Woman Wednesday no. 5: Rachel Saunders, Founder of Rachel Saunders Ceramics

Who is Rachel Saunders?

Rachel Saunders is a multidisciplinary artist,designer and founder of Rachel Saunders Ceramics from the West Coast of Canada currently working with ceramics as her primary medium. She places value on simplicity, functionality, sustainability, and playfulness. In her work she aims to highlight the inherent beauty of natural materials through self-taught technique and design. All pieces, both wheel thrown and hand-built, are made in Rachel’s studio on Vancouver Island.

What’s her story?

Rachel’s story starts in Los Angeles, where she was working as a visual merchandiser. Rachel was not fully satisfied with her career path and desired a drastic change. While working, Rachel took pottery classes which inspired her to pursue a career in ceramics. Shortly after, Rachel founded Rachel Saunders Ceramics in 2015 on Vancouver Island. Now, five years later, Rachel Saunders Ceramics is helping lead what some might consider a small business revolution. And with two assistants added to her team (she admits to experiencing some severe burnout earlier this year due to the shop’s success) and a jewelry collaboration with Wolf Circus continuing through the new year, Rachel Saunders fans will be pleased to hear that there are new items beyond vases and mugs and more collaborations coming soon.

How does she inspire us?

Rachel is an inspiration to us all and is featured in this week’s Woman Wednesday blog post because she is a determined, creative and successful entrepreneur who followed her passions and took risks to build her ceramics studio into the organization which it is today.

To find out more about Rachel, follow @rachelsaundersceramics and visit Rachel Saunders Ceramics.