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Meet Cara Lockwood of Cara’s Color Me Vintage in Aubrey

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Lockwood.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It has been an unexpected journey! I had previously worked in the education, in roles ranging from a preschool teacher, and education specialist, program coordinator, and finally an independent consultant. I had spent 3o years in a career that I loved dearly. I love young children and I just love inspiring them to learn and to be creative! As my career progressed, and I began making a healthy salary, I noticed, that what I really loved about early childhood education, was continually being challenged by politics, and administrative constraints. For many years, I advocated for young children. I urged administrators, politicians, and parents, to honor the whole developing child, not just focus on academics. I worked with teachers, encouraging them to find ways to keep creativity alive in their classrooms. Well, at the same time, I found myself more and more behind a computer, writing grants, scoring grants, creating assessments, and such. I had really lost touch with my own creativity and it was weighing heavily on me!

Fast forward a few years to when my good friend and I thought it would be a great Idea to open a DIY Studio in Southern California. That was the beginning of the end of my career. I enjoyed painting, and creating, and helping others to tap into their own creative minds so much that I just couldn’t stomach working behind a computer any longer! My husband and I did some heavy duty soul searching and found ourselves in Cross Roads, Texas where I could pursue a creative career and leave my former career and salary behind.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It most definitely has not been smooth. We left our two grown kids behind in Southern California and miss them dearly! Several months after we moved to Texas, my husband had a “career mishap.” We were already working with only one salary. The financial investment in my business, along with a huge hit in his salary almost devastated us. We had many months in which our mortgage payment and bills were behind, and we were scraping bare bottom just to make ends meet. I would tell my husband, “I think I need to go get a regular job.” He would insist, “Cara, you are almost there, and that is not why we moved here and left our friends and family behind. You just keep on going forward.” It’s been about 19 months since I started the business out here and Texas, and we are just now starting to see the fruits of our labor.

Please tell us about Cara’s Color Me Vintage.
The name of my company is Cara’s Color Me Vintage. I am a furniture and canvas artist. Really, I will paint just about anything to bring new life to a room! I paint furniture, walls, floors, chairs, and canvas… really anything! I retail DIY Paint, by Debi’s Design Diary, which is a clay-based paint with loads of pigment! The colors are vibrant and exciting, and that is exactly what I specialize in. Before moving to Texas, my home decor was all neutrals… you know, the whites and grays that have become such a trend. Well, I got bored with it real fast. After living in that neutral palette for a few years, my imagination began to soar. I wanted to add color and texture to everything, so the color revolution began!

People watch me on Facebook (Cara’s Color Me Vintage), where I do live painting tutorials every week. I am known for painting in full color, taking risks and sharing what I have learned. I have no secrets! I consider myself a “What If” person. I lie awake in bed and think up some crazy Idea such as, “Hmmmm, I wonder what would happen if I make some watered down paint, and took a leaf blower and blew it all over a table… what would that look like?” I won’t settle until I try it! (You can find a video of the leaf blower project on my facebook page)

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
That’s not the kind of “what if” I want to think about. I could easily say, I wish I had invested more money, or hired a social media person, or an accountant. But that was not my path, and if I had done things differently, I would not have learned the lessons I have learned. Our effort (my husband and I) to grow this business, from next to nothing, has been a journey… a frustrating, painful, yet exciting and beautiful journey. I would not have it any other way. It’s colorful and full of emotion, just as life should be.

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