Rachel Nilsson innovated children's clothing by taking a romper, sewing on an elastic neckline, making it easy to go on in one go. She calls her creation a “rag.”
'I started by selling my kids hand me down clothes on Instagram because my husband was in law school and we were literally running out of money,” Nilsson said, “We came up with a one piece, what we now call a rag. It has an elastic neckline and no snaps around the leg. 'It’s easy to slide on and off a squirming toddler.'
After a year of selling online, Nilsson quickly realized that she could make her little store a full-time gig. Nilsson said, “We got picked up by Vogue and Huffington Post and remember knowing immediately that we were onto something. I remember talking to the two employees at the time and being like, do you think they have any idea that we're just fulfilling orders from my garage right now?'
Two years ago, Nilsson’s growing business aired on the show Shark Tank and quickly expanded her opportunities. “I ended up getting three offers, and I took a deal with Robert.” They didn’t end up going through with the deal, but the experience provided Nilsson with important mentorship and opportunities. She said it really helped put Rags on the map. She said, 'We ended up getting a deal with Nordstrom.'
But then something big happened. A representative from Disney reached out.
'At the time we were just so young, and I knew that that would be a dream partnership but I also knew that we weren't ready for that.' But two years later, that dream partnership is now a reality. 'We have finally been able to take on Disney, and we just released that collection two months ago its gone really really well.” Nilssons said that Rags is well on its way to riches as more partnerships are in the works.