By: Seth Johnson

As individuals who grew up navigating life with a vision impairment, Two Blind Brothers founders Bradford and Bryan Manning are excited to be the keynote speakers sponsored by VisionQuest Eyecare at IBCF’s 2025 Through the Looking Glass Gala presented by Eye Surgeons of Indiana on Saturday, September 6th. This year's event will support IBCF's mission, as well as early learning interventions and a re-envisioned preschool program at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

“When Bryan and I were growing up, we were fortunate to have services just like this in Virginia,” Bradford says. “We started learning braille and received some orientation and mobility support to navigate our schools. Beyond the skills training, our ‘vision teachers,’ as we called them, were not just teachers but mentors and friends that gave us confidence and accountability that was unique to the visual obstacles we faced. It's a privilege to be able to help further this work so others can pursue their own lives as we did.”

Although Bradford and Bryan had support from teachers and their family as children, it wasn’t until much later in life that they started to appreciate the unique experience of having a vision impairment and the way they could make their own impact on the world. One day, while shopping at a Bloomingdale’s store in New York City, the pair of brothers both wound up purchasing the exact same shirt, and all of a sudden, the wheels began to turn on starting their own clothing brand.

“We lose each other everywhere we go, and we came out of the store half-an-hour later and had both bought the same Henley, three-button shirt,” Bradford says. “We were like, ‘What? You picked out the same shirt?’ And then, we realized part of it was that if you can’t see the labels and price that well, you first see if you like the way something feels. So we were like, ‘What if there’s something to this? What if we started a brand that focused on this vigilance to fabrics and sense of touch, and we just made it charitable?’”

Despite having little knowledge of fashion, marketing, websites, or e-commerce, Bradford and Bryan decided to start their own detail-oriented clothing brand appropriately called Two Blind Brothers, with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Although initially started in 2016 as a “fun side project,” Two Blind Brothers quickly gained mainstream media attention, being spotlighted by The Ellen DeGeneres Show and NBC Nightly News. With this unexpected momentum, the Manning brothers decided to take their passion project more seriously.

“We were like, ‘It’s so rare to get traction on something that you’re just going to do because you love it. We owe it to ourselves, the charity, and the community. We have to take advantage of the gift we’ve been given with this media, and we have to ride this as hard as we can,’” Bradford says. “That’s when we got very serious and hired a bunch of people. We got smart on how to run an e-commerce business. We hired some product development and hired new factories and warehouses. That’s how it went from our little side business to the e-commerce brand it is today.”

Over the years, Two Blind Brothers has partnered with several organizations across the country, pushing their brand forward while employing individuals who are blind and visually impaired along the way. With their eyewear collection, for example, Two Blind Brothers has teamed up with Indianapolis-based organization Bosma Enterprises to employ individuals who are blind and have low vision as part of the manufacturing process. As a matter of fact, it should be noted that Bosma employs many graduates from Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, who may have had a hand in packaging these glasses.

“What I like about it is that it’s not actually a charity relationship,” Bradford says. “We are actually hiring these groups as part of our supply chain.”

Originally inspired by the shirts Bradford and Bryan purchased at Bloomingdale’s, Two Blind Brothers started out producing ultra-soft Henley shirts, before eventually expanding their product line.

“Somebody who is a lot smarter than us was like, ‘You know guys…Henley shirts are a subcategory of a subcategory. Why don’t you do t-shirts, which everyone wears?’ [laughs] So we have a couple different styles,” Bradford says.

In addition to shirts, Two Blind Brothers is now known for a few other products as well, including their socks.

“Our socks are our most popular products,” Bradford says. “They’re incredible — we got some great help on developing those. People just love them.”

Another popular way that people can support Two Blind Brothers is through the brand’s Shop Blind Challenge, which gives customers the opportunity to purchase a mystery box of various Two Blind Brothers items.

“Ironically, one of the ways Brian and I live is through putting trust in others, and it can give you a tremendous amount of independence,” Bradford says. “I can walk into a busy airport or restaurant, and maybe I can’t see everything. But what I can do is turn to the person next to me or turn to one of the staff, and within a minute, I’ve got the layout. I know where I’m going. I know what I’m ordering. I’m all set.”

Bradford continues, “These little acts of trust have always paid off for us, so we thought, ‘Can we create this with Two Blind Brothers?’ That’s what the Shop Blind Challenge is. There are no product images or descriptions. Just a question — will you shop blind? When we trust people, we usually get more than we expect. So when people do the Shop Blind Challenge, they get more than what they expect as well.”

As their brand has continued to thrive over the years, Bradford and Bryan Manning have taken pride in being a voice for the blind and low vision community.

“We see our role now as being a megaphone for other members of the community affected by these conditions,” Bradford says. “We attract a mainstream consumer audience, so we’re a good entry point for people who have no connection to vision issues.”

At the end of the day, the Manning brothers say they’re still having a great time running their business too.

“We feel like we’ve grown a lot through Two Blind Brothers, and it has been a lot of fun, which was our original reason for doing this,” Bradford says.

Bradford and Bryan Manning will serve as the keynote speakers at this year’s Through the Looking Glass Gala presented by Eye Surgeons of Indiana on Saturday, Sept. 6 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Noblesville. The brothers will also be leading an Entrepreneur Workshop with students from ISBVI in the days leading up to the Gala as well!

Purchase tickets to the 2025 Through the Looking Glass Gala today by following this link. Learn more about sponsorships available for this year's event here.