Hidden Gems: Meet Rachel Artiste of Rachel Artiste

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Artiste.

Hi Rachel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey with art began simply—as a curious kid taking oil painting lessons for fun around the third grade. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Art was just something I enjoyed. But in sixth grade, something happened that changed how I saw myself, something shifted.
For a book report project, I decided to draw the cover myself. When I turned it in, my teacher looked at me with scepticism and said, “You didn’t do this.” She insisted “one of my parents had drawn it”. I remember the sting of that moment—confusion, then hurt, feeling that I was perhaps; in trouble. But then it clicked. She didn’t believe I did it because she was impressed. That moment stayed with me. It was the first time I realized that maybe I had a natural talent worth exploring.

Growing up with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) has shaped nearly every part of my life—especially my journey as an artist. My mind is constantly full of ideas, but keeping them organized, turning them into consistent routines has always been a challenge. Finding focus is still a daily challenge, but art has always been my grounding force—my way to process the world where time, just disappears.
My parents didn’t discourage my creative side, but they also didn’t push me toward art as a serious career path. Their philosophy was to provide my three older sisters and I with opportunities. Then, let us choose, independently, our direction in life.
That freedom led me to unexpected places. Unsure of what I wanted to do, I left home and traveled the world, started small businesses along the way, making lifelong friends in the process of discovering who I was as a young adult. I gathered experiences, like pieces of a puzzle. I didn’t yet know I was building. And through it all, art stayed with me —never demanding, never loud, just waiting patiently in the background.
It wasn’t until later in life that I realized art wasn’t just something I did —it was who I was. I began exploring different mediums—drawing, painting, sculpting with clay and stone. In my early 30’s I started “Alley Catz” in Big Bear Lake, California. There, I found joy in transforming discarded furniture into something beautiful and useful again. I loved the idea of functional art—beauty that becomes part of everyday life.
Now, my children are adults, are on their own and it is time for Me to re-discover who i am, without “kids”. When my kids left home, I was heartbroken. I decided to pick myself up, and I opened my online store: https//:www.etsy.com/RachelArtiste/shop, where I now offer my artwork; printed on notebooks and other functional pieces. After years of navigating the ups and downs of both creativity and entrepreneurship, I’ve taken a big step forward. I recently hired a team to help with video content, marketing, and the launch of my new website, RachelArtiste.com. For the first time, I feel like I have both the vision and the structure to bring my work to a wider audience. Due to be completed by end of September, 2025.
This isn’t just a business. It’s a reflection of my growth, my resilience, and the creative voice that’s been whispering to me since I was a child.
My hope is that in sharing this journey, others will feel permission to follow theirs— wherever, and whenever, it begins.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Having ADD has been the biggest challenge. As I get older, it becomes increasingly more difficult to maintain focus, organisation and motivation.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Rachel Artiste?
Before I became a parent, I was a small business developer. I started 13 different businesses nationwide. All but two were overnight successes. Being an artist and promoting my artwork has been the most challenging start up thus far.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I have had great luck along my personal and professional life’s, journey. I feel blessed to have already caught the attention, reaching customers across the globe. Some of my first orders were in Bordeaux, France.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RachelArtisteShop
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelartiste
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelArtisteOfficial
• Twitter: https://x.com/RachelArtiste
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rachel.artiste
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelartiste