Hi, I’m Rachel! Born on the East Coast, a move at only months old made the Arizona desert-scape my backdrop throughout childhood. When I was growing up, my favorite pastimes were setting up my toys and trinkets for movie productions, and as I grew into my tween years, going outside with my friends and stopping to pose at every possible photo-op in our path. Creativity and artistic instincts have always been a mandatory mineral in my DNA, as my childhood collectible crayon box still sits adjacent to my desk, reminding me of all the wee hours spent filling construction paper with my wildest ideas. I was a little collector as well, not just of photos and memories, but of anything remotely “collectible”. Rocks, ticket stubs, handwritten cards, soda bottles, cameras, books, Dum-Dum wrappers - you name it, I probably collected it at one time. For some reason, since I was very young, I always knew deep down that memories and preserving them were going to be very big, impactful pieces of my life.

When I graduated from eighth grade, my parents gifted me my first DSLR camera: a Canon Rebel T3i. With nothing but childlike instinct and a standard kit lens, I went out as a sophomore in high school and began planning real photo sessions. I explored a wide variety of niches, whichever sparked my interest: from fashion and editorial, to journalism, travel, and even sports. After a long period of experimental shoots, learning more about editing and color theory, alongside gaining confidence in directing, I opened my first small business: “Rachel Kurtenbach Photography”.

Most of my high school years in the far North Valley were spent photographing my peers as they either graduated, reached different milestones, or felt inclined to adventure and shoot with me just for fun. I look back on these early years with so much joy and gratitude, as so many of these sessions and memories have helped shape me into the photographer and artist I am today. I walked around school with a pastel crayon box of hair colors, carefully curated outfits coordinated to my mood or current vintage fixation, and a passion for exploring people and places burning inside.

After graduating high school, I moved and settled in the West Valley with my family, where I then gave birth to two amazing kids. Shortly after the birth of my first child, I opened my first LLC: “GLXXY Designs”. The name was a small homage to my teen nickname “star-girl” and that specific season where I first found myself artistically. Upon entering my family era, my lens quickly diverted its focus to portraiture; specifically of families, couples and motherhood moments. I absolutely adore capturing these memories for fellow families, especially knowing firsthand how significant they are to generational history and sentimental storytelling. It is always such an honor to be invited to document some of the most intimate yet memorable moments in a family’s journey. Growing up, you begin realizing how fast time truly ticks by, but that sensation gets heightened astronomically when you have visual evidence of it, right in front of your eyes, in the form of your children.

In 2024, chronic underlying health issues I wasn’t fully aware of began to surface- quickly and forcefully. This led to the abrupt and temporary closure of my business and took my family all the way out to the rural outskirts of Pennsylvania. After a year of small-town living, we made the move back home to AZ, and I began seeing meaningful improvements in my health. I learned an immense amount about both myself and the importance of community during this time, and wish to take these tokens of wisdom with me as I come back to tackle my dreams. I believe struggle is sometimes necessary in order to see things from a new perspective, and without turning that into a photography pun/metaphor, I know that’s what happened in my case.

I’m excited to be fully coming back to my roots, bringing in new experiences, and returning to the things I love most. As the kids these days say, “I’m just a girl” but in my case, I’m that eccentric, excited, creative collector girl, and I’m beyond grateful to be stepping back into those shoes.

Sonoran Curio Co. was born in the summer of 2026, after I began re-collecting pieces of myself I had previously left behind or turned away. Those pieces became pillars, forming a business encompassing my biggest passions, and thus giving me a way to pass them on to others in an attempt to share my adoration of craftsmanship and custom curation.

I’m excited to serve families, businesses, and individuals in the West Valley (and beyond!) with all of their photographic needs. Likewise, for our offerings to become a staple in your curio cabinet as the business slowly evolves into a customizable keepsake hub throughout 2027.

For those who have walked this journey with me since my earlier years, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. To those new here or who are being introduced to either myself or my work for the first time, thank you for being here and I cannot wait to hopefully secure a spot in your scrapbook one day.

Sonoran Curio Co.’s origins begin with the owner, photographer and artist behind the brand, Rachel; for more background please see “Rachel’s Story”. Rachel’s love for collecting, learning, and preserving grew from childhood crafts at the kitchen counter, moving to a passionate deep-dive into photography, and now branching into heirloom keepsakes.

When Rachel was ready to return to her roots in 2026, she wanted to weave her long-standing passions into her business.

As an Arizona-based photography and keepsake service, inhabiting the Sonoran Desert, it only felt fitting to rebrand around our iconic setting. Sitting within the second largest hot desert in North America, the miles and miles of desert landscape become the perfect sprawling, scenic backdrop for most any kind of artistic imagery.

During her time living in rural Pennsylvania in 2024-2025, Rachel was captivated by the small towns whose main streets were lined up and down with mom & pop storefronts, complete with a curiosity shop fixed to every corner. “Curiosity shop” is not as common a term here in the Southwest. But combining the original idea of a curiosity shop with the curio cabinets she grew up staring at at home, Rachel landed on “curio”.

In 2026, Sonoran Curio Co. was born, and in November of that year, we officially re-opened our doors for booking, ready to serve the West Valley and beyond with highly individualized photography, and custom heirloom keepsake services. Making your memories last for miles.

Keep reading below to see what we stand for!

SCC, Sonoran Curio Co., strives to make the preservation of life’s most meaningful and important moments an intentional, accessible, and deeply personal experience. Through the art of photography, and storytelling woven into bespoke keepsakes, we strive to curate pieces of personal and collective history to celebrate the stories, connections, and individuality that make each worth keeping.

SCC is built upon four main pillars: connection, collaboration, individuality, and legacy. Connection overarches not only interpersonal contexts, but also includes the kinesthetic connection between an object and a memory. A photograph to look at, a memento to hold- they reinforce the recall of other senses to create a beautifully immersive, reminiscent experience.

When a service and product are so intimately individualized, thoughtfully curated and one-of-a-kind, collaboration is of the utmost importance. This isn’t just a point, shoot, and deliver style business, this is a custom tailored experience fitted to you and your creative preservation needs. Communication and transparency are always at the forefront of our client experience. We strive to build long-lasting relationships that over time, feel like reaching out to an old friend. Individuality shines through each gallery, each piece, and each tiny interaction throughout our time working together. The unique nature of our offerings allows this feeling to extend far past your delivery date. We also value individuality as it appears in every person we meet; each and every person has a story, a different background, different current circumstances, and many other unique traits that make them, them. We welcome and celebrate every individual, without exception.

No matter if you’re booking your one-year-old’s cake smash shoot, or inquiring for a series of real estate sessions, this is a legacy in the making. Not every inquiry represents an overtly grand legacy such as a wedding or engagement, but each time we document we are preserving a small slice of time exactly how it is, right in that second. So maybe even the most corporate style sessions could one day begin growing sentiment: the child that wants to find photos from when their parents sold their childhood home, the headshots from a late family member now cherished by those who knew them, the photos of company events displayed at an employee’s retirement party; legacies don’t form in a shutter click, they grow their patina with time. When we approach any occasion, inquiry, or commission, we keep this longevity in mind and create specifically for both present and future lineages.

Interested in working with us? Explore our photography services and keepsake offerings, or get in touch to book your session, request pricing, or schedule a consultation.