I get asked a lot where The Speckled Duck came from, so I thought I’d share her story.

When I was little and learning to write cursive, my Nana taught me how to draw a cursive S and make it into a duck. I remember thinking that it was soooo cool! I keep hoping that someday I’ll come across a gem when going through some of my old papers and find one of those first drawings.

I drew the duck off and on through the years and while in college, showed it to one of my graphic design peers. She encouraged me to make a logo out of it and I wondered why I’d never thought of it myself! So for the first time, the S-Duck became a digital image. I wanted to use the mark as part of my senior portfolio, so I came up with a name, logo and identity. “Speckled Duck Children’s Wear” adorned my senior show and competitions, and it was published as a winning entry in CMYK Magazine. There was something about this mark that people enjoyed.

When I decided to officially create my own stationery business, I searched and searched and thought about a name trying to find the perfect identity for me. One morning on my commute, it hit me… “I am the Speckled Duck!!” Before bed that night I shared my idea with my husband—he was so excited that we got out of bed to register the domain! There was no doubt that this was the perfect name. I pulled out the logo and refined it to suit its new identity. It means so much to me that my Nana is part of something that I absolutely love to do. I know she’d be proud!