Rachel Gollay, Super Sleuth

The people we work with at Big Cartel are one of the best reasons to keep showing up to work every day. The staff here is full of fun art-lovers, designers, DIYers, and musicians. For this showcase, we’d like to introduce you to our customer support super sleuth, Rachel Gollay. She’s picked out a few of her favorite Big Cartel stores to share with us here, in addition to answering a few personal questions.

BC: For the record, please state your name and occupation at Big Cartel.

RG: Rachel Gollay, Super Sleuth (Customer Support-er) at Big Cartel.

Miles To Go - Rachel says: "Gorgeous tees and prints for literary nerds"

BC: How long have you been with Big Cartel?

RG: Since March of 2011 — my one year anniversary is just around the corner. (Editor’s note: Her anniversary is tomorrow, March 28! Hurray!)

Brainbow - Rachel says: "Quirky, beautifully crafted accessories"

BC: When you’re not helping store owners make the most of their shops you make music, right? Can you tell us about your song-a-week endeavor for 2012? 

RG: I decided it would be a fun challenge to write, record, and upload one new original song per week this year. So far it’s been a really great experiment in testing my limits creatively. In the past I had a bad habit of writing songs, revising them to death, and never letting anybody else hear them. With this challenge, I’m pushing to put together something new and release it out into the world in that moment. And so far, the feedback from friends and listeners has been really positive and encouraging, and the end goal is to have a nice little batch of songs to keep working on and polishing up.

The Silent Giants - Rachel says: “‘One I came across recently, nice gig posters”

BC: In addition to making the songs available to stream you sell them using our sister-site Pulley. How’s it been getting out from behind the scenes and using Pulley as a customer? 

RG: Pulley is incredible and crazy simple to use. In just a few clicks, my songs are out there and available for purchase. No jumping through hoops or coding, and I can post up purchase links anywhere—Facebook, my blog, e-mail, wherever—which lets me get back to doing the fun stuff: playing and writing. And it’s a special little reward each time I get a notification e-mail from Pulley that somebody has downloaded my song—kind of addictive!

BC: Since we’re already talking music, tell us, what are the top 3 records you’ve got on rotation lately?

RG: St. Vincent “Strange Mercy” - excellent new album by a guitarist/songwriter from my home turf.

Midlake - “The Trials of Van Occupanther” — they also just so happen to sell their merch using Big Cartel.

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - “I Learned the Hard Way” - for that daily dose of soul!