Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Haahr and Michelle Jump.
Hi Erika and Michelle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The concept of sending rainbows began when 2 friends, who were once neighbors, started sending each other happy mail. When the world was shut down, Michelle sent Erika a glass rainbow-making crystal. It was a hit! The rainbows all over her house not only brightened her day but also her families. Seeing how happy the rainbows made everyone, Michelle & Erika wanted to share the crystals with family and friends everywhere. They quickly realized the shipping was too expensive and needed to find a better option. They brainstormed ways to easily send rainbows in greeting cards and came up with rainbow-ing window clings. Knowing they wanted to spread joy to as many people as possible, the Double Rainbow Project was then born!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We both have degrees in elementary education, so as a result, we’ve encountered many obstacles in entering the business and nonprofit world. We have learned so much, and yet also realize that we have a long way to go. Almost every day we encounter some kind of obstacle. While they are generally small, like a lost package or partnership obstacles, there are also on-going challenges that we are always working on to improve. Our packaging is constantly a work in progress, as we realize we are not quite where we want to be, but also celebrate that we have come so far with it. Shipping is another major issue for us. We loved the simplicity of being able to send something with a regular stamp, but we overlooked being able to track just a stamp. Our biggest but also most exciting struggle is that we never expected to have so many people love our rainbows. As a result, we are in the process of working out all of the logistics of mass production. It is an exciting but also frustrating project. Finally, we also had plenty of people who have doubted us along the way. Every time we encounter someone who thinks our mission or product is silly (and there have been quite a few!), it only motivates us more to keep spreading happiness one rainbow at a time. Although once a doubter actually experiences one of our rainbows, their mood is instantly lifted, and more often than not, they actually purchase a set to send to someone else to also brighten their day!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Double Rainbow Project?
The Double Rainbow Project was started by two friends on a mission to brighten people’s lives. For each donation or Double Rainbow sold by a DR Project Affiliate is 1 prism donated to bring someone else joy.
A few of our Donors include:
Hospitals
Nursing Homes
Individuals facing hardships
In Remembrance
To bring people Joy
Through donations of rainbow window clings, we hope we have brought a little more joy into your life!
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
When we created the Double Rainbow. Project, we didn’t know the impact it would have on so many. Seeing the comfort, joy, and inspiration a rainbow can bring makes us feel very driven to keep going. There were many days when the obstacles just seemed to keep coming, and we would half seriously/half-jokingly say that “we quit,” but luckily, we never quit at the same time. However, then we would get a message from someone describing the impact one of our clings had on them and know that no matter what, we had to keep going. Our drive to help others is what keeps us going.
Pricing:
- $8/set
- $12.50+/bulk pricing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.doublerainbowproject.com, https://www.doublerainbowproject.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doublerainbowproject
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/doublerainbowproject
