Have you entered this week’s contest yet? We’re giving away two maternity tees from Apple & Eve Maternity to one lucky reader! I had a chance to catch up with Lynnie, the creative mind behind the designs at Apple & Eve. Here’s what she had to say:

Where do you get your design inspirations?

I actually get most of my inspiration for designing my tees from my children! For example, my very first design came about with the help of my son Codi back in 1994 (when he was 3 1/2).  I was pregnant with baby #3 (Clay) and my son asked me, “Mommy, why do you have a ‘bump’ on your belly?” I told him, “The bump is there to protect the little baby inside.”  That innocent question from my child gave me the inspiration for “Baby Under Mommy’s Protection” (aka BUMP).  I now use that phrase on every mommy tee that I design as my signature logo! It is located at the lower corner of each of my mommy tees. To make the logo even more special, I had the footprints from my two youngest sons birth certificates replicated and incorporated into my logo, with the phrase “Baby Under Mommy’s Protection” arched above the newborn footprints.

I also try to keep things humorous (I’m well known for practical jokes around my house!), which you can probably tell from the “OMGIMPRGNT” tee. With baby #4 — better known as Colten – I was 37 years old and, bless his heart, he was an “OOPS!”  One of the first things I said was, “Oh my God, I’m pregnant!” My daughter Christina came up with the text version for the design of this tee! I guess you can truly say this is a “family” business!

How often do you release new designs?

I try to release a new design or two every six months. I will be releasing another Christmas design by mid-October.  I am also adding long sleeve and tanks to my collection! I love designing my maternity tees, it really is so much fun. And it certainly helps that the feedback from my customers is wonderful!  One of my customers even used the OMGIMPRGNT tee to announce that she was pregnant.  She had her husband and parents/family meet her at the local Olive Garden.  She wore the tee and as everyone figured out what the “text” message said, well, let’s just say, there were a lot of happy screams coming from a certain table in Olive Garden. Stories like that are what make this job so much fun!

Do you have a favorite tee and why?

I would have to say my favorite is the classic Baby Under Mommy’s Protection maternity tee, because it was my first design and is very sentimental to me.  I also am partial to my design “Watch Love Grow” – the detail in the artwork for this tee is just beautiful!

Ready to win TWO of your own Apple & Eve Maternity tees? Check out yesterday’s post, follow the rules and enter to win by midnight on Wednesday, September 23, 2009. We’ll randomly select a winner using Random.org. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for a whole other contest – a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!