Today we’d like to introduce you to Racquel Lewis.
Hi Racquel, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
All my life I have been known as the crafty kid who liked to create any and everything, a real true DIY-er, ya know. That passion to create has always stuck with me and ranged from spoken word to drawing, graphic design, crafting, etc. About the Spring of 2019, I stumbled across a painted doormat that said “please leave” and it just stuck with me, it being funny and to the point, I had to have it, which ideally meant that I had to make it myself, of course. I set out to look at plenty of tutorials on Youtube and headed out to purchase all of my needed supplies and put my Cricut to use. Making that mat was so much fun, but it came with trial and error, wasted vinyl, and too little paint. (had to re-up lol) It turned out amazing, though, nonetheless. My husband loved it as much as I did and quickly said, “Baby you should start making these and selling them.” I put the idea off until about a month later, he said it again, It got me thinking if this was something I wanted to take on. How big did I want it to get?… and what if it didn’t do well at all?
I put the fear of disappointment aside and started thinking of a name for the doormat portion of my business since I was already doing graphic design. BAM! The name Scratchyfeet came to life, something that my 3-year-old at the time helped me conjure up after he said the material of the mat made his feet “scratchy” (laughing). It was perfect; I created a website and the whole nine and started advertising on Facebook and Insta. It wasn’t until I posted a video of me creating the “Dope Black Queen” mat on TikTok that I went viral and business started booming immediately. I opened up a store on Etsy and posted more designs, Christmas, Black Pride, Funny Sayings, etc. and the orders kept coming in, thanks to the most high. As of today, with Etsy and other sales combined I have reached a total of 331 sales!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh no, the road has not been smooth at all, worth it, but not smooth. Working a full-time job, accompanied by being a great wife to my amazing husband and mommy of an inquisitive 5-year-old son and sassy, smart 2-year-old daughter, amongst other things, I have had some long nights.
Creating mats is something that excites me and allows me to relax my mind while I paint each mat, the bumpiness comes from racking your brain at catchy mats that will separate you from the others and creating good content for social media. Since the pandemic, A LOT of people have started creating mats, some that just look at it as a side hustle and some that do the same but genuinely enjoy it. But once the gas burns out for most, I will still be standing. Amongst the competition also creates a shortage of inventory. (laughing) Mats are usually sold out in the stores now so you have to bulk order, which can be pricey, paint is low and brushes are found far and few in-between. Funny story or sidenote, I will order mats online from like ten different stores that are driving distance to me, and my husband and I will drive around from store to store, popping trunk, to re-up on my mats; we call it “Mat day.”
My biggest hurdle of all is that darn USPS (United States Post Office)! They are the worst like if they weren’t already unreliable before Covid, they are real sketchy now. I have many customers to whom I have sent multiple mats and then had to submit a claim on the back end. It gets tedious but my main goal is to make sure that my customers GET THERE MATS and that is just what I am going to do.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Scratchyfeet, I hand paint custom coir doormats with catchy designs, phrases, holiday-inspired themes, but the mats that I paint to symbolize “Black Pride” is what is near and dear to me. With everything that has been transpiring over the years with black lives and even over the centuries, these mats are a way for me to show my love to my culture with empowering phrases. The mat “A Dope Black Queen Lives Here” was my number one seller for about a year and I made a promise to write an inspirational note to everyone who purchased one. It was my token of gratitude for their purchase but also a reminder to the buyer to “always be great and never settle because the divine spirit of humanity is implanted into every one of us.” To me, I am known for my patience in designing, I make sure that all of my mats are free from error, centered and aligned correctly with the mat (my canvas), and also spaced right. Spacing is a BIG pet peeve of mine because I like to see my words flow nicely into one another and not a “great divide” between lines. (laughing) My choice of paint sets my mats apart. Being that I don’t use spray paint, my designs last about 8-9 months longer than the typical two months you get with sprayed designs. In a nutshell, I prefer quality over quantity (time used to paint vs spray).
More than the money that I am making and the exceptional people that I meet on a daily, I am most proud of the example that I am setting for my son and daughter. They constantly give me feedback on how they like my mats and are always trying to lend a helping hand. This makes me feel accomplished because my husband and I are steadily showing our children the many avenues that exist to becoming successful in life.
I put my all into these designs because each mat is a part of me and I want every customer to get my best work. I am constantly looking at ways to improve and have more inclusive designs as well because there is always room for improvement. My hero in life is Maya Angelou and I love her quote, “Nothing succeeds like success. Get a little success, and then just get a little more.”
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
God deserves all of the credit, He gives me the ability to wake up every day and do what I love on all spectrums. He also blessed me with one amazing, loving, and supportive husband, who ALWAYS has my back, front, side (don’t make me shout now!) My husband, Michael, is the one who gave me the push to start painting mats. You will always find him promoting my designs on his social media pages and in his stories. He is my critic when something just seems a bit off and does not sugarcoat the truth to spare my feelings. The friends that constantly share my post to get them to the masses, my parents and bonus parents for all the motivation and support that they always give, and my kiddos – they come into my paint space multiple times to harass me, I mean check on me! (laughing)
Pricing:
- 16×24 Coir Mat – $50
- 18×30 Coir Mat – $55
- 24×36 Coir Mat – $75
- Custom Designs – $50+
Contact Info:
- Email: socialflydesigns@gmail.com
- Website: www.scratchyfeet.etsy.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/socialflydesigns
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/socialflydesigns
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@socialflydesigns?lang=en
