We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rachael Vrielynck. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rachael below.

Rachael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I am magical… or so I’ve been told.

But the secret is that I’m not magic, I take risks by creating my own opportunities. One of the first instances of this that sets the foundation how I live my life now goes back to high school.

It was my sophomore year in 2018 and I was taking all senior classes but the private school I went to wouldn’t allow me to graduate early. What did I do? Instead of wasting two more years taking filler classes, I moved out of state to Chicago and went to a community college. I did not have a high school diploma or GED and at the time I was only 16. I got my degree in Fine Arts with a GPA of 4.6 by the time my high school class graduated high school in 2020.

After graduation I did every art job under the sun. From murals, tattoo design, SFX makeup, product photography, custom upholstery, curating art exhibitions but somehow ended up working a factory job to make ends meet. I always put my whole self into everything I do and that often goes under appreciated in physical labor jobs. That’s when I took my second great risk. January 2022 I quit all of my jobs, except one weekend job and decided to freelance. I knew nothing of marketing and little of graphic design. I started doing Upwork jobs for anything I could get, I started with telemarketing and eventually got a job creating websites for an agency.

That’s when I discovered branding. I realized after two months of freelancing for marketing I had a solid foundation of knowledge and the objective artist eye to see what will and won’t work in the market. By May 2022 I had my first branding job and I excelled at it, I still work with my first brand creating new labels as they expand their products. Now only 6 months later I am highly experienced and have worked with brands in Vogue and Calvin Klein

I lived on my own and paid my own rent, it was scary having not experience, no backup plan, nobody to fall back on, but it was the best risk I could’ve taken. If the only reason you don’t do something is because of fear, then that’s exactly why you should do it.

Rachael, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Rachael, founder of Byrdi, a branding agency that crafts unique and strategic branding elements from e-commerce and service based businesses. The core of Byrdi is to create brands that attracts your target audience, reputable branding to keep them coming back, and tasty branding that leaves them chirping to all of their friends.

My expertise in hosting local shows and curating art exhibitions, has given me the marketing skills to create an interactive experience for customers from awareness to post-purchase. Capturing attention is one thing, but creation super fans is the key to success.

I create the foundation of businesses from marketing strategy to the visual graphics used across all of their platforms. My services include a strategy guide that covers the basis of mission/vision statements, competitor analysis, target audiences, story board, messaging, and brand values. Once the strategy is set that’s when I get to the design stage which includes logos, illustrations, typography, color palettes, photography direction, product design, social media templates, and more.

As your brand identity expert I’m a lifelong partner to your business. Down the road I’ll always be there to help wether you need a new product designed, a new sign made, car wraps, or you need connections for other services such as emails or advertisements. I extend my hand of resources to you because your success is of the utmost important to me.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is to be apart of things that are so much bigger than I am. I’ve always wanted to do everything but that’s not possible, at least I thought it was. When I started branding the most amazing feeling was being the foundation to brands of all varieties, beauty, skateboards, candles, EDM artists, etc. Seeing my designs on store shelves, in magazines, being invited to VIP events, it’s the backstage pass to life. The collaborations and opportunities are endless and those experiences drives my passion for my work. I care about every brand I work with as though it is my own.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

There is always this connotation that being a creative is undervalued and the term “starving artist” is used a lot when creatives is pursued as a career. And to be honest, I was there. In college jugging several massive art projects it came to the point of the choice groceries or art supples. Art supplies always won. I dabbled in every art form, painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, rug making, tattoo design, murals, etc. All nighters back to back to complete projects, broke, with no spare time to have a job to pay for everything. Anyone else on the outside couldn’t understand why I put so much into a direction that would “never succeed”.

I couldn’t stop because the desire to create is in my bones. Art is everywhere, it’s in the design of cars, foods, packaging, buildings, clothes. It’s the power to create the world you want to be in and share it with everyone.

The “trick” to being a creative is not ignoring the business side. Providing value and necessity to artwork can be difficult but marketing yourself is the key to making a career from it. Art takes a long time to make no matter the form it takes. Wether it’s creating paintings or designing brands, I can guarantee that a minimum of six hours will be spent to fulfill.

My Advice for creatives, price according to time, materials, and your expertise and sell by emphasizing the necessities of you work. Is it a perfect gift? Foundation to your business? Interior design necessity? Put your work out there, nobody will know if you don’t tell everyone about it.

My advice for non-creatives, appreciate the time it takes to create and recognize the art that is in everyday life. If you have a friend who is an artist, don’t ask for a discount. Respect their time, skill, and support them for following their dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: gobyrdi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byrdi_branding/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-vrielynck-02657322b