Meet Amanda Cordsen of Four Sparrow in Lakewood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Cordsen.

Amanda, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve loved drawing and art for as long as I can remember, but never had a vision for what to do with that skill. The only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to strictly be an artist and depend on that for a career. I grew up with a father who was a newspaper editor for small town papers, and I was exposed to computer graphics and pagination spending time at his office. All the beige Apple computers and wax paste-up work was fascinating. I also spent hours torturing my siblings by staging elaborate costumes and directing photoshoots to realize some crazy artistic visions.

Unsure of my career plans I picked Texas Tech University in hopes of finding a path. Luckily for me Tech has a hidden gem of a design communications department that I stumbled across, and that was it! I spent four years learning from amazing faculty and exploring the field.

After graduating in 2004, I moved back to Colorado to be closer to family. I found a job at a small advertising and marketing firm in Greenwood Village and met a few people there that really helped to shape my future. Unfortunately, that agency was a casualty of the housing crash.

Out of work and a little lost I started doing some freelance work and bounced around doing work for small agencies and a few direct clients, briefly working full-time at spa development company.

When that ended prematurely, I was able to follow a previous employer and one of my favorite people to University of Colorado Hospital where I worked as a designer and art director for three and a half years. I look at my time at UCH as the training ground for working for myself— I learned a LOT about my abilities and how to manage time, work, and people. Two major highlights of my time there were getting to design collateral for some fundraising concerts featuring Bon Jovi and Dionne Warwick and being present for the early days in a newly formed healthcare system.

But the stress of a long commute getting longer, hours inside locked to a screen, and creative fatigue was taking a toll, so with the support and encouragement of my husband I decided to leave the hospital and grow my own freelance work. It was a terrifyingly huge step going out on my own in the world. It’s a scary/liberating thing being fully responsible for yourself.

In the midst of all this, my husband and I branched out and started a small coffee roastery. That was a delicious learning experience as well, and brought its own set of challenges. Flying Baron Roasters operated for three years before we decided to shut down. The craft was everything we hoped but the sales aspect was something neither of us wanted to continue in.

Six and a half years ago I left full-time work, and my how things have changed. Running Four Sparrow I work closely with small agencies and directly with clients of my own, and now have the ability to schedule my life and work more equitably and am able to get things done wherever I have cell service. I’ve learned how important it is to set boundaries around work, and every project is really a new adventure.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Certainly not, but nothing worth it ever is. I’ve been laid off several times and that is a blow every time regardless of the reasons. Promoting myself and continually looking for new clients and work is something I regularly struggle with. Working for yourself means you can’t just do the things that are fun or that you’re really good at, you have to step outside your comfort zone to make it work and that’s a daily battle. But that’s a battle I can confidently say is worth it.

The feast-or-famine nature of this work is also a tough pill to swallow. At first, I would panic every time things got slow. But I learned to track patterns and look at the year as a whole, and work to always have projects on the horizon. I’ve also gotten really good at taking advantage of the slow periods to do things I couldn’t when it was insanely busy, like more time outside and with my husband, or completely reworking my portfolio and marketing. Passion projects and to-do wishlist are good things to have in leaner times. Control what you can, and work around what you can’t.

Four Sparrow – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Four Sparrow is a boutique design studio specializing in branding, illustration, and front-end web design. We use smart design to help our clients define their brands and elevate their communications—we design to get results. The Four Sparrow philosophy is that good design doesn’t just happen. It comes from listening closely to what you as a client do and don’t say, and is carefully crafted with a purpose in mind. It should speak to who your company is, and it should speak to the people you are trying to reach. We embrace this belief whether we are designing a whole new brand look and feel or crafting a single email. We’re really proud of the relationships we have with all of our clients, big and small. When you meet people you work well with, it makes the work so much sweeter. We are here because of them, and strive to constantly do our best for them.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think luck and coincidence are definitely a part of my story. It’s the luck of the draw that I was born to the family I’m from, in the time period that I was. I consider it lucky that I’ve met the people in my life that have helped to shape my journey. Without them I’d not be where I am. It was lucky that I chose the university I did, not knowing where I wanted to be in the future and that it turned out the way it has. It was unlucky that I was just starting my career when the economy crashed, but lucky that I found the opportunities I did. I’ve been fortunate in the chances I’ve had, and that is why I’m able to do what I do. I also know that my abilities, hard work, passion and spirit helped carry me the last part of the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: foursparrow.com
• Phone: 720-940-7113
• Email: amanda@foursparrow.com
• Instagram: @foursparrow

Image Credit:
Kyle Iseminger, Susannah McLeod

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.