The Etsy Market Maker: Rachel of Rachel Rainbow

Hi I am Rachel and no my last name is unfortunately not actually Rainbow. I started Rachel Rainbow as a creative outlet from my structured design job in children’s wear in 2013. I have a degree in Fashion Design and Technology and have always preferred to design for children. I love colour and sparkly things and rainbows and unicorns and these do translate better into a younger market. Although I am always on the lookout for the adult versions for myself. I think minimalism is beautiful, but I personally am attracted to a more eclectic style.

Enticed by nostalgic details and fanciful colours, Rachel Rainbow is created for pretending. Designed for children age 3+, each Rachel Rainbow piece is created to bring delight and to be treasured. Each piece is designed and handmade from a nostalgic place of fanciful things with care and attention to detail in Vancouver, BC.

Oh jeeze, I hate these questions. Sometimes you just have to force yourself to be honest. Schedule in the time and start to play. I wish I had a more whimsical answer. Pre-covid, I found going out to live local music and artist shows was always inspiring. I also find being outside can help me when I am stuck or any form of movement in general.

I bought a seriously run down doll house this month. I’ve always wanted one. And no, I do not have kids, this is for me. I want to refurbish it and make it into my mini dream home. Because, let’s face it, doing this for real in Vancouver is perhaps unlikely in the foreseeable future. So I suppose having creative outlets outside of Rachel Rainbow is what inspires me most. I LOVE to cook and feel that this is one of my greatest creative expressions.

At one point I had hoped Rachel Rainbow would be my full time job. However, in 2018 I started nannying part time and I loved this position so much and the balance it brought to my life. I went back to school full time in March this year so I am currently juggling school, my part time nanny gig and Rachel Rainbow!

I was born and raised in White Rock, BC, a suburb of Vancouver. I moved to Vancouver in 2012 after graduating from University. I always wanted to be in the city to be close to live music, amazing food and the many beaches (not that White Rock was lacking in beaches).

I have so many amazing and loyal customers. It truly is a privilege to have customers returning year over year to support my business. From small to large orders, I celebrate every single one. I especially love creating custom orders as there are less limitations in creating one of something vs twenty plus.

I design and assemble all Rachel Rainbow pieces in my one bedroom apartment in Vancouver, BC. I love sourcing new beads and charms and putting these together into whimsical combinations that I hope are unexpected and delightful to my customers.

The bookkeeping, taxes, admin side of things I dread. I want to make and send out orders and share photos and chat with customers in person at markets. The other less creative side of this business is where I struggle. I know I could/should hire someone, but I am one of those people who tends not to outsource if I can do it myself.

I guess that this is a small operation out of my home and now a super part time gig. It helps me pay for my groceries and for my tuition. I love when people email me and “my team” which is essentially myself, my cat, Dori, and my very supportive partner. I think what I’ve learned over the years is that running a small business brings the highest highs but also some very low lows. It brings me so much joy to create something that as a child I would have adored.

It is a bit of both. Because I work in essentially my living room and dining room my space is cleaned up and put away when I am done. But, when I am working on designing new pieces I spread out and take over the entire room and it is organized chaos.