Let’s start from the beginning! Tell us a little about the journey that led you to where you are now.

I was raised in Los Angeles by a very creative family. My grandmothers were artists, my grandfather was a sound engineer, my mother is an artist, my father is a musician, and my brother is an architect and museum curator. Art has always played an incredibly important role in my life. I studied dance in college and then I started a clothing brand right after I graduated in 2002. I had many years of growth and success, but ultimately the industry changed, I changed, and it was time for me to close the company after 22 years, in 2024.

I was burnt out and my husband encouraged me to think about what really fulfills me and makes me happy and to put my focus there. Well, making art of all kinds makes me happy! I had been doing ceramics in some form for years, but was making mostly wheel thrown stoneware. A couple of summers ago, my younger son was having a playdate with a classmate and I helped them to do a little ceramic project – rolling, cutting out, and painting fish with underglaze. I posted what we were making and a beautiful shop reached out to me to carry my work….and the rest is history! That interest from that shop really gave a structure to the work I was making for fun, and gave me purpose to build a collection and sell it.

How would you describe your artistic style and the philosophy that guides your work?

I choose joy! I choose art! I choose expression!

For the first time in my creative professional life, my choices get to be based on what I love and what inspires me – without being influenced by the market and selling reports. It feels amazing! I can just sit down with my paintbrush and go. Because it’s just me, I am able to sell whatever I make. There aren’t any extras or projections. I make it, I sell it. I make it, I sell it. No production schedule and no pressure.

The version of what I am doing right now can’t be scaled, which is so different from what I was doing in fashion. And as a highly sentimental person, I love that the pieces I make become meaningful objects to their collectors – it means so much to me to have my art chosen for someone’s special collection and to be used during regular, everyday moments.

We’re thrilled to now carry Rachel Pally pieces at Shoppe Amber Interiors – namely the Echinacea Rectangle Catchall, Echinacea Small Bowl, and Small Oak Tree Round Lidded Box. What makes these pieces so unique?

I loved making these pieces for Shoppe. Echinacea and oak are both such powerful symbols. Echinacea represents healing and strength, and the oak tree represents wisdom and resilience. I love that all three pieces are meant to hold your treasures – a special piece of jewelry, a found object, a meaningful crystal – and can be a treasure itself. Each one is handmade and hand-painted – none are exactly the same. I am currently working on some beautiful tableware for Shoppe Amber Interiors as well – special pieces that can be used everyday.

Tell us what a typical day-in-the-life looks like for you.

I’m in full summer mode right now! I spend time with my boys (13 and 10), have been traveling, and spending time in nature with my family. I do a lot of yoga, a lot of ceramics, a lot of parenting, and endless laundry! I spend many, many hours driving to and sitting at various skateparks around the city to watch my boys do their thing! I love casting aside our rigid school-year schedule for a loose, fun summer. Although by the time September rolls around, I am so excited to get back into a clear routine.

Things were very different for me when I had my fashion brand. There was little to no downtime, my kids were younger and were able to go to camp while school was out, so I just kept working my regular schedule. I never got to exhale. In the fall, my plan is to drive my boys to school, get a yoga class in, and then spend the day at the studio making ceramics and managing my wholesale and ecommerce business. Then I will pick them up and head home to get our house back in order from a crazy morning rush, cook dinner, work on fashion brand collabs, and spend the evening with my family. My husband is also very creative and owns his own brand, so he creates his own schedule. With this new flexibility in my life, we are able to spend more time as a family. It’s beyond valuable, especially as our boys get older.

How do you find balance through it all?

Oh, I gave up on that idea ages ago! I think chasing “balance” is unrealistic. Life is a flow and a rhythm. Sometimes more attention goes in one direction than others. There has to be room for real, deep focus on some things and less focus on others. And it all shifts regularly, daily, and seasonally. I try to do a bit of everything – quality time with my boys, quality time with my husband, quality time with girlfriends, travel, yoga, dance, art – but I don’t expect to do it all at the same time, and that’s okay.

What advice would you offer to other creative entrepreneurs looking to grow their business?

Don’t expect to do it all on your own. Surround yourself with a team that can lift you up and whose strengths complement your own. Ask for advice, but trust your gut. Regularly push yourself out of your comfort zone. Enjoy the ride!

What’s next for you? How do you hope to see the impact of your work take form?

I am happy to be making art, pushing myself to paint new things, and build new forms. I am always exploring new mediums, like jewelry making, silversmithing, beading, basket-making, and crocheting. Staying creative is like exercising a muscle, and making sure I continue to push myself in other modalities helps me to grow as a ceramicist! I am also starting to host creative events for women with my dear friend Margaux Wanger. We want to help women connect and explore their creativity without the pressure of perfection (check out Good Enough Club on Instagram!)

Favorite place to visit to spark inspiration?

Anywhere in nature. I was just in Kauai and then in the Sequoias, and both places fill me up!

Color or neutrals?

I go back and forth. Right now it’s summer so I am loving color!

One thing that’s always in your bag?

Lip balm and rosewater spray for my face.

Favorite space in your home?

Outside! We live in the hills, and I just love being surrounded by trees. I love to sit at the table on my back patio to work.

Quote or mantra you live by?

“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” — Mary Oliver