Women in design
RACHEL CASTLE
S
unny colours, pop culture, laughter and
hard work all drive Rachel Castle’s
world. The director of her eponymous
homewares business, Castle, Rachel spent 15
years in marketing and branding before she
felt a “deep urge to make things”. She
parlayed her love of colour into mixed-media
artworks, quickly establishing a distinctive
playful aesthetic influenced by her teenage
years in the 1980s. “The fluoros, ribbons and
spotty patterns; all those teenage influences
came rolling out in a very organic way,” she
says. Launched in 2008, the
Castle catalogue includes original paintings,
embroideries, screenprints and homewares.
Rachel’s make-you-smile manifesto is
embodied in everything she creates. “I want my
artworks to wink at everyone who sees them,”
she says. “I take their playfulness seriously.” >We tag along as this colour crusader and creative
retailer sails through a typically whirlwind day.
STORY Elizabeth Wilson | PHOTOGRAPHY John Paul UrizarINSIDER HG
AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN | 75