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

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

It’s a funny story, actually, how I came up with the name Monarch Solstice. My husband and I were watching the 2005 King Kong movie, and there is a secret organization in that movie called “Monarch”, but meaning a ruler, more like “monarchy”. The timing was weird because I had just decided to start a new business, separate from my first business, The Bold Co. Girl, so that I could have a specific space to sell earrings in. My other business was starting to lean more towards just graphic design, and I was finding it hard to market both. Anyway, while we’re sitting watching that movie and I hear “Monarch” something really struck a chord, and I imagined a butterfly with a crown for a double meaning. Of course when I started looking up “Monarch” as a business name countless other businesses showed up in the search, and I knew I wanted my business name to really stand out. For days I tried out the word “Monarch”, now entirely envisioning a butterfly, with countless other words- colors, names, and finally words related to seasons. I finally landed on pairing “Monarch” with “Solstice” – particularly for the Summer Solstice. Originally I had the words swapped- Solstice Monarch- but through the process of telling my friends and family about the idea, realized that Monarch Solstice had a better ring to it. Once I settled on the name, it was really cool to realize that I unintentionally created a name that represented how I wanted people to feel when buying from my business. Butterflies represent change, growth, and excitement. The summer solstice has always represented prosperity, happiness, and a sense of calm for me. In a lot of ways, this name not only represents me, but signifies the happiest times in my life.

Rachel, 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?

Hey, there! I’m Rachel, the maker behind Monarch Solstice, and my journey as an entrepreneur has definitely NOT been linear. I think a lot of times we hear about other people’s journeys with their businesses and think that everything is so clear cut and simple- entrepreneur is good at something, decides to make a business out of it, opens the business, slowly builds success, and voila! Happy ending, right? For me, my path looks more like the path of a cat owner trying to cross the room- lots of stops, starts, detours, and big steps over obstacles (my fellow cat owners know EXACTLY what I mean, haha).

I originally started my journey as an entrepreneur in 2016 when I became certified as a wedding and event planner. As long as I can remember I have LOVED weddings, and I really do have a knack for planning events. For a couple years, I really took the idea and ran with it as much as I could while still working some part time jobs, and eventually a full time job. My business never really took off, though, and I was definitely frustrated. Thanks to some advice from a friend, I started creating some accompanying products like hand made party decor and signage. During that time, my church also introduced me to an organization that funds a school and boarding for girls in Africa that are at risk of being trafficked. I started creating and graphic designing art to raise money, and slowly remembered my passion for art and crafting, paired with my new found love for graphic design (I had taken some classes in college that really sparked an interest).

A couple years after I started my business, I started offering products I designed or created myself as well as started designing logos for some close business besties. At the time, I really didn’t know much about business, and was just finishing my Bachelor’s in Marketing. I honestly had no idea what direction I wanted to go in, but knew my goal was to eventually be a full time entrepreneur.

Over the years, I dabbled in creating a variety of products including my own hand made journals, a smattering of apparel, and various small gifts like keychains, stickers, cups, mugs, and of course eventually face masks when Covid came around. By the time Covid hit, I had already made the decision to stop planning weddings and events- partially because I really didn’t have many clients in that area- and partially because I was struggling a LOT with anxiety, and that line of work really puts your nerves through the wringer. So, around 2019-2020 I was fully throwing myself into products and graphic design.

In August of 2019, I started playing with polymer clay after watching a video on Facebook about all the different things you could make with it. The first few things I made with polymer clay were some little ring dishes for beside the sink and some drink coasters. It’s wild to think back on how much I didn’t know about the medium. I had also started to make some earrings- but not out of polymer clay- just out of findings.

The next spring I made my first pairs of polymer clay earrings- just some very simple studs with some metallic paint accents. Truthfully, it took me almost a year to realize just how much you could do with polymer clay, and even then I was pretty intimidated by it! I was still making earrings, but only 1 or 2 pairs out of the bunch would have a very small portion made out of clay. It wasn’t until early 2021 when my husband and I were quarantining with Covid that I really decided to make a go of it. I was preparing inventory to vend at the Delaware State Fair, and I had no clue how much inventory I would need, I just knew I should probably make A LOT.

I, of course, still made other products because I was still trying to find what I was really passionate about, but it was during that time that earrings, and polymer clay earrings in particular really took a hold for me. I designed 10 different styles and made over 400 pairs of earrings from those styles. At the time I had no clue you could mix clay to make other colors, so I used simple white, black, and beige clay. I also didn’t know about finishing techniques like sanding, so those pairs were really rough- I am so thankful for those incredibly kind customers at the fair who raved over these pieces that would never meet my current standards. It’s because of them that I had the confidence to keep trying and hone my skills.

By August of 2021, I had officially separated my two businesses, the Bold Co. Girl now specifically graphic design (as I had honed my skills in that area over the years as well and really fell in love with teaching myself new tools and tricks and started gaining momentum designing logos), and Monarch Solstice had launched as well, just for earrings. I know if I had never tried all the other products I made over the years, I never would have realized that my passion truly lies in creating earrings and playing with polymer clay. By November 2022 I went full time as an entrepreneur!

Polymer clay is so versatile, and there are limitless possibilities. I love being able to create something totally unique, even using the same techniques as another maker. No two makers really ever come up with the same things, and I think that is so beautiful.

I also really can’t put a price on seeing someone come to my booth and choose a pair of earrings that makes them feel confident, beautiful, and expressive! I’ve had so many customers come and get their first pair ever, or get a wild and funky pair that signifies a new start in their life, or a pair that reminds them of a loved one. This business is so much more than earrings to me, and I am so thankful I get to see that in action.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My entire entrepreneurial journey can really be summed up by that scene in Friends where Ross is trying to get his couch up to his apartment and Rachel and Chandler are helping and he just keeps shouting “PIVOT!”, hahaha.

I am not good with change. I like my routines and schedules, and I really love being in my comfort zone. On the other hand, I dream big. I want to take huge leaps of faith, and really throw myself into an idea to see if it’ll work. These two sides of me really war with each other, as you can imagine.

There have been so many times throughout my journey that I’ve had to change course, rethink a decision, and admit that I was wrong, or that an idea was not as great as I thought it would be. Specifically, I’m thinking of the time surrounding Covid. I’m sure we all have our war stories about those first few months when Covid hit and the lockdown happened, and mine is no different.

At the start of 2020, I wanted to bring back my love for planning events a little bit but in a way that I felt more comfortable with- and that was with vendor events. I had been attending them myself with my products, but I wanted to create something more stable and vendor-friendly because the ones I had been to were few and far in between as well as more catered to the guests attending. It was hard to find a show that was profitable and attainable for a smaller business. I came up with an idea to have a monthly vendor event- alternating locations between up and down state. I had just planned the very first one to take place on April 25th.

As you know, shortly into March, the entire world shut down. I was still optimistic for a week or so, thinking it would all blow over by the time my event rolled around. (Cue the knowing laughter from everyone around the world as we all read that sentence back, lol)

Of course my event almost didn’t happen, and by some miracle it actually did get rescheduled for September and went off beautifully. But, the idea I had was completely off the table. Vendor events were just starting to trickle back slowly, and they looked completely different from before. I knew I had to let my BC (Before Covid) dream go, at least for the time being.

During that time I really threw myself into graphic design because so much was online, and there was a boom in people starting their own businesses, so I was designing a lot of logos. I think honestly I wouldn’t be doing what I am today if not for everything that Covid set in motion. I’m honestly really glad that was the catalyst for my current situation- I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started my journey as an entrepreneur, “hustle” culture was so big. It was trendy to be “on the grind” and listen to people like Rachel Hollis who guilt tripped you into thinking that if you weren’t waking up at 5am to go for a run and get your day started that you were letting your life pass you by. It was full of people loudly proclaiming that if you just worked harder and dreamed bigger that everything would fall into place. It was full of quotes like, “Nobody cares, work harder”, and we were fresh off Shia Leboeuf screaming “Just do it! Don’t let your dreams be dreams!” although satirical, it took on a life of its own- becoming the anthem for young professionals.

I know I’ve already talked at length about Covid, but the way I unlearned all of this really is due to those almost 2 entire years where no one was allowed to, and then comfortable with, returning to regular life. I was forced to immediately stop my incredibly busy calendar. I couldn’t people please my way out of my uncomfortable feelings. There was nothing to “grind”. There was no “hustle” to be spoken of. During that time I fell in love with slow living. I fell in love with being able to breathe and take my time and care about what I spent my time on.

I’m not gonna lie, my schedule is busy again, but nowhere near as busy as it was before, and I learned to say “no” to the things that didn’t serve me. My schedule is certainly full, but it’s full of things that fill me up. It’s full of things that are worth while and make not only me, but the people I care about, happy. I’m not a slave to my obligations, and the things I’m responsible for are ones I thought long and hard about taking on. I’m no longer a “yes woman” and I think it was a really important lesson for me to learn- as well as unlearn my old ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.monarchsolstice.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/monarchsolstice
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/monarchsolstice

Image Credits
Sydney Stump – Signature Shots Photography (All)