People In Our Neighborhood
Learn about some of our clients and their cool hobbies and businesses!
Meet Kellyann Carney & Therapie Boutique!
Ask anyone who loves to shop if “retail therapy” is a real thing! And if you’ve been to downtown Georgetown, Texas, you know how many great small businesses are in and around the square. One of those businesses is Therapie Boutique, a clothing and accessories store aimed at women with the goal to make women feel more confident in their body and their style.
“Therapie is a space where women can come in and actually hopefully feel better about themselves,” says Therapie Boutique owner, Kellyann Carney, “I think women, all of us, struggle with different things. We want to feel good in our bodies. We want to feel like we’re dressed more together.”
Kellyann has over 35 years experience in the fashion industry, and when she set out to start her own boutique 12 years ago, she knew she wanted it to be more than just a clothing store; she wanted it to be an outlet where women could feel more confident in their bodies.
“I feel like my gift as a business owner is to be able to dress women, make them feel better, and hence why the name came with “Therapie”,” says Kellyann.
Therapie has many unique clothing pieces, accessories, and gifts that are sure to appeal to just about any woman with any type of taste. From hats to dresses, to earrings to purses, to tops, bottoms, and dresses, Therapie has it all!
Kellyann does a Facebook Live every Thursday to show off new arrivals, and the different styles featured at Therapie Boutique.
“On Facebook Live, I show all my new arrivals that I get and I put anywhere from 14 to 20 styles a week,” says Kellyann, “My inventory is always changing, and that’s another thing people like because they don’t like to come in and see the same stuff. So I’m always kind of moving my imagery around and changing it.”
If you are struggling with dressing your body, Kellyann has some advice for you.
“Love the body God gave you, and I know that’s really hard. I have to practice that myself pretty regularly because we all have things we don’t like. So it’s just figuring out how to love what you have and dress it to the best of your ability. I can tell you, it doesn’t matter what size you are, there’s going to be something you’re not going to like about your figure, but it’s about embracing it and showing off what you have.”
Let Kellyann figure out your best look! You can visit Therapie Boutique Monday from 10am to 2pm & Tuesday thru Saturday, 10am to 5pm in the COOP 78626 building a couple blocks from the Square in Georgetown at 308 W. 8th Street. You can also visit their website at therapieboutique.com or their Facebook page: @TherapieSD or on Instagram: @THERAPIEBOUTIQUESD
Meet Cindy Campbell!
Cindy Campbell has been teaching piano since she was 18 years old. She had been playing since she was 8 years old when her mom pushed her to teach, and, with her first student being one of her mom’s friend’s daughter, Cindy discovered she loved teaching.
After moving to Texas from Maryland years ago, Cindy said she found that Texans seem to want to learn an instrument, especially piano. She currently teaches about 64 students a week, and she offers lessons for all ages, including giving lessons to a three-year-old.
“I decided to take the three-year-old, even though that’s an age I’ve never really taught, because she can move her fingers on the piano,” says Cindy, “I even tested her fingers to make sure she could do it, and when she passed the test, and I saw she could move her fingers individually, I said, ‘Okay, we can try it.’ And it’s actually working out pretty well! This is the only three-year-old I’ve ever taught in all these years because none of the potential student’s fingers I tested were ready. And she could sit for a long period of time, which is also helpful.”
Cindy says she works with kids all the way up to adults in their 80s. She said that while teens and adults are her favorite to work with, she does love working with older adults looking to add a mental and physical hobby.
“I highly encourage seniors to take lessons. I think it’s good for your brain and because piano makes you think about a lot of things at one time, there’s a lot to focus on at one time and that really helps you as you age, and keeps you going.”
As far as working with a teacher or trying to teach yourself, Cindy says it’s always best to start with a teacher before diving in.
“You could develop bad habits if you learn over YouTube or something like that because a teacher can see your fingers and how they’re working,” says Cindy, “Your fingers need to be at a curve, your hands need to be in a certain position, and even how you sit needs to be a certain way. A teacher can help you with all of that.”
Cindy loves the people she works with and says almost all her students enjoy coming to lessons and learning with her.
“Everybody’s nice,” Cindy says with a smile, “I’ve hardly ever in all my years of teaching have I had anybody that wasn’t nice. So that’s what makes it such a great job. It’s the families and students and how nice they are.”
You can contact Cindy by emailing or giving her a call: 512-948-7258 & cyndicampbell3@gmail.com.
You can also visit her website for more information: www.cindispianolessons.com
Meet Greg Dorchak!
Greg Dorchak has always felt drawn to being creative. Whether it’s drawing, painting, acting, directing, or writing, Greg has always loved to express himself in creative ways. As a seasoned actor of stage and screen, director and writer of a feature length film, and author and illustrator of children’s books and books about the film business, Greg certainly has many creative talents.
He was first introduced to the creative world when he was a little boy by his grandfather, a man who loved movies and the filming making process himself. When Greg would visit his grandfather in New York, his grandfather would introduce him to old movies and would even teach him how to edit Super 8mm and 16mm film using the old fashioned method of physically cutting and assembling film. He even taught Greg how to do rudimentary stop-motion animation with clay.
“So that’s where it kind of started,” says Greg, “And then I just got into acting in plays and it just kept building on itself.”
After years of writing screenplays and acting in movies, Greg took the leap to make his own film. Unfortunately it was October 2008 when the filming began, and due to the Great Recession of 2008, the film had to be abandoned.
“We started filming October 1, 2008, and we literally had everybody, all the crew members on the set, and they’re all panicked looking at their Blackberries and we’re trying to make a movie and we’re watching them,” remembers Greg, ”And they’re saying ‘Are you guys seeing this? Are you guys seeing this stock market crash?’”
Because the film was funded by investors, who had all now pulled out due to the failing health of the economy, production ended and the project was put on hold. But in 2014, when things began to “get back to normal”, Greg was able to get a different movie, Kopy Kings, funded and brought to an audience.
“It was a lot of fun making Kopy Kings,” says Greg, “I am proud of everybody that was involved. The cast was a blast to work with and so was the crew.”
Kopy Kings also holds a special place in RXR Realty’s heart, because our very own Rachel Francois has a small part in the movie! You will need to watch it in order to see her cameo!
Greg says that between the two shoots, he gained more experience in film, and as a result felt more comfortable and calm when he was able to bring Kopy Kings to life. He is still very proud of the screenplay and filming of Kopy Kings. “If it ended up being the only feature that I ended up making for whatever life I got left, I’d be happy that it was that one and not some of the other ones, because I really enjoyed the script and a lot of other people did, too.
When it comes to supporting the arts, Greg also has some thoughts about how people can help local artists.
“I think people in any community should just support the arts more. If you know there’s somebody in your community that is a writer or an artist or, you know, a filmmaker or musician or something, try to support and try to go see their movies. Go listen to their music. Even if you don’t really plan on going as the material doesn’t grab you. Give the tickets to somebody else, because that’s how support works. Buy the book, the art, make it a gift.”
Greg continues, “In the arts it’s as if nobody seems to attach any great value to them, but everybody enjoys them. They just expect it. And they ask, “Why should that be so expensive?” Because it’s still a movie, a song, a book – and THAT takes work.”
To learn more about Greg, visit his Instagram @thegregdorchak or search for Greg Dorchak on IMDB!
Meet Caroline Rosenbaum!
Caroline Rosenbaum started doing yoga regularly as a way to get some time to herself when her youngest son was about six months old.
“At that time, I needed an hour away from home, but I probably needed more than that!” she says with a laugh.
One day, Caroline’s yoga instructor at the time came to her and asked if she had ever thought about becoming a yoga instructor. And with that nudge, Caroline went on to learn to become a yoga instructor, and after about seven years of teaching, she eventually opened her own yoga business called Proud Heart Yoga. Caroline teaches by traveling to different spots around northern Central Texas, including giving private lessons in people’s
homes, teaching in studios, visiting neighborhood amenity centers in Georgetown, and even leads a yoga class at a brewery, Barrow Brewing Company, in Salado.
“I love meeting different people and going to different places and seeing different things,” says Caroline. “I don’t mind moving around at all. It’s kind of like every day is an adventure, every day is something new and it’s fun. I enjoy it.”
When Caroline first began her yoga journey, initially she thought yoga was just about stretching, but she quickly realized it was much more than that.
“It’s about building strength and rebuilding our balance, which we start to lose after the age of four,” she says.
She also said it’s about connecting with those around us and
our own body. “There’s a healing aspect of yoga that all of us
can benefit from,” says Caroline. “And the poses were designed thousands of years ago to help all of those healing processes happen. And so sharing those things with other people and helping them get stronger, helping them get loose or helping them to discover this strength inside that they didn’t know they had is really fun for me.”
If you are curious about yoga but don’t know where to start, Caroline recommends taking an in-person class and letting the instructor know before class that you are new to yoga. This way the instructor can make sure you are doing the right poses and are in the correct position to get the full benefit of yoga practice.
While the physical benefit of yoga is very important, for Caroline, it all comes back to the people.
“I learned during the pandemic that my connections to society and to the community as a whole means a whole lot to me as a person,” says Caroline. “When I lost them and then eventually came back into society, it’s been a blessing, a great blessing for me to be able to interact with so many different, interesting people and help them on their journey to becoming healthier.”
To learn more about Proud Heart Yoga and where Caroline will be teaching next, visit her Instagram (@ProudHeartYoga), website (https://proudheartyoga.com) or email her at proudheartyoga@gmail.com.
Meet Jackie Thomas!
Have you ever thought about how baskets are made and who made them? If you bought one from Jackie Thomas, you don’t have to wonder! Jackie has been weaving baskets for about 25 years, and has made close to a thousand baskets.
“I got interested in weaving baskets because I had seen some baskets for sale at a craft fair, and I thought they were so pretty, and I thought, I can do that because I crochet and I sew and I’m very crafty, not creative, but crafty.”
Not long after seeing those baskets Jackie attended a basket weaving class with a friend just for fun.
“The biggest thing I loved about that class was that I could start a basket and take it home completed at the end of the class. Crocheting an afghan feels like it takes forever for me or even sewing a dress can take the course of a few days. But this was a true situation where I can start something and finish it in one sitting and it looked like what it was supposed to be when I got done.”
After falling in love with basket weaving during the class, Jackie began making more baskets and selling them at local craft fairs. She says that before COVID, she would sell anywhere from 100 to 200 baskets a year if she had a really good year.
“People like the decorative baskets, but my most popular is onion & garlic basket because people can see its use immediately and they go, ‘Yeah, and I’ve got a place for it.’”
The most surprising information from Jackie came from her knowledge of basket weaving in general.
“Any basket that you see has been handmade by somebody. They cannot make baskets on a machine yet. So any baskets you see at, say, Hobby Lobby, they may come from overseas, and they have different materials, but they’re all handmade.”
Baskets can be made from a variety of materials, including wood (such as white oak), willow, and rattan, also known as reed. Jackie can also integrate other materials into the basket, such as yarn, pine needles, or fabric.
Jackie says each basket takes their own amount of time depending on the type of basket and the materials used.
“If it uses a lot of different materials, and if it starts with a wood base or if I weave the base, there are some baskets that I can make in an hour. But then some take between 8 to 10 hours to weave. I would say the average for me at my weaving skill level is probably between 2 to 4 hours of weaving from start to finish, not including the prep of the materials that could add you another 30 minutes to an hour for the basket.”
And it’s not just the baskets that keep Jackie interested, it’s also the community.
“We have a lot of weavers in the Austin Central Texas area, and we have a guild. Unfortunately Texas doesn’t have too many people who weave baskets. Texas is not as popular as in the northeast and the middle section of the states. There’s a lot of weavers there, but there aren’t as many weavers here.”
Jackie sells her baskets at local craft fairs and in shops around the Georgetown Square, including Handcrafts Unlimited and Artisan’s Connect. You can also contact her directly by email or phone: basketsbyjackie@verizon.net and 512-864-4228.
Meet Teresa Poindexter!
Teresa Poindexter started Georgetown Physical Therapy in 2014, soon after she moved to Georgetown. “When I moved to Georgetown, I thought I was going to semi-retire. And I realized that I love being a physical therapist and I want to just start my own business.”
Teresa has been an orthopedic physical therapist for over 26 years, and she feels confident that she has seen, and treated successfully, just about every problem possible. Georgetown Physical Therapy (soon to be renamed Endeavor – Georgetown Physical Therapy) offers state-of-the-art technology along with highly trained and experienced physical therapists to heal you from chronic pain as quickly as possible.
“We are specialists in biomechanics, and one of the first things we do is help to restore posture,” says Teresa, “And I think that’s our claim to fame; we are really good at getting people better rapidly. You shouldn’t really need more than 12 physical therapy visits ever. And if we use some of the technology, usually that cuts it in half.”
Part of their technology includes two pieces of equipment: the Class IV warm laser and the Neufit Neubie.
“We’re the only ones in the whole area that offer the Class IV warm laser and the Neubie,” says Teresa. “The laser is a $50,000 device that’s been approved by the FDA, and it feels like warm sunshine. It’s able to penetrate six inches deep and it causes cells to heal at the cellular level. And how it does that is it decreases inflammation and it also causes the cells to create energy in the form of ATP.”
Teresa says it’s great for tendinitis, lower back pain, plantar fasciitis, and she even uses it with pelvic floor treatment (she is also a certified pelvic floor specialist) because it penetrates so deep.
“Although it seems intimidating because it’s a laser, it’s extremely comfortable,” she remarks, “It feels lovely.”
Teresa loves using the Neufit Neubie on patients as well. “The Neubie causes muscle to build 80% faster and it’s basically an electrical stimulation machine that’s used mostly with professional athletes,” she says, “And the Neubie not only strengthens the muscle, it does it permanently by reestablishing the neuromuscular connection and helps with inflammation and it’s very soothing to the nerves. It’s great for neuropathy, but anywhere where you have pain and you just have chronic weakness or even acute injuries, it does great work.”
Teresa invites anyone looking for pain relief to visit Endeavor – Georgetown Physical Therapy and they even offer free consultations and free trials of their equipment.
“If you have pain, please don’t think that you have to live with it: there are options,” she says. “We work with lots of senior citizens who’ve been in chronic pain for a long time, so if we can help seniors in chronic pain, we can help just about anybody. And if we can’t, we’ll tell you. We know that some people have to have surgery, but we do try our very best to keep people out of surgery and to help them recover after an injury or surgery as quickly as possible.”
She continued, “Because we have three really great therapists that have a lot of experience, we can serve anyone from athletes to seniors and everything in between. And we love being part of the Georgetown community and helping our community members thrive.”
To learn more about Endeavor – Georgetown Physical Therapy, go to georgetownphysicaltherapy.com or call 512-887-4544.
Meet Jocelynn Price!
Jocelynn Price has always loved cookies; so much so, her family nicknamed her the “Cookie Monster” when she was younger. So it only made sense when her first child’s first birthday came around in January 2020 that she decided to make fun and decorative cookies.
“I thought, ‘Hey, I’m going to make some cookies. I think I can do this.’” Jocelynn says, “And so I started with that birthday party. Those were my first cookies, and they were okay. But as I was making them, I thought, ‘Wow, this is actually really fun. I enjoy this.’ And so slowly this past year I’ve started getting more into making them the best tasting cookies that look great, and creating them for birthday parties and my immediate family and friends.”
After getting some birthday parties, graduation parties, and special events under her belt, Jocelynn received advice from a friend.
“My neighbor actually told me that I should sell these, because people would want to buy them. So I started Sweet P’s Cookie Treats and I opened it up with my first preorder of Hocus Pocus cookies at Halloween, and after that, it’s gone from those cookies to people asking if I do customs. I had never done customs but it seemed like something fun to try.”
Jocelynn has been making these cookies for about two years. She says the biggest challenges are allocating enough time to make and decorate the cookies, and building the patience to watch the cookies become little works of art over time. She also has new tools in her cookie decorating toolbelt that are helpful, such as a specialty dehydrator to allow the icing to harden quicker.
“The process can take a while, from making the cookie dough, to freezing it, rolling it out and shaping it, to ultimately decorating each one,” Jocelynn says.
Each colored icing has to be mixed and created by hand, which means that Jocelynn has to make sure she makes enough of each color and ensure it can be applied to each cookie almost immediately to prevent the icing from not being in the best workable condition. Each color also must be added as a layer, so she does a lot of pre-planning before beginning the decorating portion of the process.
And while the decorating process can feel very stressful, it is also the most relaxing and rewarding for Jocelynn.
“My favorite part is sitting down and getting to spend time decorating the cookie,” Jocelynn says, “It takes so long, but it’s one of the few moments I have where you’re not having to worry about anything in life anymore, and instead you just focus and say, ‘I am decorating this cookie, and this is going to be the best looking cookie that I can do. And I don’t have to worry about anything else right now.’ It’s very relaxing.”
Jocelynn says she never felt like she was artistic, but decorating cookies somehow allowed her to tap into her new found inner artist, and it’s surprised her how naturally this talent has come to her.
Jocelynn says, “This is the first kind of thing where I’ve thought, ‘Oh wow, I can make a cookie that looks like that, but I can also add in this little bit of a flair to it and just make it my own.’ And they taste great, too!”
To learn more about Sweet P’s Cookie Treats and ask about custom orders, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/
Meet Sandy Smith!
Sandy Smith knows how important it is to feel put together. She believes this gives us confidence and puts an extra pep in our step. She reminds us that you have 30 seconds to make a first impression, so why not make yours show stopping?
“At Plunder we have a quote that talks about finding the gutsy, unapologetic woman within. We all have that woman deep down and this is a fun way to bring her out and share her with the world,” says Sandy.
Sandy has a small business called Affordable Adornments that sells a variety of beautiful jewelry and accessories, from small stud earrings to big chunky necklaces, and everything in between. Styles range from conservative to very fashion forward with a cost-effective price point of $6 to $48, with new items added weekly with a new jewelry drop every Thursday evening.
Sandy has been running Affordable Adornments for a couple years and she loves not only the products, but also the community she has found and cultivated. It’s all about the sisterhood for her. Her Facebook page called “Affordable Adornments” offers impromptu sales, games like Blingo, trivia, and more, and they share some styling tips, and do a craft or two. It’s fun, but most importantly, it offers an escape for a moment and a chance to have some giggles. She invites you to come join in the fun!
Plunder has a great program called “Posse”, which is a monthly subscription box. For $29 a month (this includes tax & shipping), you get anywhere from three pieces to seven pieces, each month being a different and fun surprise. If you have the Posse subscription for three months, you get a product code worth $20 in rewards. After six months you get $30, after nine months you get $50, and at the end of 12 months, you get $75 of free jewelry rewards back. That equals $175 in jewelry rewards for future purchases of your choice!
“I tell my customers, if it’s not for you, then you can gift those items to someone else, especially during the holiday time, and then you buy what you really want,” says Sandy with a smile.
Sandy emphasizes the personal touch that makes buying from her different. “Affordable Adornments and Plunder is different because you’re going to have me as your stylist that’s going to sit with you and together, we will develop your personal style, one that is comfortable for you.”
Sandy continues, “I just think it’s fun to feel pretty, you know? Didn’t we all play dress-up in our childhood?”
She looks forward to helping you with your gift buying, she also offers free gift wrapping for gents and kiddos.
To learn more about Affordable Adornments and Sandy, visit her jewelry website www.plunderdesign.com/sandylsmith or you can email her at affordableadornments@yahoo.com.
Meet Michael Tortorich!
Michael Tortorich has always been quite savvy with numbers and budgets. Along with having an MBA and being a CFA charterholder, he has been working in corporate finance for about the last 10 years. But when it came to his children, Michael wanted to make sure his kids were set up for future financial success.
“For whatever reason, personal finance isn’t taught in high school and, really for the most part, in the college setting as well,” says Michael. “And so I decided to take that challenge on myself, being that I have a finance background, and decided to teach it to my kids, and there came the book!”
Michael’s book, “Running the Numbers”, aims to give people a framework to tackle life’s major financial decisions, including buying a car, saving for retirement, purchasing a home, taking out life insurance, and so much more.
“My book tackles all of those decisions and provides a framework on how to evaluate those decisions and make the best data-driven, informed decision. There are no rules of thumbs in my book. I don’t tell you to do anything. I give you a framework in which you can evaluate all of these decisions that you are going to come across.”
Michael says the book includes some math you will need to do in order to find the best solution for you, but, to him, running those numbers is important.
“If you don’t run the numbers, you’ll never truly understand why you’re making the decision and if it is good or bad. Because everyone’s situation is unique and without running the numbers, you don’t know if you’re really making the best decision for you.”
Ultimately, Michael hopes that anyone reading his books can improve their financial decision making skills and take away from important financial concepts.
“My hope is that the reader can better prepare themselves to one day be financially wherever they hope to be, whether that’s retirement, or paying off their house, or putting their kids through college. The concepts in my book are going to help you get there through more prudent financial decision making skills.”
You can learn more about Michael Tortorich and pick up his book by visiting his website, https://
Meet Angela Hayes!
Angela Hayes, who owns Life Coach Round Rock, is both a licensed marriage and family therapist and a master certified life coach. She’s been coaching for seven years and providing therapy for four years.
“Ultimately, I wanted to be able to meet clients at both ends of that spectrum,” says Angela. “Therapists, by their training and scope of licensure, can do coaching, but coaches who are not licensed can’t do therapy, so by being able to do both things, I am able to meet clients where they’re at, and I think that’s really cool.”
Angela specializes in helping people navigate relationships, and has a passion for working with couples and families dealing with life changes like marriage or divorce. She also enjoys working with specialty populations, like the LGBTQ community, as she knows it can be hard sometimes to find clinicians who are knowledgeable and supportive in that field.
“I think it all comes down to respect,” says Angela. “I respect my clients. I respect their right to live their life in a way that makes sense to them. I respect their autonomy and I collaborate with my clients about what we’re going to talk about and don’t force them to talk about or do things they don’t want to do.”
Angela knows that seeking therapy isn’t easy for everyone and wants those who are interested to know that she will meet you where you are and will work with you to address your goals.
“I think some of the things that make people nervous about coming to therapy is they think they’re going to be forced to talk about things that make them uncomfortable. They’re afraid of being judged and they’re afraid of being told that they’re doing the wrong thing. I always see it as a collaboration. We work together and you never have to talk about something you don’t want to talk about.”
If you are interested in talking with Angela, she recommends visiting her website and scheduling a free consultation. She says that research specifically says the fit between you and the person you’re working with is one of the most important factors in being successful.
Ultimately, Angela says her favorite part of her job is seeing people grow from their work together.
“Getting to work with people and watch transformations is just the coolest thing in the world. But particularly because of the way I work, I get to have a lot of really amazing conversations with people about their strengths and their resources and their resiliency. And even in really challenging circumstances, I love seeing how they’re overcoming, coping, or moving forward even when it’s really hard.”
Meet Kendra Gupton!
Kendra is the owner of Gupton Metalworks which makes beautiful metal art out of used and discarded metal objects, especially used flatware. Her main projects include outdoor metal art and unique jewelry.
“There’s something about taking stuff apart and making something new and making something beautiful and it’s generally stuff people have thrown away because it’s no longer useful to them, but I see it and I think, ‘I can make a necklace out of that’,” says Kendra. “It’s good for my soul and it’s good for the environment, too.”
This hobby is fairly new to Kendra, as she started about six months ago, but she says once she tried welding for the first time, something just spoke to her.
“One of my best friends is a welder, and one day she brought her welder over and said, “Hey, do you want to see what it’s like to run a bead?”, and I kind of fell in love,” Kendra says with a big smile.
Her art is certainly unique and one-of-a-kind. She says she gets positive comments on her cool metal art all the time from people walking by her home while she’s outside, and when asked where she got it, she beams with pride saying “I made that!”.
“Just being able to make stuff that people enjoy and it not be a waste is great,” says Kendra. “I’ve made art before, but some art doesn’t always have a long shelf life, but spoon necklaces last forever. And I kill real flowers, I have a black thumb, but these flowers last forever.”
Kendra takes commissions and loves the challenge of creating art for others. She’s also willing to take commissions other than money. You can find her art and contact information by searching for “Gupton Metalworks” on Facebook.