Interview: Art Patron & MarGin Gin Founder Rachel Verghis
It may be Monday morning, but we’re raising a glass to Verghis as she tells us more about the joys of being an entrepreneur, what motivated her quest to make the perfect sipping gin and why art and a G&T go hand-in-hand.
THE WICK:
What gets you out of bed every day?
Rachel Verghis:
My joyful yet infuriating 13-year-old. I also spend about 10 minutes hyperventilating, thinking about the day ahead.
TW:
Why did you swap banking for a career in art and entrepreneurship?
RV: Art always played a part – a small drumbeat which eventually drowned out everything else. Banking is what I set out to do but it never really fulfilled me. I resigned before Louis came along. The entrepreneurship was born of necessity. Something (anything) was required to sustain the art addiction before it spiralled out of control. In the process, I realised how much I love working for myself, working on projects I chose and failing and succeeding at my own pace. Liberating.
TW: You combine your love for both in your endeavours, such as like Goo.ey and VerghisArt. Can you briefly share the vision behind VerghisArt?
RV:
VerghisArt began around the time of Louis’ birth. I had just finished 18 years of full-time work and I felt lost. I had Louis very late in life, on my own and motherhood did not come easily. I needed to work and to feel connected with the outside world again. Supporting artists and advocating for them was a lifeline. It definitely helped me find my feet again, find purpose, and steady the wobbly ship.
TW:
What made you start your gin brand and what sets it apart?
RV:
I have had a Gin & Tonic at 5 pm almost every day, for as long as I can remember. Vanity made me want to make my own version – a very dry, uncomplicated, smooth, sipping gin.
MarGin began as a COVID-19 lockdown project. I remember reading an article about the Frankfurt based artist Mike Bouchet’s artwork “Tender”, for which he commissioned a German smell and taste institute (Symrise) to distil the “smell” of the USD bill. The bill was composed of more than 100 ingredients, with the main being aldehyde, a dominant smell in soap, linen and surprisingly Chanel No 5. Fecal molecules also featured highly! But I digress…COVID and all its restrictions led me to believe we would be retiring all physical currency. I wanted something to memorialise the British currency. I thought, why not capture the taste of British money in a gin. It does sound crazy even as I say it out loud.
“Art always played a part – a small drumbeat which eventually drowned out everything else. Banking is what I set out to do but it never really fulfilled me.”
