Welcome to Caitlin Craig Lawrence! I’m Cait, and I am so glad you stopped to check out my blog. Please feel free to make yourself right at home here.
Before you start exploring, I’d love to tell you a bit more about myself and how fashion helped transform me from a shy, awkward girl into one of today’s leading design experts and bloggers.
As I was growing up, my family frequently moved because my dad was a career officer in the Marines. I was born in Ginowan, Japan, during my dad’s tenure at Camp Foster Marine Corps Base. I am the youngest of four children with two brothers and a sister. The age gap of ten plus years made relating to my siblings tough.
Being on the move made settling in and putting down roots difficult, for me at least. My brothers were busy trying to be just like our dad and did not seem to care where we lived. My mom groomed my sister to follow in her footsteps as a chef. No one was unkind; I was too young to keep up with my siblings. As fate would have it, that turned out for the best.
Spending much of my time alone, I would amuse myself by looking at my mother’s magazines. I was in awe of the beautiful people and their stylish clothing. Wedding magazines were among my favorites, and I begged my mother to buy them. I tried to copy the beautiful gowns on my notebook paper, and gradually, I made changes and added my own ideas. Eventually, I began to create original designs. Little did I know that at 11 years of age, I took the first tiny steps towards my future.
Once my family was stateside, and my father retired, life settled into a routine. We lived in Kansas near my Godparents and my dad’s extended family. Even though most of my cousins were nearly old enough to be my parents, I loved the family ties. My Godmother was a prolific seamstress. She taught me the mechanics of creating the designs that danced in my mind. She also gave me the confidence to believe in myself and to chase my dreams.
While I was considerably more comfortable with my life in Kansas, I was still quiet and kept my head down as much as possible during high school. Many students from significantly more affluent families teased me, and I learned to put on a façade of aloof disconnection. Deep down, their words and giggles wounded me, which is why I volunteer with anti-bullying campaigns today.
After graduation, armed with my Godmother’s wisdom and skills, I went to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend Bauder College. It was formerly known as Bauder Fashion Institute and maintained a strong designing program. After finishing college, I returned to Kansas and began work. My big break came in the form of dressing local celebrities for an induction ceremony at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I parlayed my newfound notoriety into internships in Milan and New York City.
Today, I maintain my designing business, with the help of some amazingly talented individuals, who you will meet in future installments of my blog. You may have noticed I use a good deal of green and yellow shades in my blog, my logo and my work. I love both colors, and to me, yellow represents positivity and expansion while green speaks of life and a sense of groundedness. I believe you need both forces at work inside of you to have a full and satisfying life.
I know that I enjoy many blessings, a strong family, close friends, talented associates, and a burgeoning business. This is why I feel supporting the community is so important. This is a theme you will see in future installments of my blog. Giving back to the community and paying it forward mean the world to me.
So, in addition to sharing my resources and my time, I have several new charitable projects in the works. I am partnering with several other designers to stock a clothing outlet called ‘Fairy Godmother’s Closet’ a place where women who need business apparel for job interviews or girls who want to look pretty for prom can choose what they need at no charge.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know more about me and what makes me tick. I look forward to learning more about my readers as time goes on.
Until next time, be blessed and be well, Cait.