Newsletter #16: Rains's online store, starting as a full-time artist and the bliss of cooking

Hi there,

I hope you're feeling good.

I just spent 4 days in London with my cousin and friends. We rented electric bikes and explored all sides of the city. It was beautiful.

On Sunday, we went to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a NFL game: the Buffalo Bills against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was absolutely incredible!

I don't know much about NFL but my cousin is a huge fan and his enthusiasm is contagious. I joined him in this experience and loved every minute of it.

Regarding this newsletter, something crazy happened two weeks ago: one of you contacted me to tell me they liked it so much that they wanted to support it financially. I was so happy to read that!

This person is Guillaume Faure, founder of the Shopify app LiveMeUp.

Guillaume, thank you for being the first sponsor of this newsletter.

LiveMeUp empowers merchants to effortlessly integrate interactive videos into their online store. Whether it's live sessions or shoppable videos, they can now showcase their products in an innovative manner. Through what we now call video commerce, merchants have redefined the art of capturing their customers' attention. And results are impressive: they are tripling their session times and boosting their revenue.

Learn more about LiveMeUp on their app's listing page.

In today's edition, we're discussing Rains's online store, starting as a full-time artist and the bliss of cooking.

Let's dive in.

Work

In the Shopify ecosystem, innovation comes from various sources: Shopify itself, app developers, theme developers but also merchants.

Once in a while, merchants release new online stores that redefine the bounderies of what you can do within Shopify. These innovations allow brands to offer a memorable experience to their customers and help them stand out from their competitors.

One brand that worked really hard on making their Shopify store stand out is Rains.

Rains is a Danish rainwear brand. Their clothes are described as both conceptual and functional, and I could say the same about their online store.

The designers at Rains prioritized visual content: their homepage is almost entirely composed of images and their page “Puffer Sneakers” is a beautiful mix of product pictures, videos and colorful 3D models.

Rains leads us on an immersive journey into their cloudy universe. The rain itself is everywhere, with an opaque background color sweeping across the mega menu, the navbar and the product page's content cards.

You don’t visit Rains’s online store, you explore it.

On the Search page, the trending collection section with no-background pictures gives me Matrix vibes. And, on the product page, it’s hard not to get hypnotized by the massive scrolling images.

How do you like Rains’s online store?

Discover it here.

Inspire

This past month, I have been very inspired by my friend Marwane.

We went to business school together in 2016 and really clicked the first time we met.

As far as I can remember, he’s always been passionate about music. When we were doing our apprenticeships in the same company, he was part of a choir and was telling me about the songs they were singing.

On Mondays, he used to share the tricks he’d learnt on his guitar during the weekend. It was so interesting. And seeing his eyes lighten up when talking about music in general was a pure joy for me.

Today, Marwane is a full-time artist: Marwane au Nord-Est. He quit his corporate job to go all-in on his passion. He writes, composes and performs his own songs.

I went to see him play live in a parisian bar, it was amazing. I was so impressed! I can’t imagine the courage it takes to present your own songs to the world.

I’m very happy and proud to share Marwane au Nord-Est’s first ever music clip. I have no doubt that it will give you the energy to start the day in the best way.

Explore

As a child, I was dreaming of becoming a cook, like my aunt.

The first thing I ever cooked was a simple French “yoghurt cake”, where you basically weigh every ingredient with a yoghurt pot. It was an easy and fun thing to do with my brother and cousins when we were little.

Food has always been a huge part of my life. Whenever I visit a new city or dive into a different culture, the first thing I do is try their food. It’s like embarking on a journey through their history and traditions. Whether it's a quick bite from a fuming food truck or an extravagant dining experience, it’s always a great adventure.

One piece of content that really resonated with my vision of food is a Netflix series called Chef’s Table.

I particularly enjoyed the 3rd episode of the 6th volume, which revolves around Asma Khan.

Asma Khan is the owner of the indian restaurant Darjeeling Express in London. I know where I’ll be eating next time I’m in Soho!

This episode traces her life from her birth in India as a shamed second daughter, to her PhD in Law, her marriage, her feeling of emptiness and finally her discovery of cooking as a way to connect to her roots, bring people closer and feel more alive than ever.

Watch this episode of Chef’s Table on Netflix here.

Enjoy.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading this edition until the end.

I'll talk to you soon.

Take good care of yourself.

Coralie