys clothes. When I found out that I was pregnant with twins, one girl and one boy, I thought, ‘where can I buy clothes like my husband wears? Where were kid-size Simms fishing shirts or lightweight button downs for the ranch?’”
The Lundgrens are an active outdoor Texas family.
“My family has a ranch and we spend a lot of time outdoors,” Lundgren said. “If we aren’t at home, 90 percent of the time we are at the ranch.”
When the twins were about 6 months old, the family went on a trip to the lake. That’s where frustration with options pushed Lundgren into designing her own clothing line, calling it BlueQuail Clothing Co.
“The thought of limited options and limited options for sun protection of my babies kept festering in my brain; I couldn’t let it go,” she said. “Pretty much by the end of that weekend, I had a name and everything for the business.”
Sun protection is very important for children and skin cancer runs in Lundgren’s family, so designing functional and protective clothing was important. All BlueQuail designs are stain resistant, UPF50+ rated fabrics, so you can rest easy knowing your little one will be protected from harmful UV rays and stains.
“We want our kids to spend as much time as possible outdoors, hunting and fishing and knowing they are protected from the sun and dressed in cute everyday outfits,” she said.
When it came to the name, Lundgren was researching animals and came across the blue quail. Originally from Midland, she was familiar with hunting for the game bird. In her research, she found quail will protect one another’s covey whether the chick is theirs or not.
“When reading that, I thought to myself, there it is,” she said. “That’s what I want to do – protect the skin of the youth.”
Lundgren’s brother is a graphic designer and created the company’s logo. Sourcing the materials and the right manufacturer took time, as Lundgren wanted to get it right. After some time, the company was up and running. They sell online and in select children’s boutiques, sporting goods stores and lodges across the state and beyond.
Being a hunting family, friends encouraged Lundgren to get involved with the Dallas Safari Club, where their booth stayed crowded during the 2023 convention in January.
“Our sales were really taking off in the children’s boutiques, but we weren’t really reaching who we though our real customer base was until we got involved with DSC,” Lundgren said. “I was able to get in front of the people who I created this line for, the outdoor-loving community.”
