Our Vision
We all have moments in our lives that drastically impact our paths. One of those moments that Rachel remembers very vividly was speaking to her high school ceramics teacher:
"I’ve always been the artistic/creative type: the type of kid to build mud castles; doodle over homework & class notes. Growing up, I was the one who would pick bicycles, paints & art supplies over gaming consoles. (Although, I enjoyed gaming too.) I found it difficult to conform to practical, academic paths. My parents were somewhere in between wanting to support my talents, and wanting me to pursue a more lucrative, 'normal' path. They pushed for us (their kids) to take as many AP, SAT, college prep, and weekend schooling as they could. Our family discouraged extracurricular activities that could distract from our academics, including art & music.
In high school, I signed up for ceramics because our school required one art class for graduation. While I was there, I found myself spending time, outside of class hours, back on the pottery wheel or at the class workbench. This class was where I sculpted my first large dragon sculpture, purely from my imagination --which was then was placed into the school’s and my first art show. Near graduation, my ceramics teacher asked what I had planned for the future. I told her maybe a practical career path, but that I wasn’t quite sure. It was then that I heard the first words of encouragement for pursuing the arts. She sat down with me, explained how much talent she saw in me, and encouraged me to pursue art -- to not let it go to waste.
Although my family is more supportive now that I’m older, it was because of this encouragement from my high school ceramics teacher that had originally helped me realize my artistic talents.
Although my family is more supportive now that I’m older, it was because of this encouragement from my high school ceramics teacher that had originally helped me realize my artistic talents.
It's been quite an eventful journey since then. And now, we continue to build Atelier Emi to encourage others to also embrace their creativity and artistic sides -- to persevere in a society where so many people have yet to see the value in art. We aim to one day teach this beautiful craft to others. More specifically, to the younger generations and those who may need someone to help them realize their artistic potentials, like someone once did for me."
— Rachel Chen, Founder & Leather Artisan
Supporting Arts Education for Our Youth
We're honored to support P.S. ARTS, a non-profit organization that is a leader in the field of arts education. They are dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing arts education to underserved public schools & communities — by providing art supplies, starting art programs, spreading awareness, and more!
A portion of all your purchases will go directly towards supporting arts education for our youth. 🌱
For more information on this humanitarian organization, please visit P.S. ARTS website here →