Meet Racquel Lewis | Creator, Owner, Rug Dealer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Racquel Lewis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Racquel, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
To me risks mean opportunity. You will never know your true potential if you are afraid to get out of your comfort zone and do the things that make you fearful. I have taken many risks in my life in regards, to my personal life, my work-life, just in general and they all have been worth it in some way.

Of course, not all risks lead to success or some big rainbow, but they all have one thing in common and that is that they all teach you a little bit more about yourself. This is interesting as well because you don’t always learn the lesson immediately after the risk. A lot of times it takes reflection and growing to understand the outcome of what happened with that risk that you took so long ago.

As mentioned earlier, taking risks has made me the woman that I am today. I take risks in my work life, where I am an Education Coordinator, of almost 10 years with UT Southwestern Medical School, by voicing my thoughts on certain issues when mostly everyone else sits quietly. This makes me vulnerable to scrutiny by others and people that may not look at me as their equal. I also take risks in my business by pushing through the fear of the “what if no one likes my post, my designs, buys my mats, blah, blah, blah” thoughts that way on me.

I am here to tell you to push past all of the inner voices, the doubts, and the fears and take your risks. It’s better than the unknown.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I create custom-painted doormats that give a cool touch to any doorstep, your every day #rugdealer. Mats with catchy designs, phrases, holiday-inspired themes, sports, etc., 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.” Now, with Juneteenth coming soon I am back at promoting new mats that I have been creating over the weeks to celebrate this great day.

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).

Even 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 can be to 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.

It has not been easy and this journey comes with many sleepless nights, dragging mornings, and days awaiting the weekend or the next vacation, but my drive, passion, and dream keep me constantly grinding and overcoming these things.

I want the world to know that although cliche, 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. I like chance, I like “different” and will bring my customer’s vision to life on these mats every time.

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.”

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ummmm…let’s see if my bestie were visiting Dallas for the week it would go something like this…first there would be no itinerary and a lot of sporadic, “hey, you want to check this out?'” so dress for any and everything.

Some of my favorite dining places that we would visit would be, Moxie’s for brunch and/or dinner, The Free Man in downtown Dallas for some great cajun food and music while we eat, oh and the drinks are amazing as well. We would also dine at Jeneveines in Frisco, TX, which is another New Orleans-inspired cuisine, BUT it is oh so worth it!

Did I mention First Watch? They are located everywhere and their breakfast is delicious. For some lunch we would visit Dock Local inside Legacy Hall at Plano, they have the best Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwich and crab seasoned fries…okay I’m getting hungry.

Some fun spots – we would probably go walk around at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and take a tour, the Perot Museum. An oldie but goodie…we HAVE to go to Six Flags and ride every ride and then shopping at the Stonebriar Mall in Frisco, TX, indoor kart racing, bowling and some video games at Andretti’s in The Colony.

There are so many things to do here that I can’t possibly list everything that I would think of at the time, but we would for sure be fed, full and happy at the end of the week so we would top it off with a great massage from my trusty masseuse Annie in Plano.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to God for always going above and beyond for me even at times when I don’t always acknowledge him daily as I should. I also want to shout out my husband who was the push for the start of Scratchyfeet as an addition to the many other things that I do. I also want to give a shoutout to my funny kids who are full of personality, they always root for me and think that mommy is the best. Of course, I can NOT forget all of my customers, past, future, present, repeat, etc. because they are who keep the business running with constant orders.

Website: scratchyfeet.etsy.com

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