At Rainbow Symphony, we’ve combined our passion for science, excitement for optics, and love for design to amuse, educate, and delight millions of people around the world.
Founded by a curious artist with a passion for innovation, Rainbow Symphony was started over 40 years ago thanks to Mark Margolis. As a glass glazer by trade, he had a love for creating and collaborating with talented artists and professionals in Los Angeles and beyond. One sunny afternoon, he hopped in a friend’s car and saw he had a tiny little disc that reflected rainbows as it caught the light. He’d never seen anything like it before, and the beauty its diffraction surface created ignited his curiosity.
It was serendipitous that he found this little piece of magic, and began the search to find out more. From The School of Holography in Santa Monica to homes of artists and inventors around the country, Mark knew he wanted to combine his skill for glass-making with this incredible technology to bring more glorious rainbow spectrums to life.
After spending time learning as much as he could, Mark was compelled to put his rainbow creation ideas to the test. He placed diffraction film between two pieces of glass with the idea to use it architecturally in stained glass windows and public art installations. It worked beautifully, and he was able to do some fun collaborations with other creating spectacular environments of explosive rainbow light.
Seeing how much excitement the array of colors brought everyone, he wanted to find a way to make these materials more accessible and affordable. He decided to make some smaller pieces of glass and brought them home to Los Angeles to share his work with his mom. She was floored by how rainbows bounced around the room as she held it up to the sunlight pouring from the kitchen window.
“Why don’t you put a hook on this, so you can hang it?” she asked. And the first product was born—the Rainbow Window Prism!
Excited to get his creation into the hands of customers, the company had to have a name. Mark thought about how color is to the eye what music music is to the ear, so the harmonious collection of all colors would be a symphony! Rainbow Symphony perfectly encompassed his goal for products that are both entertaining and beautiful. With a little money borrowed from friends here and there, paired with the profits from each sale, Mark grew the business organically by selling out at almost every craft show he attended. All you had to do was just hang ‘em in a sunny window!
As Mark suspected, people couldn’t get enough of the beautiful radiant light. He was excited to grow the business and continue innovating consumer products—as well as collaborating with artists and brands to create beautiful installations. With a symphony of Rainbows and a fast growing business, Mark was on the hunt for new and exciting innovations.
During a trip to an astronomical show in Montana, he met an astronomy professor who shared a film innovation that allowed scientists to look at the sun. Mark immediately knew this was perfect for his next project, and created Eclipse Shades, Safe Solar Viewing Glasses. Now everyone, from children to students to scientists, had the ability to safely experience one of the universe’s most moving celestial events, a solar eclipse. With this next evolution of the business, Mark was able to grow the Rainbow Symphony team, manufacture more products, and get Rainbow Symphony into the hands of more people than ever before.
As we continue testing and innovating new materials, our mission has always been to share the beauty of the world through light and color. Our passion and drive for our products have allowed us to work with millions of customers, alongside international brands and companies. We’ve had the pleasure of working with musical icons, such as Paul McCartney and Katy Perry, as well as corporations like Coca Cola and American Airlines. We’ve provided glasses to students, astronomy buffs, movie theater screenings, and specialty promotional events around the world.
We feel so lucky that the universe conspired to give us the knowledge and connections to bring you Rainbows, Solar Eclipse Glasses, and so much more. As we continue to grow and serve you, we’ll never forget the question that started it all.
