We were lucky to catch up with Roxanne Cain recently and have shared our conversation below.

Roxanne , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

I’ve taken vacations sometimes and planned them around certain antique or salvage places I’m interested in visiting. I take vacations and enjoy the time away. However when on vacation I’m always looking for the local thrift stores, aritectural salvage store or antique shops. To find those one of kind items to incorporate into my next project.

Roxanne , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born in Albany, New York and moved to Florida when I was 4yrs old I consider myself a Florida Native.  I’ve lived all my life in the small beach town of New Smyrna.  Married my sweetheart and we raised 4 children in the same area. We have 10 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. We are now both retired and love being creative together. I love the vintage cottage feel so from that we began repurposing furniture and items for our home. I began repurposing items for my home and found I really enjoyed repurposing items. Then my youngest daughter was getting married and I offered to make all her wedding decorations down to bridal buoghet and everything else that’s goes into a wedding. I Found I loved being creative and making things for other people. My husband retired after me and always had a creative eye for wood working. So from our love of being creative together and both our talents we began Caincreationsfl. Our works include a repurposed item such as making a photo holder from a vintage lamp to charceturie boards, cutting boards, bread boards, engraved boards, stove top covers. Basically we get an idea and go for it. We recently made an oak wood stove top cover for a client because she didn’t like the way her stove top looked. The cover dressed up her whole kitchen. We try to customize whatever the client may want. We recently made a wooden church for a client which my husband designed but the the client had a sentimental music box he wanted added to the piece. We certainly accommodated the client. It’s those types of things I feel sets us apart , that are willing to think outside of the box and try to meet the client’s request. Our main creations are the wood items and I think the most rewarding to me is when you see a raw piece of wood and invision what that piece of wood can be and it turns into something beautiful.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I look around in places like Kirklands, Hobby Lobby, vintage markets, pinterest and blogs. And see how others put things together. I then try to invision a space in my home for maybe that set up, vignette or item and decide would I want that in my home. So many times I’ll start with that type of an idea and then make it my own. One thing I’d say to those struggling with being creative  is find the thing you enjoy doing, making etc. And just go for it. Sometimes the things we mess up turn out to be something great. It’s all trial and error. Im very fortunate because my husband and I share our creative sides together.  If I’m struggling with an idea he’ll help me bring it to light and vice versa.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2017 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. During that time I had a surgery, followed by chemo therapy then radiation treatment. Which was about a year of my life. I was working a great job as a Director of a pregnancy crisis center. I also lost both my mother in law and father in law in the same year. Honestly my faith in God is what kept me afloat. After that year is when I began searching for another direction. Although I loved the pregnancy ministry I felt it was time for me to retire which I did. I had always loved doing just about any kind of craft. But through the help of God , friends and family I found that being creative in woodworking and vintage crafts was the thing that kept me busy and I get to do them with my husband.

Contact Info:

• Website: Caincreationsfl.com
• Facebook: Cain Creations Fl