Conversations with Rachel Buckingham

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Buckingham.

Hi Rachel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a city on the northside of Indianapolis, Indiana. I’ve always been a creative person with a love for art and design but never really grew up around art. I took some art classes in high school but was really discouraged and frustrated with the lack of flexibility and freedom to create, so much so that for about four years, I stopped creating all together.

It wasn’t until my second year at Purdue University that I began creating again. I had taken a painting class and rediscovered how freeing it was to create something out of nothing. I accredit this class for reigniting a passion I had seemingly forgotten about.

Not too long after, I started my first business creating tailgate clothes and university apparel. I designed and hand-painted denim jackets, overalls, jeans, and embroidered a wide variety of clothing; teaching myself new techniques along the way. Around the holidays, I expanded my business and started painting portraits of people’s pets. The popularity of this grew in ways I could have never imagined and allowed me to see that a career in design could very much be possible.

The summer before my senior year, I took an internship at a vineyard outside of Indianapolis for a wedding and events planner. It was here that I fell in love with the art of wine and the hospitality industry. Through my experience in the wedding industry, I was also able to add wedding signage and chalkboard art to my list of design services for my business.

I graduated from Purdue in May of 2020 with a degree in English Literature (add me to the list of people that are doing nothing related to their college degree) and accepted a full-time position with the vineyard. I started in a marketing management position where I had little to no experience, but per the nature of a small business, learned along the way. At 22, I began graphic design, website design, social media strategies, and content planning. In addition to all of this, I was coordinating the public operations of our newly opened tasting room, planning public music events, directing outreach to festivals, hiring and training new staff members, and operating a 16-passenger trailer van hauling around our wine truck. It was an exhausting experience and a job probably for five people. However, the opportunities I was given and experiences I gained made it well worth it.

I left the vineyard at the end of 2020 and took on a Chief of Operations position for a creative marketing and technology company in Indianapolis. Here I furthered my graphic design abilities and assisted in a lot of rebranding for companies. I was also accumulating quite a few al-a-carte positions of part-time gigs. Everything from marketing for realtors, modeling and content planning for local boutiques, painting wall murals, and even bartending.

By summer of 2021, I was ready for a change. Living in Nashville had always been a dream of mine, but not a leap I thought I would ever take. That was until I was bartending one night and a band from Nashville came in for drinks after their show. I was chatting with them about my desire to move there but that I was waiting for the right job opportunity. Fast forward an hour or two and a few rounds of drinks later, closing time came and they were on their way out. I was passing around checks and wishing them luck on the road when one of them stopped me and said “I keep thinking about what you said earlier…and I feel like if I would have waited for the right job to come around, I never would have moved.” I don’t remember the name of the band or even the gentlemen’s name that said this, but if you ever read this, thank you. After my shift that night, I went home, found my current house online and signed my lease the next day.

I had a few months to find work before my move-in date. I was mindlessly applying to jobs on Indeed and checking out websites of cool places in Nashville. I soon discovered that Belle Meade Winery was hiring for tasting associates. Having previous wine experience, this seemed like a good starter job until I was able to find work a little more design focused. I sent in my resume and heard back shortly after from their GM. To my surprise, he expressed they were looking for a graphic designer. We shared a couple phone calls, he looked over some of my work, and offered me the position.

I’ve now worked at Belle Meade Winery for about 8 months now. I’m very fortunate to work with such an amazing team that gives me so much freedom to create and views me as a valuable teammate despite my young age. Though we are not even at the one year mark, I have a handful of wine labels being released in the near future, quite a few hand-drawn designs available for purchase in our winery retail shop, and numerous digital designs coming soon to new features of the property. In addition, I’m operating our social media accounts (@bellemeadewinery) and am in the process of becoming a certified sommelier. This is allowing me to further grow my passion and understanding of wine while also expanding my creative thinking for future designs. It is wild to think that in just a short period of time, my drawings will be on thousands of wine bottles and in homes and wine cellars all over the world.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I definitely did not have a smooth road, as I don’t think anyone’s path is completely straight. But I think I prefer that it happened that way. Every hardship grants new perspectives and each one continues to make me stronger in some way. I credit my mom’s breast cancer for kick-starting my passion for design as I found outlets to deal with that emotion. I credit my mental health issues with being more thoughtful and imaginative simply because my brain is wired a little bit differently. I credit my consistent overthinking with overcoming a lot of negative self-talk. Allowing myself to process that I am capable and qualified enough to be doing the things I am doing, even if I never received professional certification.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m most proud of my wine label designs. It is just crazy to think that my work is going to be printed on hundreds of thousands of bottles that will be in people’s homes all over the world. I think it kind of makes me a world traveler in that sense.

In addition to graphic design, I paint landscapes and pet portraits, create calligraphy signage, draw through wood burning, hand-make wedding signage, paint wall murals, embroider, have started dabbling in tattooing, creating digital portraits and designs, and in general just create for fun.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was definitely a spitfire and got myself into trouble often for it; so if you actually knew me growing up, this is my formal apology. We jokingly blame this characteristic on my dad’s family genes, as it’s something we all share. For the most part, us Buckingham’s are all stubborn, overly competitive, and without a doubt have trouble holding our tongues. It has always made family reunions and game nights a great time.

I’d also say I’m an old soul. Maybe my early maturity had to do with some hardships growing up, but I’ve always been one to deeply feel others’ emotions. I think this kind of empathy has often been reflected in much of my artwork and likely the act of creating was a good release for a lot of these emotions.

In general, I was and still am very headstrong. I am confident in who I am and what I believe in and will stand firmly in that through thick and thin.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @rachllann | @bellemeadewinery