Amanda and her husband, fellow artist Chris Ryniak, are the creators of the Thimblestump Hollow brand of designer collectible vinyl blindbox toys. With over thirty individual characters across three series, these toys provide a collection opportunity to collectors of all ages. The brand has sold tens of thousands of toys in brick and mortar specialty shops, online, at pop culture conventions across the US, and at Hot Topic locations across the US and Canada.  For more information, please visit the Thimblestump Hollow website!

In 2010, Amanda was contacted by Christopher Kezelos, a filmmaker from Australia, about designing and fabricating puppets for a short stop-motion film project. Entitled "The Maker", it has screened at over 70 film festivals worldwide, and has won 22 awards.  The film currently has over 11 Million views on Youtube.

Amanda’s one of a kind, mixed-media work (affectionately called "Dust Bunnies") combines the textures and colors of antique domestic objects, the natural world, and an obsessive attention to detail. At once endearing and unsettling, these fabric and clay creatures evoke ideas of cast-off children’s toys and mysterious folk art objects with human teeth.
 

Her work has been published internationally  and is highly sought after by collectors around the globe. Amanda has exhibited her work in galleries and conventions across the United States, France, and Japan.

Hi, I'm Amanda.  I was born in Ohio in 1980, and enjoyed a childhood full of tacky cartoons made to sell toys, 8-bit video games, countless solitary hours outside collecting weird stuff, and since both my parents were educators, lots of books, museum visits, and encouragement to explore my creativity.

My interests still include video games and toys (with a heavy dose of nostalgia), but have expanded to include antiques, spontaneous internet research, sewing, and amateur photography, music-making, and video editing. 

I like the darkest chocolate, the darkest red wine, and the blackest licorice (preferably salted).  I currently live near Lake Erie in Ohio with my husband Chris,  sometimes his two awesome kids, and an emotionally needy tabby cat named Dashi.