We had the good fortune of connecting with Rebekah Richin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rebekah, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work life balance is hard for everyone, but maintaining one when you are your own boss can be particularly challenging. There is no higher-up to tell you to be at your desk at 9AM, or that you can go home at 5PM. Getting up in the morning to start work is completely up to you and your own sense of motivation and responsibility, and sometimes it just isn’t there. On the flip side, because there is no “off switch” from work, it is easy for me to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning to work. I have found myself at varying times since starting my own business craving the sense of routine and normalcy that I used to have when I had an office job just as often as I feel grateful for a flexible schedule that allows me to work when I want to. Before I was self-employed I worked in an industry with a minimum shift of 12 hours a day, 5 days a week. I knew no other lifestyle, so I had no idea what I had been missing. Once I became self-employed I realized that while I was at work from 10am-11pm every day, my friends were having dinners with each other, hosting movie nights, and spending their free evenings fostering hobbies that had nothing to do with their day jobs. Now that I have greater work life balance I am able to enjoy those elements of life more frequently, and I make it a priority to not dictate a schedule for myself that limits the thing that I find most valuable in life – time with loved ones.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The thing that excites me the most about creating art is how different artists work can be when working with the same basic materials. I began working with polymer clay in September of 2019, 6 months before the pandemic hit. When the TV show I was working on went on hiatus due to Covid, I found myself with an unprecedented amount of free time and a truly enviable craft-supply closet. I started amping up my clay-work – but I was far from alone. It seemed like every other crafty person on Instagram was discovering how to make jewelry with polymer clay as well. At first, I was dissuaded. I wanted to create something unique, and that seemed difficult in a world where my chosen medium was rapidly gaining popularity. However, I ultimately chose to let that hurdle inspire me to be even more creative in my use of the material, and develop a technique with clay that I hadn’t yet seen. Mixing my use of polymer clay with metal bezels and UV-resin was a total game-changer, and took my product to the next-level. There is nothing more satisfying than receiving customer feedback that my earrings are unlike anything they have seen before.

The one thing that I would want the world to take away from my experience as a self-employed jewelry designer is that if I can do it, anyone can. I can’t begin to count how many people have approached my booth at a craft fair and exclaimed that they wish they could create something like this. And my response is always the same – you totally can! I never considered myself particularly artsy or talented. All I wanted when I started to create my work was a creative outlet outside of work that felt productive and something to do with my hands while I was watching TV. I never expected anyone else to like what I made enough to pay for it, and definitely not to the point where it would be my full-time job. If you want to start creating something, just do it! All that matters is that you enjoy it, everything else will follow.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love this question! And now that I have lived in LA for 7 years I finally feel like I have a handle on some great recommendations. The first stop has got to be Little Ethiopia for some amazing Ethiopian food – particularly Lalibela’s on Fairfax. I would follow that up with a night of billiards, bowling and cocktails at Highland Park Bowl, and then maybe a walk over to Barcade for vintage arcade games and drinks. We are so lucky to have so many different cultural neighborhoods in LA, so if you have a whole week then I would definitely recommend spending time exploring a different one every day – Koreatown, Thai Town, Little Tokyo, Chinatown, Sawtelle…all amazing options, and those are just a few of them! And any trip to LA wouldn’t be complete without a park day at Kenneth Hahn in Culver City followed by the Culver City farmers market on Tuesdays, a dinner of Omusubi at Sunny Blue, and ice cream at Ginger’s. The best time of year is whenever the purple Jacaranda trees are in bloom, usually from late April to mid-June. And if you’re here in the spring or summer then be sure to check out a fun outdoor craft market (both a shameless plug, but also a genuine suggestion! There are so many incredible small businesses here) and, if you’re down for a bit of a drive, go strawberry picking at Underwood Family Farm in Moorpark.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am certain that I would not be where I am today without the endless support, mentorship, love and encouragement from my Dad. My Dad started his own business at 19 years old and worked tirelessly to grow it into a successful company until his recent retirement, so he has always been a self-starter and a proponent of working for yourself. When I first started to consider quitting my job to pursue Rhombusware full-time, it was my Dad who was my first call. He provided me the encouragement and advice that I needed to take the leap, and has supported my venture tirelessly. My Dad has never been known for being the one with the steel-trap memory (that honor belongs to my Mom), but he always remembers when I am vending at a craft market, and calls me the minute it ends to ask me how it went. Recently, though, he hasn’t had to call me, because he has been right next to me! Since I was a little kid my Dad has made a hobby out of woodworking, but in his retirement that hobby has turned into a lifestyle. He crafts beautiful charcuterie boards and other items out of wood and resin, and a few times a year we apply to markets together and run our booths side-by-side. My mom and sister have helped us run those markets as well, making the craft fair vending experience truly a family affair.

Website: www.rhombusware.com

Instagram: @rhombusware

Image Credits
Rachel Kucharski, Franklin Kramer, Rebekah Richin

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