This week, we are spotlighting one of our amazing vendors! Rachel Kozlowski, owner of RKArtwork is a full-time artist based in Salt Lake City. Originally from Delaware, reading illustrated books as a child made her curious about wildlife and nature. Growing up on the East Coast, she has fond memories of visiting national parks. “We don’t have many national parks, but I have childhood memories of going to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Grand Canyon,” she said.
Rachel studied fine arts and printmaking at the University of Delaware. Now, she runs her business entirely alone, which she has owned for 10 years. “It’s amazing to be able to be a full-time artist. Much of my work is nature and wildlife centered,” she said. “I get to create work that people resonate with.”
She crafts what she calls “functional items that have a connection to nature,” including zippered pouches with wildlife themes, bandanas, stickers, glassware, camp mugs, tea towels and more. A few years ago, she met Grand Teton Association’s Retail Director, Erin, at a holiday market at the Utah Fine Arts Museum and began her partnership with GTA then. “Erin has been incredibly encouraging. It’s been much more than a vendor-buyer relationship,” she said. “It’s been really wonderful working with GTA. I don’t feel like you see that everywhere.”
Since then, she created a custom bandana for Grand Teton National Park featuring mountains and wildlife. “Grand Teton was the first park I have worked with in this capacity,” she said. “When you come to a place that is this special, I really wanted to make a product that reflects what this place is: the landscapes, the species, so that you have a keepsake that reminds you of when you were driving through the region having that one wildlife experience.”
And it led to more. The Public Lands Alliance tradeshow opened up new doors for her business, she said. And she now sells her wares to Big Bend National Park, in Texas; Capitol Reef National Park, in Utah; Lassen Volcanic National Park, in California; and Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. She has also created illustrations for West Elm, which she said gave her a kickstart to her career. Her products are for sale in stores across the mountain West including Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.
Locally in the Tetons, she has had a booth at the Jackson Hole Art Fair for several years and has collaborated with NoSo Patches. “Art Fair is a good way to connect with clientele and other businesses, and it’s a great networking event,” she said. “Jackson is a really nice art community.”
Although she handles the vending, mailing, marketing, screenprinting, sewing, administrative tasks, business development, merchandising, packaging and processes online orders, wholesale orders on her own, she wants to keep her business scope in check.
“We live in a society that encourages more and more growth,” she said. “For me, it’s hard to say what I want my business to look like in five or 10 years. I hope to have a job where I still have a chance to go to these parks and connect back to what my work has been inspired by.”
You can pick up a bison zip pouch or rainbow trout pouch at our online retail store here:
And be sure to check out Rachel’s Instagram and her Etsy shop