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UF alumna, entrepreneur expands art studios to Ocala

<p>Used paintbrushes sit in a cup at Corks &amp; Colors Studios off Newberry Road on Thursday evening. Rebecca Barborak recently opened a second location in Ocala.</p>

Used paintbrushes sit in a cup at Corks & Colors Studios off Newberry Road on Thursday evening. Rebecca Barborak recently opened a second location in Ocala.

The young girl, no older than 10, carefully sorted her hand-picked lemons into small bundles and loaded them into the wheelbarrow. She pushed it down her Costa Rican street, invigorated, knowing this lemon-selling business was all her idea.

She hoped someone along the street would buy the lemons, but for Rebecca Barborak, it was never really about the money.

Barborak couldn’t possibly know then that she was nurturing a passion for entrepreneurship that would blossom into a growing art studio venture in North Central Florida.

Almost 20 years later, Barborak opened two art studios in Gainesville, one on Newberry Road she calls Corks & Colors Studio and one at The Oaks Mall, called You Paint It.

Ask Barborak today if her after-school lemon business was a financial success, and she’ll tell you she can’t remember. And that doesn’t surprise her, either.

“I don’t thrive on the idea that I’m going to make a lot of money,” she said. “I mean I hope I do, but I thrive on the whole creating-a-business side. That’s where my happy place is.”

After graduating from UF in 2009 with a psychology degree, Barborak began working as a job coach for people with disabilities for two organizations. Pooling together money from her first salary and graduation, Barborak initially set aside about $600. It would be the first of many smaller monthly investments put toward her future do-it-yourself art studio.

The first Corks & Colors Studio class was held July 31, 2010 at a downtown Gainesville business incubator.

Her fiancé, Josh Smith, agreed that life was a little hectic while the business was getting on its feet.

“I’ve never met anybody like this,” Smith said. “She’s just constantly thinking, putting those thoughts into action and making them happen.”

Though her satellite studio, You Paint It, closed with the end of summer, Corks & Colors Studio hosts about 10 classes a week.

In August, she moved her third location in Ocala, called DiY Studio, from a business incubator into the Paddock Mall.

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Callie Watkins remembers last Valentine’s Day at the Newberry location, when she and her boyfriend, Justin Jarrett, ended up at a portrait class.

“They guided us along how to draw someone’s face, and it’s not hard, even if you didn’t know anything about art,” she said.

And anyway, she said, the physical outcome of the portrait wasn’t why they were there.

“I definitely didn’t care how it turned out,” she said. “But it was just fun to do and not necessarily what it looked like at the end.”

Liz Getman, who has been teaching art classes at Corks & Colors Studio since February, said Barborak’s enthusiasm and commitment to those around her, from her employees to the customers, is uplifting.

“She’s constantly thinking of new ideas,” Getman said. “She’s a totally inspiring person.”

Being a business owner means accepting many uncertainties, from financial instability to a stressful schedule of balancing work and home life. But Barborak said her strong work ethic and genuine enthusiasm for what she’s doing are what sets her and her business apart.

“I’m just extremely passionate about what I do, and I enjoy it thoroughly,“ Barborak said. “And I think because I love what I do, I’ve been able to deal with all the ups and downs of it.”

A version of this story ran on page 15 on 11/8/2013 under the headline "UF alumna, entrepreneur expands art studios to Ocala"

Used paintbrushes sit in a cup at Corks & Colors Studios off Newberry Road on Thursday evening. Rebecca Barborak recently opened a second location in Ocala.

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