Chatting With Rachel Blumenthal

I started reading the Cricket’s Circle blog while I was pregnant, while the site was known for their registry and shopping I personally loved discovering what other mom’s loved via their witty interviews that were showcased. I looked forward to reading it every week and stalked it for new posts all the time. I was pretty sad one day to find the site gone, but excited to discover Rockets of Awesome!  Rachel Blumenthal’s latest project. Rocket’s Of Awesome is an amazing new way to shop for your kids — simply put it takes the hassle of finding cute, affordable clothes. Fill out a style survey and new duds are sent your way, keep what you want, send back the rest. Today I’m having a girl crush moment and excited to chat a bit with Rachel!

We are long time fans of yours — and were avid readers of Cricket’s Circle! How did you start that business?

Thank you! When I was pregnant with my son, Griffin, what I craved more than anything was one master list of what to buy. Instead, I received dozens of spreadsheets and brain-dump emails passed from experienced moms to newbies like me. I felt clueless. When I asked a close friend to tell it to me straight, I finally got truthful and clear answers – she spelled out the must-have products as well as what I didn’t need (which was just as helpful). She was my “Cricket.” I wanted to return the favor, and knew that we could create a  beautiful and easy-to-use, one-stop shopping resource for parents that did just that.

How has being a mother changed the direction or path of your career?

After founding Cricket’s Circle and as my kids were growing up, I found shopping for them to be a chore since it was difficult to find find stylish clothes that didn’t cost a fortune. I had to either spend way too much time digging or sacrifice style or value. I heard the same frustration from friends and the Cricket’s Circle community, and created Rockets of Awesome as a solution for parents. We take the legwork (and guesswork) out of shopping for kids so parents have one less chore to worry about.

How is Rocket’s Of Awesome different from other children’s clothing companies?

Rockets of Awesome is a shopping solution for parents. We not only make shopping simpler end-to-end, but we provide stylish, high quality kids clothing at an incredible value. We combine the best of personalization, membership cadence and on demand e-commerce; all through a vertical brand. Designing and producing our own product enables us to capture our customer’s feedback and directly impact the products we produce for them; it also enables us to deliver the value back to the customer.

Unlike other brands, we also require no commitment – you only pay for what you love, return what you don’t – with no styling or other fees. We think it’s important to give our customers this option as it’s another way to simplify the shopping experience.

What does a typical week day morning look like in your house?

I used to be a 5am workout girl, but now that I’m up late at night catching up on work, I try to sleep as late as possible. I wake up around 7am to get ready before my kids are up – that way I can spend 30 minutes of dedicated time with them before we’re off to school and the office. The morning is a chaotic hustle, and I’ve recently started trying to squeeze in a 2-minute plank because I read on NYTimes.com that some trainer claims it’s as good as a 30 minute workout! My husband and I switch off each day on school drop-off at 8:15am, and then it’s straight to a meeting or the office.

What systems/planners/apps do you use to stay organized?

I live by lifehacks (Freshdirect, recurring Soap.com deliveries, weekly lunch routine) to eliminate as many decisions and tasks from my to-do list.  

Google Calendar is the most frequently opened app on my phone – it organizes my schedule at the office and my husband and I share calendars to make scheduling easier – even my kids have Google Calendars!

What’s your favorite children’s book?

Eloise – I always did, and still do, dream of living in The Plaza.

Did you enjoy pregnancy? Have any favorite products to use while pregnant?

I was super fortunate to have easy pregnancies. I tried to maintain as similar a lifestyle as when I wasn’t pregnant. I worked out at Soul Cycle and Physique about 4-5 days a week which really helped maintain my energy and bounce back after. I craved lemonade and oranges when pregnant and lived in Spanx bras, Citizens jeans, Hatch rompers and Blanqui tights.

What are your favorite parenting books right now?

I didn’t read a single parenting book. I know that sounds crazy but I really wanted to live in the moment. I didn’t want to impose an expectation of the way things were “supposed” to be on my kids.  

Favorite kid friendly restaurants/cafes in NYC?

We’ve always taken our kids anywhere we were going so we don’t make a big deal about a restaurant being kid friendly – within reason of course! I love taking my son on dates after work and he always picks places for dessert like Snowdays, Handsome Dan’s, BlackTap, Cool Mess and Serendipity – an old school favorite.

How often do you get time for yourself and what’s your ideal way to spend it ?

I rarely get time to myself but when I do, it’s usually about treating myself. My ideal day would involve sleeping in late, hot yoga, getting a mani/pedi, brunch with friends, shopping at Jeffreys, and then ending the night on the couch with my husband watching Narcos or Billions.