From the Basement to the Haus:

The Start of a Bold Empire

My first studio was in a basement.
Not the cute kind. Torn carpet. Creepy noises. A few too many spiders.
My sewing machine was borrowed, and the light flickered when I used the iron.
But I still think about that space every time I start something new—because it taught me this:
“I can always make something out of nothing.”

That’s what I’ve done my whole life. With thread. With vision. With heart.

Evolution 1: The Girl Who Got to Work

I grew up in a single-parent home, the oldest of four kids. I started working at 12—not for fun, but because I needed to. I launched my own babysitting business, booked nanny jobs, and took pride in helping my mom and paying for my own school clothes.

Money gave me freedom. Work gave me identity.
And I loved knowing that if I wanted something, I could earn it.

That entrepreneurial fire never left. But it took time to figure out what it was really meant for.

I loved fashion. I loved how a great outfit made you feel like you could take on the world.
But I didn’t think you could build a future off of feeling yourself.
So I played it safe.

I chose pre-med.

Evolution 2: The Breakdown

I thought being a doctor was the right path. I’d worked in a lab. I took it seriously.
But deep down, I was miserable.
I hated scrubs.
I hated labs.
And I am *deeply* afraid of dead bodies—like, full-on terrified of zombies.

Sophomore year, I had a full breakdown. I was lost.
Art had always been there in the background—just not something I thought I was allowed to do for a living.
Then a friend said, “Let’s start a fashion group on campus.”
I laughed. Hard. Who pays bills with a sketchpad?

But something in me whispered: “What if?”

So I tried. I failed. My first fashion show was awful—stapled pieces, cut-up tanks, nothing polished.
But I’d never felt so alive.
I sucked at it, and still... I ‘wanted more’.
That was new. That was powerful.

Evolution 3: The Shift

After that, I stopped pretending. I walked into CU Boulder’s theater department and begged them to let me design costumes. I pitched a major. I made deals with professors to teach me one-credit courses on sewing, draping, and construction.

I didn’t wait for permission—I created the opportunity.

Our student fashion group started with 2 designers and 50 attendees.
By the end, we had 8 designers and over “500 people” in the room.
We had office space. Real funding. Real momentum.
We built something out of nothing.

And I’ve been doing that ever since.

What I’m Building Now

Rachel Marie Hurst is about storytelling through fashion.
M. Bolden is about creating a space I never had growing up—where every woman, every size, every background is ‘seen, celebrated, and styled’.
And now “Hurst Haus” is the diary. The behind-the-scenes. The real story.

Because fashion isn’t just fabric.
It’s ‘medicine for the soul’.
And if you’ve ever felt unseen, unworthy, or unsure of how to show up in the world—I built this for you.

You don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You just have to believe that your story is worth wearing.

With fire and lace,
Rachel Marie Hurst
Founder, Hurst Haus

FROM THE BASEMENT TO THE HAUS:THE START OF A BOLD EMPIRE