18 hours ago
How Janelle McCann built Color Me Mine Mesa from the ground up
When Janelle McCann opened Color Me Mine at Mesa’s Cannon Beach this summer, she wasn’t just debuting a pottery‑painting studio.
She was stepping into a new identity.
She spent almost three decades in commercial loan underwriting, a position she described as intense, but ultimately transformative.
“At 25 years doing anything, you might start questioning, ‘Is it time to do something different?’ ‘Am I burnt out?’ ‘Is that what this is?’” she said.
“I think I was.”
McCann soft‑opened the studio on July 11 and officially opened the doors on her birthday, July 13. Seeing the finished space for the first time was amazing.
“You look at it for years on paper and just can’t really grasp what it’s actually going to look like,” she said. “When it was finished, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this blew me away. It was better than anything I imagined.’”
She and the Mesa Chamber of Commerce are hosting a grand opening and ribbon-cutting celebration at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10.
A banker who built a studio
McCann spent most of her life in Mesa and Gilbert, and nearly her entire career at Wells Fargo.
“Wells Fargo raised me,” she said. “I went to every single class I could take, every single training program I could get into because I knew I wanted to be an underwriter.”
Without a college degree, she relied on proving herself.
“You’re applying for these jobs against people who have master’s degrees,” she said. “Because I had on‑the‑job training and proved myself, I was able to get those jobs.”
Her early years were spent in loan workout — the repo department, settlements and tough conversations. McCann was fair and understanding about them, however.
“It doesn’t have to be a bad conversation,” she said. “Just a good conversation, and work together toward the same goal. Like, I don’t want to repossess your mobile home. Let’s work together. What can you pay? What can you do?”
Later, she moved into new credit and SBA franchise underwriting. That’s where she encountered Color Me Mine.
“I underwrote about five of them,” she said. “I just really got comfortable with the company, their historical performance. I fell in love with it.”
Pitching against the grain
When she decided to open her own studio, she knew exactly where she wanted it: Cannon Beach.
“I’ve lived in Mesa/Gilbert for most of my life, along the Power Road corridor,” she said. “When I saw what they were developing here with Revel Surf and all the cool stuff coming in, I pretty much knew immediately.”
The franchise, however, prefers strip malls anchored by big‑box retail. McCann persuaded the company to give her plan a try.
“I was kind of going against the grain,” she said. “I basically had to underwrite my whole deal myself and pitch it to the franchise, pitch it to the banks. That’s where my skill set and my 25 years really came in handy.”
A studio built for staying awhile
Inside the studio, shelves hold hundreds of bisque pieces — plates, mugs, ornaments, butter dishes, kids’ items. Plates are the runaway favorite.
“Plates are my No. 1,” she said. “I struggle to keep them on.” Social media trends help, but she loves the sentimental side:
“Birthday plates are such a sweet little keepsake for the family,” she explained. “When people bring their babies in for a first birthday plate, it gets me every time.”
Her pricing philosophy is simple: accessibility.
“I worked really hard with our pricing,” she said. “Even if you have a big family of 10 kids, you can come in here and find something everybody will be happy with and not be spending $50 a person.”
The studio fee is $10 per painter and return visits to finish a piece are free.
“We really love it when people take their time and make something they’re super proud of,” she said.
One regular has been working on a detailed underwater scene for two months, stopping in on lunch breaks.
“We don’t charge people to come back,” she said. “No pressure to finish it all in one go.”
Her staff leans into creativity.
“I love hearing people say, ‘I’m not an artist. I can’t draw a stick figure,’” she said. “I’m going to get you.”
Techniques include bubbles, shaving cream, sponges, stamps and silkscreens.
“Having grown men blow bubbles and put them onto a piece is something they usually don’t see themselves doing,” she said. “They feel safe to create.”
Building a community at Cannon Beach
Her long‑term vision includes kids clubs, homeschool workshops, and daytime programming once the two planned hotels open on site.
“I spend all my time here; it better feel like home,” she said. “Getting to know everybody, collaborating together — it’s been great.”
She’s also lobbying for live music. “I want to host music up here so badly,” she said. “We have such a cool mezzanine. It would be so fun to have live music nights while people are painting.”
A creator at heart
Before opening the studio, McCann made resin art, sold sun catchers at the Gilbert Art Walk, and ran an Etsy shop.
“I’ve always been a creator,” she said. “But I never thought I could turn it into a business.”
Now, she sees customers returning three, four, even five times. She knows their names. They know hers. “I love that,” she said. “I really do love that.”
And when people told her she couldn’t do it — couldn’t be a banker, couldn’t open a business — she had the same answer.
“Watch me,” she said.