Amanda Horan of Line + Cleat on Making Children's Life Jackets Something Kids Want to Wear

Amanda Horan is the founder of Line + Cleat, a children's life jacket brand she launched in 2023 after finding that the options available for her own daughters were safe but stiff, uncomfortable and hard to get excited about. As far as the company knows, it is the only women-owned USCG-approved life jacket brand in the U.S.

The jackets are designed to be soft, comfortable and beautiful, so that kids actually want to wear them and parents are proud to put them in the photo. Customers consistently mention how soft they feel, and the pink infant jacket has sold out three times across the first two seasons.

In this Q&A, Amanda shares what led her to build a better life jacket as a mom and a buyer, what it has been like to enter a male-dominated marine industry, and what is ahead for Line + Cleat, from a wholesale push in 2027 to Atlanta Market in January and three collaborations launching next year.

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Q: What inspired you to start Line + Cleat, and what gap did you see in children's life jackets?

As soon as I became a mom we started spending more time on the water as a family, I kept running into the same problem: the children's life jackets on the market were safe, but they were stiff, uncomfortable, and honestly not something you'd be excited to put on your kid. I was curating my daughter's outfits and swimwear for a boat day and then covering it with a life jacket I didn't like.

I noticed other kids fought wearing them, and parents had to choose between something that looked good and something that kept their child safe. I didn't think families should have to make that tradeoff. So in 2023 I built a line of USCG-approved life jackets designed to be soft, comfortable, and beautiful, something kids actually want to wear and parents are proud to put in the photo.

The response told us we were onto something. Customers consistently tell us how soft our jackets feel, and our pink infant jacket has sold out three times across our first two seasons. At its core, it's about getting more kids comfortable and confident on the water without compromising the safety products they deserve.

Q: What has it been like building a brand in the boating and marine industry as a woman founder?

The marine industry has historically been very male-dominated, and as far as we know, Line + Cleat is the only women-owned USCG-approved life jacket brand in the U.S. That presents both a challenge and an advantage. There have been rooms where I've had to work harder to be taken seriously, and a lot of the industry's infrastructure, from manufacturing to distribution, wasn't built with brands like ours in mind.

But being an outsider is also why Line + Cleat exists. I came at this as a mom and a buyer, not as someone steeped in how things had always been done, and that perspective is exactly what the category was missing. Moms make most of the purchasing decisions for their families, and I think the industry underestimated how much they cared about design, comfort, and quality.

Building this brand has shown me that there's real room for women to lead in the marine space, and I hope we help open that door for others.

Q: What's next for Line + Cleat?

We're in a really exciting growth phase. A big focus for 2027 is wholesale: getting Line + Cleat into more boutiques, resorts, and coastal retailers. We'll be exhibiting at Atlanta Market in January, and we're working with wholesale partners to grow that side of the business. We also have three life jacket collaborations launching in 2027 that I can't share details on yet, but I'm thrilled about them. Our past collaborations have sold out every year, so we know our customers love them.

Beyond that, we're exploring next-generation foam materials to make our jackets even softer and more comfortable without compromising buoyancy, and expanding into hospitality partnerships so families can find Line + Cleat wherever they're spending time on the water. And we'll keep doing what matters most to us: teaching families about water safety, supporting our local community, and encouraging the next generation to love their life on the water.

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