Hopatcong Resident's Business Steals Show at Hambletonian

Caitlin wasn't sure whether to smile or hyperventilate.

So she did both.

The 20-year-old Hopatcong resident and owner of Cait's Paints spent Sunday working the Hambletonian—the Meadowlands Racetrack's biggest event of the year—with her 10-man team of freelance artists. The outing was a resounding success for Caitlin's business, which painted about 1,500 faces throughout the day and expects to be asked back by the Meadowlands next year.

It was Cait's Paints largest, and most important, project to date. And it had Caitlin coordinating for months.

"And we rocked it," she said.

The Meadowlands contacted Caitlin a Hopatcong High School graduate, in the spring after searching for artistic services companies online, she said. The call stunned Caitlin, who models on the side.

"It was nerve-wracking," she said. "Especially [with] that being our largest job for a big corporation. There was a lot of money changing hands, too. I wanted to make sure that went well, knowing they would probably want us back consistently, providing everything went to plan, which it did."

Working the Hambletonian, a nationally known harness race, was the culmination of two years of hard work for Caitlin. She's watched the business grow from a small website to a database filled with 50 freelance artists available for a multitude of projects, including face painting, body painting, glitter tattoos and painting, murals and interior painting.

Cait's Paints also expects to offer artists video tutorials and supplies.

Caitlin, who considers face and body painting and murals her areas of expertise, has plans to expand the business once her website gets remodeled.

"Most businesses don't last forever," Caitlin said. "I would like to build it up over the next five years and have it so that everything is running smoothly. …Theoretically, if somebody needs an artist in Ohio, I should be able to find them and artist in our database."

But until then, Caitlin wants to continue building her business plan. Right now, artists can apply for free to be featured on Cait's Paints' website. But Caitlin screens each applicant, making them pass a written exam and answer a few questions to gauge their competence level.

Caitlin doesn't just want any artist on Cait's Paints. She's seen too many freelance artist databases allow anybody to feature themselves. Caitlin wants to ensure Cait's Paints keeps high quality level.

"I had seen so many face painters locally who just didn't provide a good standard of work, but still charged the industry standard," she said.

"If I'm charging a flat rate for a face painting, I want to be able to say all of the face painters are at least this talented."

Beth Meredith, a Hopatcong resident, had Caitlin paint a welcome sign for Mederedith's house years ago and was impressed by how far Cait's Paints has progressed.

"I see a big difference in the way she runs her business. You can tell she was a little girl observing her mom's business," said Meredith of Caitlin, whose mother runs Needles and Pins Alterations on River Styx Road.

Caitlin said the rapidly growing business has become somewhat difficult to control. So she hired an assistant, longtime friend Cassie Londono, to help with administrative matters.

"It's all just become so overwhelming," Caitlin said.

Then she paused.

"But it's worth it," she said.