Menu

FREE U.S. SHIPPING on ALL ORDERS!1! ALL THE TIME1!! <3

Rawrspace a place for us image
rawrmageddon logo
HOME
SHOP
COMMUNITY
LOOKBOOK
ABOUT
CONTACT

Welcome to RAWRmageddon

Hi! I’m Lisa! I’m a legally blind artist based out of Atlanta, Georgia. 12 years ago today, on my 22nd birthday, I accidentally started a handmade clothing business when I posted my handmade Rainbow Dash hoodie to the My Little Pony subreddit, and it went viral. In the first month of starting my Etsy store,I was commissioned to make 10 custom-sized, custom-designed hoodies. From there, the business only grew. My B.A. in Business did not prepare me for the hands-on experience of running a fast-growing business by myself. Within the first six months, I would open on the first Monday of each month and sell out within literally minutes all of the 40 commission slots I was wiling to take on. I spent every moment in my sewing room or at the cutting line at Joann’s, growing and working too fast to hire and train anyone to help me. When I did take the time to finally try to incorporate new people into my business, I realized the hoodies were too artisan to result in a profit margin that was worth the effort, as well as my fabric suppliers weren’t able to keep all the colors in stock to keep up with demand. So I went back to sewing the hoodies myself at a rate I could kind of handle (it was still too much– I got behind a lot). I decided next time when I start a business, I would learn from my mistakes. Rarity’s Boutique was a huge success and I am very proud of it – the only person I trusty to run it now is my own mother, who I personally think runs the business and makes better products than I ever could.

Flash forward to 2018, and my mom is running Rarity’s Boutique while I’m traveling the world while I come home occasionally to take on custom commissions and run the social media and business side while abroad. While visiting my friends in England, I started having a migraine that was so bad, it left me bedridden and unable to see straight. After multiple visits to the hospital and an MRI scan, it’s discovered there is a blood clot in my head that has created a lot of pressure behind my eyes, damaging my optic nerves. In late 2018, I was deemed legally blind by neural ophthalmologist Dr. Chen at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. My vision is now only a cloudy, colorblind tunnel vision of 10% radius of my central vision in my right eye, and my left eye is only light perception.It is irreversible, no glasses or surgeries can help, but it also won’t get any worse over time. I’m so incredibly grateful for that. 

In 2020, the US federal government deemed me “unable to work” due to my disability, but that hasn’t really stopped me. Losing your vision doesn’t stop someone from being creative and an artist, and I’ve spent the last five years continuing to be what essentially is myself: pursuing new art forms and continuing to create. Within weeks of my diagnosis, I was back to sewing and content creating. I learned how to set up and take my own photos for content creation, continuing to make content and costumes professionally. I applied to multiple art schools to learn more traditional art forms, but I was ignored, so I started teaching myself digital art on Skillshare. I realized that technology makes it possible for me to use various settings to make art more accessible, whether it’s learning hex codes to make up for my colorblindness, or inverting my screens while I work to reduce glare. It’s been incredibly empowering, and basically every moment I would’ve spent in the past been participating in visual activities like video games and watching t.v., I now spend learning. I have learned graphic design, photo editing, fashion technical design, manufacturing and sourcing sustainably and ethically, jewelry design, and many other useful skills through online courses. I’ve also read basically every memoir out there written by an independent fashion designer, as well as refreshed myself on the knowledge I learned in school regarding marketing and consumer behavior. And now, today, I finally feel ready to start again and learn from the mistakes I made with Rarity’s Boutique, while also celebrating and building on what I learned from my amazing community and brand I am still very proud of.

Introducing: 

RAWRmageddon!

Brand Goals: 

RAWRmageddon has been on my mind for years and years. I wanted so badly to be a MySpace Scene Queen back in 2007, and this brand is basically for me, and anyone else like me, who loves that ridiculous, fun, loud Y2K punk/emo style. 

I have lofty dreams for RAWRmageddon: I want it to be more than just fashion, but a community incorporating artists and forums and fun– I want us to relive our Gaia Online days in the modern era, with monthly art challenges, contests, movie nights, and community. Although RAWRmageddon style is inspired by the “LOL I’m so random!!1!” cringe culture of the late 00’s, it isn’t exclusively that, and I hope that by bringing it into the modern era, it’ll become it’s own thing.

Sustainability and Fair Trade:

Above is what I envision for the brand down the road, but since I am just a singular blind artist with no real financial backing, I’m starting small, just like I did with Rarity’s Boutique. I’ve found there is a lack of jewelry out there that fits the style and quality I want to wear, so I’m starting there. I want to start this brand right off the bat using sustainable materials, and I want everything to be ready-to-ship. Quality and sustainability will be the main focus of all physical products, with jewelry being made from non-tarnishing 304 Stainless Steel, glass and enamels, genuine leather (which biodegrades and is an inevitable byproduct of the meat industry, unlike synthetic leathers). Any clothing will be made from cotton or recycled synthetics, with everything made in sweatshop-free environments. I care more about leaving a positive impact on our planet and people than a high profit margin.  

Inclusivity

In the past, there has been a lack of representation in branding for the alt fashion world, despite, from my viewpoint, marginalized folks being much more likely to embrace alt fashion. So I strive to show that in our branding and marketing. It will also be a main mission of the company to be inclusive and accessible and listen to feedback from marginalized groups on what we can do to improve. 

I know this is all very lofty and probably overreaching, but I’ve “overreached” before and achieved my goals, so I believe I can do it again! I hope you come along with me for the ride. Thank you for being here, it means the world to me.

Welcome to RAWRmageddon

Hi! I’m Lisa! I’m a legally blind artist based out of Atlanta, Georgia. 12 years ago today, on my 22nd birthday, I accidentally started a handmade clothing business when I posted my handmade Rainbow Dash hoodie to the My Little Pony subreddit, and it went viral. In the first month of starting my Etsy store,I was commissioned to make 10 custom-sized, custom-designed hoodies. From there, the business only grew. My B.A. in Business did not prepare me for the hands-on experience of running a fast-growing business by myself. Within the first six months, I would open on the first Monday of each month and sell out within literally minutes all of the 40 commission slots I was wiling to take on. I spent every moment in my sewing room or at the cutting line at Joann’s, growing and working too fast to hire and train anyone to help me. When I did take the time to finally try to incorporate new people into my business, I realized the hoodies were too artisan to result in a profit margin that was worth the effort, as well as my fabric suppliers weren’t able to keep all the colors in stock to keep up with demand. So I went back to sewing the hoodies myself at a rate I could kind of handle (it was still too much– I got behind a lot). I decided next time when I start a business, I would learn from my mistakes. Rarity’s Boutique was a huge success and I am very proud of it – the only person I trusty to run it now is my own mother, who I personally think runs the business and makes better products than I ever could.

Flash forward to 2018, and my mom is running Rarity’s Boutique while I’m traveling the world while I come home occasionally to take on custom commissions and run the social media and business side while abroad. While visiting my friends in England, I started having a migraine that was so bad, it left me bedridden and unable to see straight. After multiple visits to the hospital and an MRI scan, it’s discovered there is a blood clot in my head that has created a lot of pressure behind my eyes, damaging my optic nerves. In late 2018, I was deemed legally blind by neural ophthalmologist Dr. Chen at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. My vision is now only a cloudy, colorblind tunnel vision of 10% radius of my central vision in my right eye, and my left eye is only light perception.It is irreversible, no glasses or surgeries can help, but it also won’t get any worse over time. I’m so incredibly grateful for that. 

In 2020, the US federal government deemed me “unable to work” due to my disability, but that hasn’t really stopped me. Losing your vision doesn’t stop someone from being creative and an artist, and I’ve spent the last five years continuing to be what essentially is myself: pursuing new art forms and continuing to create. Within weeks of my diagnosis, I was back to sewing and content creating. I learned how to set up and take my own photos for content creation, continuing to make content and costumes professionally. I applied to multiple art schools to learn more traditional art forms, but I was ignored, so I started teaching myself digital art on Skillshare. I realized that technology makes it possible for me to use various settings to make art more accessible, whether it’s learning hex codes to make up for my colorblindness, or inverting my screens while I work to reduce glare. It’s been incredibly empowering, and basically every moment I would’ve spent in the past been participating in visual activities like video games and watching t.v., I now spend learning. I have learned graphic design, photo editing, fashion technical design, manufacturing and sourcing sustainably and ethically, jewelry design, and many other useful skills through online courses. I’ve also read basically every memoir out there written by an independent fashion designer, as well as refreshed myself on the knowledge I learned in school regarding marketing and consumer behavior. And now, today, I finally feel ready to start again and learn from the mistakes I made with Rarity’s Boutique, while also celebrating and building on what I learned from my amazing community and brand I am still very proud of.

Introducing: 

RAWRmageddon!

Brand Goals: 

RAWRmageddon has been on my mind for years and years. I wanted so badly to be a MySpace Scene Queen back in 2007, and this brand is basically for me, and anyone else like me, who loves that ridiculous, fun, loud Y2K punk/emo style. 

I have lofty dreams for RAWRmageddon: I want it to be more than just fashion, but a community incorporating artists and forums and fun– I want us to relive our Gaia Online days in the modern era, with monthly art challenges, contests, movie nights, and community. Although RAWRmageddon style is inspired by the “LOL I’m so random!!1!” cringe culture of the late 00’s, it isn’t exclusively that, and I hope that by bringing it into the modern era, it’ll become it’s own thing.

Sustainability and Fair Trade:

Above is what I envision for the brand down the road, but since I am just a singular blind artist with no real financial backing, I’m starting small, just like I did with Rarity’s Boutique. I’ve found there is a lack of jewelry out there that fits the style and quality I want to wear, so I’m starting there. I want to start this brand right off the bat using sustainable materials, and I want everything to be ready-to-ship. Quality and sustainability will be the main focus of all physical products, with jewelry being made from non-tarnishing 304 Stainless Steel, glass and enamels, genuine leather (which biodegrades and is an inevitable byproduct of the meat industry, unlike synthetic leathers). Any clothing will be made from cotton or recycled synthetics, with everything made in sweatshop-free environments. I care more about leaving a positive impact on our planet and people than a high profit margin.  

Inclusivity

In the past, there has been a lack of representation in branding for the alt fashion world, despite, from my viewpoint, marginalized folks being much more likely to embrace alt fashion. So I strive to show that in our branding and marketing. It will also be a main mission of the company to be inclusive and accessible and listen to feedback from marginalized groups on what we can do to improve. 

I know this is all very lofty and probably overreaching, but I’ve “overreached” before and achieved my goals, so I believe I can do it again! I hope you come along with me for the ride. Thank you for being here, it means the world to me.