Meet the Founders of CommisKids

Q: What was your background before commiskids?

Rachel: I was a cardiac ICU nurse until I had my first kid and moved to the Bay Area.  I still work part time as a nurse in a research clinic along with working on CommisKids.

Allison: I worked in the family business before having kids. I am now a full time mom in addition to working on commiskids with Rachel.

Q: What was your upbringing like? 

R: My parents were both immigrants, my dad is Chinese from Vietnam and my mom is Chinese from Pakistan. I grew up hearing a lot of different languages spoken around the house.  We lived with my dad’s whole family. There were about 15 of us, and my grandma did all the cooking. She would have me and my cousins help her in the kitchen all the time. I’m so grateful that my grandma fed us traditional Chinese & Vietnamese foods, and had us celebrate all the traditional holidays. 

 A: I am grateful for the time I spent with my family during my childhood. I remember my mom cooking the best Korean meals for us and having summers where we just swam in the backyard all day. It's the simple things that brought so much happiness. 

Q: How has life changed since becoming mom?

R: Since I’ve become a mom, my perspective on everything has changed to focus on my kids.  Even simple things take so much more time and effort because I have to consider two more people. 

A: Everything. My kids are my priority and everyday is a new adventure with them. 

Q: What is the most used space in your home?

R: I live in an Eichler and we only really have one room that is the kitchen/dining/family room, so everything happens there. 

A: We have an open living space so we spend most of our time hanging out in the kitchen and living room. 

Q: What are your kids ages and what are they most into right now? 

R: My son is 6 and he’s really into BeyBlades, Pokémon, and his sports. My daughter is 4 and she’s all about the princesses and calico critters.  One thing they both love to do together is play in their kitchen and serve food to everyone. This is what helped spark the start of CommisKids.

A: My daughter just turned five and loves to draw and play tennis. My son is three and all about garbage trucks. They get along really well so they spend most of their time doing pretend play (especially in their kitchen), building using legos and blocks and throwing picnics. 

Q: How do you juggle parenthood and work?

R: I’m lucky to have some family near by and my dad is willing to come up often to help out. I have to set a lot of alarms to remind me about pick ups and activities. I work on CommisKids mostly at night because that’s the only uninterrupted time I get.

A: My kids are at school for the majority of the day so I have time to get things done while they're out. The afternoons are super busy with a lot of different activities and play dates. 

Q: What do you love most about your job? 

R: The thing I love the most about CommisKids is hearing from our customers about how much they appreciate the cultural diversity in our kits.

A: What I love about our kits is that they give children the opportunity to be hands-on and creative while learning about new foods and cultures. 

*Shop the coolest non toxic play-dough kits from Commiskids here