We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Carthens. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.

Rebecca, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career

Currently I work in Cumberland County Schools as a school social worker. I have been a school social worker for about 3 years now. The school that I work at is a Title 1 school in which poverty is very high in the area. The area is predominantly African American. Everyday I see students who struggle with different issues such as homelessness, hunger, and even financial problems. As a social worker, I have to help these families/students face the barriers so they can come to school to focus so they can receive their education.

If I had to change anything about the school, instead of students going to school 5 days out of the week, I would change it to four days. I would have kids only go to school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. During COVID days, our school system did this thing called “Wellness Wednesday” where everyone would have a break on Wednesdays. I believe it gives a sense of self care and allows you to take a break. If that was taught early, it would benefit students to learn that they do not need to experience burnout during a career.

One last thing that I would change would be that I would want CTE classes to be added to elementary schools. Often times people forget about elementary students and how they should go through all of those 5 years with confidence and enthusiasm to be ready for middle school. I have my own mentor group and a lot of my students complain about school and how it is boring. If CTE classes were added, I believe the kids would have a better outlook on coming to school to experience a possible trade.

Rebecca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Brushed By Melanin unofficially got started right after I graduated college in 2017. It was that after-school anxiety I was battling, and then one day, I decided to pick up a paintbrush. Just self-teaching myself how to cope with my anxiousness as I figure out my next life steps. The more and more I began to paint, the calmer I started to feel. After a while, I began to start selling my artwork. Sales were going great! I decided to tap into my creative side and begin decorating graduation caps. I decorated my own and found so much joy in doing so. Graduation was a huge accomplishment for me since I was a first-generation grad! The orders started rolling in, and it was a success; that’s when I became interested in starting a business. Brushed By Melanin was created! Shout out to Joyce! Thanks, sis! When the pandemic hit, we were working from home. My mind was all over the place. I felt that anxiety coming back and felt this was the perfect time to focus on expanding my brand. I learned so much about the pros and cons of operating a business. I started selling clothing/accessories items, and it was making money, but I honestly wasn’t passionate about it. It became overwhelming for me. I took a step back from the business world until I gained my passion for my brand and target audience. I have my BSW in social work and currently work in the school system. As I work closely with my students, they help me realize that I need to keep going. My job is to continue to push and motivate them, as I need to do myself. I was making good money from selling items, but that wasn’t what was keeping me going. I had to take a step back and reevaluate. What is my purpose for Brushed By Melanin? Where do I see my brand? I wanted to help make memories for people and give them experiences! I host paint parties for adults and children, create memorable graduation caps, paint canvases, and another decor! I still tell myself that I’m just getting started because I have a bigger vision for my business that I know will bring that experience every time!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I have recently learned that I had to start actually enjoying creating my products. I was so caught up in trying to make money instead of creating memorable items for my customers. Once I slowed down, I noticed that I was able to create better products and actually relate more to my customer.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I initially built my social media platform with a lot of my college colleagues. I started off creating graduation caps which was perfect because I was a fresh college grad. Creating content that is engaging around the product item is how you gain your audience. Since I was creating graduation caps, I would create content from grad pictures. Plus, you have to be very consistent with posting and creating as well.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @brushedbymelanin
• Facebook: Brushed By Melanin