Meet Christyn Hawthorne

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christyn Hawthorne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Christyn , so excited to have you with us today and we are really interested in hearing your thoughts about how folks can develop their empathy? In our experience, most folks want to be empathic towards others, but in a world where we are often only surrounded by people who are very similar to us, it can sometimes be a challenge to develop empathy for others who might not be as similar to us. Any thoughts or advice?

First, I just want to say a quick thank you! I appreciate this opportunity to share a little about my business and my story.
How I developed my empathy? Growing up my mom was a big part of that. She often challenged us to think of what other people might be going through, to think of the other side of the story and to help where we could.
Then in my thirties I struggled through infertility and pregnancy loss. I experienced how all consuming, lonely, and difficult it is and how it’s not talked about much. I’m already a pretty empathic person but experiencing something yourself gives you an even better understanding of it. And if I can use that for good, I want to and I’m going to. So, I try to share my story in hopes that other women who are hurting can feel less alone, and to try to change the narrative of how we talk about infertility, IVF, pregnancy loss, and grief.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am owner of Rainbows for Fynn. It is a macrame rainbow business (and more) I started in April of 2022 in memory and honor of our pregnancy loss Fynn. And it all happened pretty fast. So, two years ago I was a full time stay at home mom of a 2-year-old boy, juggling 2 parttime jobs, and I was looking for a creative outlet. Something for me. I decided to try making macrame rainbows and instantly got obsessed! I quickly had rainbows hanging all over my living room and knew if I wanted to continue this newfound art, I was going to have to find a way to sell them. This quickly led me to opening up an Etsy shop, and to do that I needed a name, and all I could think of was Rainbows for Fynn.
Fynn was the name we gave to a son we hoped for, fought through infertility to create, and ended in pregnancy loss. If he would have been born on his due date, he would have been about 10 months old at that time I opened my Etsy shop. I was still mourning him, thinking of him daily, and trying to find my way through this unique grieving process that included infertility, IVF, pregnancy loss, and the end of our family building journey due to infertility.
While I hesitated at the idea of putting myself out there and telling my story, I loved the idea of creating beauty in his name and keeping his memory alive. And through my experience with infertility, IVF, and pregnancy loss, I knew I appreciated hearing a story that sounded like mine. In fact, it seemed weird that something so common and so hard, wasn’t talked about more. And as a result, people don’t know how to talk about it or how to support those going through it. So that day April 2022, Rainbows for Fynn was born. Ever since then I have been creating unique macrame rainbows of all kinds. I make keychains, car charms, cake toppers, wall hangings, and more. People especially love my items I make playing with the macrame rainbow art but creating other things like elephants, rockets, gnomes, cacti and dinosaurs. I sell my handmade items on Etsy, at markets, a few local shops in Fort Wayne and Huntertown Indiana. And last December I opened a booth at the Ft Wayne Indiana Painted Tree, creating my very own little shop!
Over the last 2 years I’ve not only improved and expanded my art, I also have expanded and improved my willingness and ability to put myself and my story out there. I do this on social media, at markets with customers, and personally in my life in hopes to help others feel less alone and change the conversation around struggles with family building, IVF, and the way we grieve our pregnancy losses.
Along the way I’ve been so touched by all the conversations, stories and support I have gotten. When you share your truth, you create space for someone else to safely share theirs. And that motivates me to keep doing it. Is it hard, yes, but I believe it’s so important and am reminded often by the results I get when I share my story openly and honestly. So you see, it’s about more than just a rainbow business. I see it as really trying to help others, make change, and it has helped me as well.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Hmmm.. Definitely my passion and love for my son, my eye for detail/intention in what I do, and a desire to create change and just keep going and growing are probably the 3 most important and impactful qualities in my journey. The passion I have through my story and experience is what started this business and what keeps it moving. I’m motivated to keep Fynn’s memory alive, to create something beautiful in his name, and to make something good out of something so hard. My attention to detail and the care, love, and pride that goes into every item I make has helped my business to grow. I think it sets me apart and shows in my work. And my desire to create change is really strong. We can’t control a lot of the things that come our way, but we can do something with them. We can take our unique experiences and use them for good. And when a woman comes to my booth with tears in her eyes and says, “I love what you are doing.” When a stranger comments on one of my vulnerable Facebook Posts that her angel babies would be 33 and 35. When one of my friends, a dad in his forties comes to me to buy a custom white rainbow to gift to his daughter that just miscarried. These are all beautiful signs of change, signs of touching someone’s life, signs of Fynn’s impact, and the work I have done and will continue to do.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

I think one of my most difficult challenges in small business and on this Rainbows for Fynn journey is trying to not let my emotions go up and down with all the ups and downs of business. Creating my own art, my own business, telling my personal story, being active on social media, it’s a lot of work and effort, and a lot of it is vulnerable. And it’s easy to feel good about it when you are having high sales and great comments. It’s harder to stay motivated and confident when engagement is down, and sales are low. But unfortunately, that’s part of business. That’s part of navigating something new. That’s part of putting yourself out there. There are ups and there are downs. And I have to remember to not take them personally. Easier said than done of course, but I’m getting better at it all of the time. Rainbows for Fynn have given me so many gifts. And a lot have them have come through just trusting the vision, myself, and continuing to walk through the fears. And only through that can you gain some amazing benefits.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://RainbowsforFynn.Etsy.com
• Instagram: rainbows_for_fynn
• Facebook: @RainbowsforFynn
• Other: I have a Rainbows for Fynn booth at Painted Tree Boutiques Ft. Wayne, IN

Image Credits

First Photo is by Sarah Schacher Photography
Cake is by Sassie Cakes