About

Our Story: 
My name is Rachel O'Brien and I live in Warwick, New York with my husband, Noah. I am a baby product designer who decided to launch my own organic baby clothing line in March 2020. We are in several boutiques so far and hope to continue growing this year. We are also just beginning to sell directly to our customers.

The Walderwinks Brand: 
The name "Walderwinks" is an ode to my maternal grandparents who have now both passed away. "Walder" means forest in German (and the collection is of a group of whimsical forest animals) so I used the first part of the brand name to honor my German grandmother, Owee. "Winks" because my grandpa, Popee, nicknamed us "Tiddlywinks" growing up. The two names together just seemed to mesh perfectly.

I’ve been in product design for over five years working full time and have always dreamed about being my own boss and creating a brand I believe in.

I started sketching the Walderwinks characters in my spare time and developed their whimsical world and stories from there. After I had drawn and watercolored the initial characters, I started to print them on onesies and it became a forest animal graphic line. 

The Walderwinks Story:
Most of you haven’t met my friends, the Walderwinks… and I think it’s about time for an introduction. The Walderwinks are a very special group of forest animals. They live in the quiet spaces between the trees of forests all over the world. Sometimes you can hear them, but only for a second—when the tree’s leaves stop shaking, and the wind’s whispers calm… you can hear them going about their lives, laughing and chatting, visiting friends and leaving for adventures. Sometimes you can spot them in the forest’s nooks and crannies when you go for a walk. But as quickly as you spot them, they disappear. They’re shy creatures, you see, but each one has their own story to tell—a story full of magic.

I met the Walderwinks years ago and starting sketching them and sharing their stories. They’re very secretive! They don’t like to have their pictures taken but they love seeing themselves drawn. So when I catch a glimpse of them I take a mental picture and sketch them as quickly as possible. Then I share their stories because they find them fun to read and share with each other and I find them fun to share with the world.