RACHEL LIPSON/ TOWNSPEOPLE/ ENTREPRENEUR
brooklyn chateau
Rachel Lipson
An aficionado of guitar, Ukulele, Auto Harp, keyboard, drums and more, Rachel Lipson is a quintessential one-woman band. We became fast friends when she taught my middle child at the Saint Ann’s Pre-School. Rachel is responsible for introducing all three of my daughters to guitar instruction/songwriting. They loved having private lessons with Rachel. And though my daughters have gone on to pursue Violin and Cello, Rachel remains one of my favorite people and a teacher worthy of her praise.
But as much as she loved teaching pre-school, the time came for Rachel to pursue her passion full time and cultivate what has become the thriving, sought-after program known as Blue Balloon Songwriting for Small People of which she's Founder & Director. Blue Balloon Songwriting for Small People is a dynamic program where students learn to write, sing, play and record original compositions. Rachel prides herself on the personal attention and careful instruction given to her students, and due to popular demand Blue Balloon Songwriting for Small People is now composed of many teachers, teaching over 75 students. At an annual “Spring Songwriting Showcase” held at the Knitting Factory, students have the opportunity to introduce their creations. For more information on classes/lessons and this year's showcase visit http://blueballoonschool.com/
Rachel’s love of children coupled with her ability to multi-task and manage a successful business has prepared her for life’s most rewarding jobs as mother and wife. As a newly-wed and new mom to her son Maxwell, Rachel radiates love. Passionate, kind and always fresh-faced, Rachel demonstrates that having a positive outlook in life renders "relentless love" at home. And with everything life throws her way, Townspeople discovers motherhood is no exception.
Rachel Lipson
talks Motherhood, Town and Takeaways:
talks Motherhood, Town and Takeaways:
Rachel on Motherhood:
TP: As a teacher, you’ve worked with so many children. Has your perspective on child rearing changed since having your own?
RL: Almost immediately after becoming a parent I became less judgmental of other parents. I never quite understood the extent to which everyone is doing the very best they can. Teaching is rewarding, inspiring and at times exhausting but a teacher goes home at the end of the day. Parenting is non-stop and at times feels relentless. I have so much more sympathy for a parent who gives into a tantrum or turns on an iPad for a two year old in a restaurant…I still try to not do those things but I can completely understand how just getting through the day can trump ideology.
TP: You’ve heard of the proverbial biological clock. Myth or fact?
RL: Perhaps it’s different for everyone but for me it was a definite fact. Sometime around the time I turned 30, something completely shifted and I started to feel “ready”. I felt at that point like my heart was ready but my mind wasn’t. I spent time preparing my business and my life for motherhood. The logistics had to catch up to where my heart was.
TP: What were your initial feelings when you discovered your were pregnant?
RL: Excitement. Nervousness. Worry. Anticipation. I was in love with him from the very start…even when I was hovering over the toilet bowl, puking my brains out 5 times a day for months! Everyone told me that was a sign of a strong pregnancy and it turned out to be true in my case.
TP: In what ways has motherhood transformed you?
RL: It’s been a wonderful adventure. I feel like my body is stronger and more capable than I’d ever understood. It sounds like a cliché but I truly love my son more than I ever thought possible and then even that enormous love continues to swell and grow. It’s scary and wonderful to love someone else so much. Of course I love my husband and my parents, siblings and friends but there’s something very different about the love you feel for your child.
TP: How would you describe your parenting style?
RL: My son is still younger than the students I’ve worked with over the years and I am curious to find out how parenting will feel when he’s of preschool age. I feel very strongly that kids are capable, intelligent, thoughtful beings and that if they are truly listened to and respected, they will flourish. I’ve tried to give my son that experience from day one.
TP: The experience of having a family can easily translate into an act of morality. Do you adhere to opinions of others on what’s right or wrong?
RL: I read so many books about parenting a newborn and infant while I was pregnant (and more even after my son was born). So much about those early months felt foggier because I was sifting through all of the conflicting information in my head and out in the world. The worst was the buzz around sleep. I was given the world’s worst sleeper and my husband and I felt committed before day one to not leave him to cry-it-out. He also had reflux, trouble nursing and colic…we never knew when he was in pain and always tended to him (even if he awoke 15 times a night!). I think it’s very important for attachment development that young babies understand you will respond to them when they cry. Even our (former) pediatrician argued with us encouraging us to leave him to cry at 8 weeks old and not feed him during the night even while he was still recovering from the horrible respiratory infection RSV. It was a difficult thing to truly stick to what we believed was right and we paid the price in many ways (mainly the torture of sleep deprivation!). That said our son is very secure in his attachment to us and happy to explore his surroundings knowing we will be there when he returns to us. We did utilize a non-cry-it-out sleep consultant at 6 months old and she was amazing. She felt we had done everything right and called her at just the right time. He is now a fantastic sleeper and we are so glad we didn’t sacrifice our beliefs and stuck to what we felt was right.
TP: The one thing you wish you knew before becoming a mother:
RL: How often I’d long for time to myself but as soon as I have it, I start to miss my son! It’s a bittersweet feeling that I wasn’t prepared for.
RL: Try to spend time organizing your life in advance of becoming pregnant (if possible) and before the baby comes. Every single thing you do becomes much, much harder once the baby is there: work, errands, chores, tasks, wish lists, repairs, etc. The more you can do ahead of time to ease the stress of that first year, the better off you’ll be! I am a very type-A, over-prepared type of person and I made sure everything was lined up in advance. I spent the years leading up to my son’s birth hiring and training new teachers, expanding my business and preparing it for the eventual day when I would be on a maternity leave and unable to work. That was one of the smarter business decisions I ever made. 2014, Max’s first year of life, was the single best year in Blue Balloon’s six years in business. We nearly doubled our enrollment! The nursery was set up and ready to go in my second trimester when I had the energy to assemble furniture and focus on the design, as I wanted to. I would also recommend joining new mom’s groups and any baby classes you can so you have lots of other new moms to talk to. New motherhood is an experience unlike anything else and you may find that women you would normally have nothing in common with become your close friends.
TP: If you had to shrink the definition of motherhood to a few words, how would you define it?
RL: Relentless love
Rachel's Beauty Blueprint:
What time of day do you feel most beautiful?
RL: In the morning, after a refreshing shower.
Describe your any day/ go everywhere face:
TP:What's in your make-up bag?
RL: Benefit Dallas Blush, Dior Brown Mascara and some other favorites.
Café: Café Pedlar
Pizza take-out: Fascatis
Cocktails with girlfriends: Henry Public
Date night: Frankies 457 or our dinner table if we can’t get a sitter
Market: Fairway
Sweet treat: Frozen Yogurt in the summertime
Sunday outing: Brooklyn Flea
Rachel's Town Takeaways
Shower or bath? Bath when I have a moment to enjoy it
Coffee or tea? Tea
Natural or treated? Natural
Loose or fitted? Fitted jeans, loose tops
Heels or flats? Boots
Work out or work less? I never work less but I rarely work out!
Finishing Quote:
"If my day were a short story the title would read:
Looking for Spring."
Rachel Lipson
Interview by Crystal Granderson-Reid
Townspeople ©
Townspeople ©
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