Irina Rachow of longtime San Diego designer and retailer Encinitas has created a playful jewelry collection for a growing number of pickleball enthusiasts. Her PickleBelle collection of over 40 designs features necklaces, bracelets, and earrings all crafted from her 18K gold, sterling silver, high-quality crystals, and uncultured diamonds. It’s a feature.
“It’s been tough. I’m always coming up with different things,” said Rachow, whose line tapped into the positive vibe of pickleball.
For over 30 years, Rachow has been a regional retailer with Madison Boutique in Seaport Village and Sheridan at Rancho Valencia Resort in Rancho Santa Fe. She previously owned her Verendel boutique on Flower Hill Her Promenade, but in 2020 she relocated to Dell Shema She Highland Town Center. A few months later, the store suffered flood damage at the restaurant above her. Rachow was forced to walk away from the boutique into which she invested so much time, her love and energy.
After the disappointment of the store closing, she decided to shift gears and start making her own jewelry.
She worked with factories to create jewelry designs and started selling them. Sandieguito Her daughter Fairen, her senior year at her academy, also assisted her with some designs. Under the Everwild Designs parent company, she has her five different brands. Touchstone, Braille inspired jewelry with hidden messages. A piece of saints and saviors, medieval and romantic tributes. Everwild is animal amulet jewelry like her signature wolf cuff ring inscribed with “Courage is determination.”
Of all the jewelry lines, PickleBelle is the one that really took off.
PickeBelle Hoop Earrings.
(Everwild Designs)
Like many, Rachow discovered pickleball during the pandemic, introducing a new popular sport in his friend’s Rancho Santa Fe backyard. She liked how positive and social the game was. She now plays pickleball several times a week with her frequent friends at Bobby Riggs her racquet and paddle.
“It’s very addicting,” Rachow said of the sport. “Anyone can play and it’s a lot of fun. I just meet a lot of people and they always invite me to play.”
She also really liked the idea of pickleball jewelry that set it apart from the other designs she was doing at Everwild.
Rachow is surprised and delighted by the customer response. ‘The Dainty Dinker’ is a top seller with paddles and balls on silver or gold chains, and ‘Hoopla’ ball and paddle his earrings are also very popular.
“I sell to every corner of the country,” said Rachow, noting that he has also sold internationally to pickleball fanatics in France, Italy and Spain.
Online retailer Uncommon Goods picked up some pieces, and the line was featured in the Rancho Valencia Resort Pro Shop, converting a tennis court into eight pickleball courts.
Dainty Dinker necklace from PickleBelle.
(Everwild Designs)
Not only is her jewelry cute and fun, PickleBelle follows sustainable practices wherever possible and incorporates giving back to the environment into all purchases. Member Rachow has combined Everwild with the National Wildlife Federation’s acreage adoption program. The organization offers ranchers a fair price in exchange for agreeing to permanently abolish grazing leases on public land. Since 2002, he has secured more than 1.5 million acres of habitat in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, benefiting animals such as grizzly bears, wolves and bison.
“I’m really excited to leave this land barren forever. Each piece of jewelry protects an acre,” says Rachow. “We are doing something meaningful to protect wild spaces.”
PickeBelle and the entire Everwild collection are available online at EverwildDesigns.com.
