Cuttinup Show Blankets is excited to announce that we are finally opening our doors to custom orders.
Cuttinup Show Blankets has joined forces with longtime product designer and artist Cara Lea Willoughby to create a top-of-the-line custom show blanket department. Cara Lea brings more than 40 years of experience in artistic and product design to Team Cuttinup. She has designed artwork and products for major companies such as Mustang Manufacturing, as well as boutique brands like Fringe Scarves.
Interestingly enough, Cara Lea was also the designer behind the iconic “Good Medicine Blanket” produced by Mustang Manufacturing. The blanket pattern was inspired by the markings Native Americans painted on their horses for luck, protection, and empowerment in battle and hunting. The Good Medicine Blanket became extremely popular first in reining, then cutting, and eventually reined cow horse.
Cara Lea shared this reflection on innovation within the industry:
“Like Jennifer Palmer and Cuttinup Show Blankets, my husband Jim and I saw the need for a contoured blanket with a built-in under pad long before it became mainstream. At that time, Mustang had secured exclusive use of a material designed to absorb heavy impact on a horse’s back — think impact gel. Jim suggested that the under pad be removable for cleaning without damaging or stretching the wool top blanket. For a brief time, that innovation became known as the Mustang Freedom Pad. It was simply an innovation before its time.
Some years later, I watched with great interest as the Cuttinup Show Blankets brand was built. As a cutter and the wife of a trainer, I truly appreciated the innovation Jennifer Palmer brought to the industry in 2019 bringing a full line of contoured show blankets. It was spot on.
I’m so excited to join the team that changed the market and made contour fit a standard in show blankets. I look forward to helping them build a custom department that aligns with their outstanding customer service and quality products they’re known for.”
At Cuttinup Show Blankets, we are incredibly excited to welcome Cara Lea to Team Cuttinup. Customers will now enjoy a truly hands-on, fully customized experience, working one-on-one with Cara Lea to create the blanket of their dreams.
For more information on starting a custom project through Cuttinup Show Blankets, including pricing and details, click here.
