The Art of Raechel Larsen | The Art of Her Project

If you are finding this blog on my website, you can thank Raechel for the beautiful design of it. Raechel among so many things, is the owner of Modern Bay Branding Bar, she is the mama of now THREE littles (She just recently had her newest baby!), she is a wife, fur mama, a lover of both the beach and her cowboy boots.

She is also strong, kind and determined. And I believe you will see that in her story below.

This is the Art of Raechel.

This is the Art of Her.

Interview with Raechel Larsen

Jessica: Tell us about you, The woman.

Raechel: Raechel Larsen, San Pedro, CA, Creative Director and CEO of Modern Bay | Branding Bar. Determination: I am the woman that takes irritants like a small grain of sand and turns it into a pearl.

Jessica: Tells us about Your Story.

Raechel: On a cold winter day, a month before my wedding I was driving back from Flagstaff in my car with my pups and my fiancé in his truck following behind me. When the back tire of my car blew out on the freeway going 75 miles an hour. I had to make a quick decision. Head onto incoming traffic or aim for the off-ramp and hope I’d make it. I aimed for the off-ramp and missed, launching myself and my dogs into the air, landing 20 feet below and 50 feet away from the freeway only to be stopped by a boulder. If my fiancé had not been behind me, no one would have seen my white car in the snow 20 feet below the freeway. As I opened my eyes I saw a blurry vision of my fiance rushing down the embankment. I looked around and saw both my dogs were safe, then closed my eyes and knew I had only one more decision to make. I had to make a decision right then and there if I wanted to live. If the life I had was worth every breath, drop of blood, sweat and tears that it was going to take to recover from the trauma I had just endured. This story is just one story in my 29 years of life where determination saw me through to the other side. Fast forward to a broken back and arm on my wedding day, two years of in-house physical therapy, multiple attempted surgeries, a miscarriage and a four years healing process that showed me that every breath, drop of blood, sweat and tears were worth the life I have today. And I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Jessica: What surprised you about yourself?

Raechel: I’ll never forget the day I went back to the tow lot to see my car. The man who showed me to the car didn’t realize I was the driver and asked how many people had died in the accident. I realized at that moment that I had never replayed the accident in my head, because to me it was just a hinderance. I wanted to let the moment go and move forward without it stopping me from everything that I had planned. But that moment triggered every emotion I experienced the day of the accident. I surprised myself the power of I had to control my brain and it’s willpower to push through memories to not just survive but thrive.

Jessica: What surprised you about others as it is connected to your event?

Raechel: I was surprised of how underestimated I was to make a full comeback from people around me. Within the two years of my accident, I got married, launched my business Modern Bay Branding Bar, my husband and I became foster parents, we adopted our son, received custody of my bonus daughter after two years of court, bought a house and started a farm. 

Jessica: What would you say you learned about yourself or others during or since this event?

Raechel: After the accident, I learned that I was more resilient than I thought. That resiliency can manifest itself in your most dire times, if you want it bad enough and are willing to work for it. Once I realized that I wanted more out of my life than what was told I would be able to accomplish I had to learn and figure out another way to accomplish my goals, because there is always another way to do something.

Jessica: How would you describe the difference in you?

Raechel: The difference is that I learned that I can expand my capabilities. I was able to come away with a new perspective that most people aren’t lucky enough to live through and have the ability to make life changes they want.

Jessica: Have your values changed since the event? What do you value now?

Raechel: My values have not changed since the event but it was the catalyst for creating clarity in how I applied those values. I just hold those values more closely now than I ever did before. I value transparency, knowing all the options before an answer is made, family that may be blood or not, hard work, accountability and no longer leave projects and conversations undone or feelings unsaid.

Jessica: What is the one piece of advice would you give your younger self?

Raechel: Had I given myself any advice that would have altered the outcome, I don’t believe I would have learned as much and come as far as I have. The accident was a turning point in my life. The two decisions I had to make that day about how I wanted to live my live gave me the courage to follow my own advice and see it through. The accident was the advice I needed.

Jessica: What would you say has helped you along your healing journey?

Raechel: Knowing that I really can be unstoppable if I believe in myself. There have been so many things in the past 5 years that looking back now, I still don’t even know how I did it or how I made it through. Over and over again I was told something wouldn’t happen or it wasn’t possible, that the odds were against me and it wouldn’t work but that only fueled me more to make my dreams a reality. I started by business when the world was shutting down. I’m creating a sustainable farm that uses 95% less water than traditional gardening to feed my family on the property I bought from the success of my business. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at 21 years old and told that prescription medication was the only was to eliminate my pain. I’m going on 7 years now where I have been prescription free and treating my condition with homeopathic ways that consist of a specific diet and exercise. My husband and I fought 4 hard years for custody of his daughter, knowing the odds were stacked against us based off of general statistics. And in the middle of that, fostered a total of 9 kids and was able to adopt our son shortly after my husband returned from a year long deployment overseas. If anything the car accident has showed me that the “accident” was no accident at all, but the push I needed into the life I always dreamed I could have.

Jessica: What is your story of now?

Raechel: I am alive now because I had the opportunity to write my own story. And I’m still writing it, still figuring out how to make it one that I can be proud of. However, this also means that I have to allow myself to still struggle, to ask but also allow help, to accept that fact that not every day is amazing or filled with monumental moments. That some days, I have to accept the fact that I can’t get everything done on my to do list. Some days a rough and do I want to give up, but that’s when I sit on my porch and look at everything that I’ve accomplished and know that somethings just take time.

Jessica: When in your life, so far, have you felt most confident and why?

Raechel: The days I feel most confident is when I’m able to help others solve problems and find their own “ah ha” moment. This really makes me feel like everything I’ve been through has paid off so I can help others move forward faster to where they want to be.

Jessica: What is the ongoing challenge you face?

Raechel: An ongoing challenge I face is to allow myself to struggle, to ask but also allow help, to accept that fact that not every day is amazing or filled with monumental moments. That some days, I have to accept the fact that I can’t get everything done on my to do list. Some days a rough and do I want to give up, but that’s when I sit on my porch and look at everything that I’ve accomplished and know that somethings just take time.

Jessica: It would be really interesting to hear about any ambitions you have for the future.

Raechel: My ambitions for the future are very simple. I want to continue doing things that make me happy. For me personally, as I am pregnant now, that’s having a healthy baby, continuing my homeopathic treatments for my Rheumatoid Arthritis, watching my family grow up and creating sustainable farming solutions on my ranch

For me as a business owner, I’m excited to launch into adding more people to my team. The way I see it, the more team members I have, the more we can help women find themselves in their business and feel reconnected to their passion through a stress free process. One day, I’d like to have a location built on my ranch where we can host in person meetings and retreats to create an atmosphere that allows creativity to flow in a stress free environment.

Jessica: Do you believe growing up female affected these ambitions?

Raechel: I grew up in a household with a strong independent mother and grandmother, a father who owned his own business and two younger sisters. I was raised not to acknowledge whether someone was a male or female, but rather the abilities that they had to make the world a better place. That all were to be treated and cared for equally. So I don’t think growing up female affected my ambitions, I think growing up with people who did not let my sex determine what I could or should accomplish created who I am today. And for this, I am forever grateful for a mother who taught me to stand up for what I believe in. A father who pushed me harder because he knew I could do better. A grandmother that always believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. Sisters who looked up to me to show them the way.

I believe that we are never done growing up. Thus my ambitions shouldn’t stop growing either. My mother in law raised my husband to be a gentlemen and that women were also equals. And because my husband and I both hold each other to high standards, not has husband and wife but as best friends and partners. We understand our physical and mental limits as a couple but also as individuals. He pushes me to do better, try harder and think outside the box. He understands that I’m independent and gives me the space I need but also has my back no matter what crazy situation I get myself into, like coming home with day old chickens from the feed store with no coop to put them in. Needless to say my ambitions are all mine, but they wouldn’t be possible without him.

Jessica: What do you wish other women or young girls knew about themselves?

Raechel: I feel that there is such a stigma now to be pro woman, a feminist or other things like that. I think labeling yourself has becoming more of a disadvantage because you’re putting yourself in a box. Creating challenges for yourself that are unnecessary because who you are shouldn’t have to fit a label. To me, it creates a unrealistic expectations for people on how a person should act, how hard they should work, what job they should have, etc. I think everyone is born with the drive and ambition to find what they are good at and what makes them happy and being a man or a woman has nothing to do with that. It may mean that one has to work harder than the other in one specific field, but at some point in life, we all have to work harder then the person next to us to achieve our goals. It’s what makes those goals that much more satisfying when we do achieve them.

Creative Credits:

Photography by Jessica Korff Studios

Makeup by: Renee Lanz | Radiate with ReneeJ

Dress Draping: Dresses draped and created by: Jessica Korff