Paint Away! : Hazel Roos

I’m excited to share my next installment of my photo/community project called Seattle Mompreneurs!  Over the years, I have met so many amazing moms with unique talents in Seattle, WA.  Women who have pursued their passion and spend countless hours running their business and balancing it with family even though it can feel thankless at times.  I want to celebrate these passionate women entrepreneurs through providing headshots, promoting their business on the blog, and spreading the word to our community!

I will be highlighting a local woman-owned business throughout the year through blog posts telling you a little about what amazingness they bring to the community.  You can learn more about them and their business and how awesome our Seattle community of women are.  If you know of a hard-working, passionate Seattle Mompreneur who would be a great fit for this personal project, please have them contact me!

I’m happy to highlight Hazel Roos, owner of Paint Away! in Redmond!  She’s a beautiful and hardworking mama of three, and I really enjoyed learning more about her and her business.

Hi Hazel!

How many years have you been in business? 13 years

Tell us a little bit about your business:  Paint Away! is a paint-your-own pottery and glass fusing studio designed to celebrate your inner creativity! People come in to create a personalized gift or a personalized project, or to just dabble with our paintbrushes to quiet the mind. Paint Away! also loves to celebrate with birthday parties and corporate team-building events. We engage kids in the creative process through our annual Summer Art Camps and through our Kids Events (aka Parents Night Out). In a nutshell, our customers come in to create, relax, enjoy, and to celebrate.

How do you find a balance between raising your kids and running a business?  When I started my business in 2004, I knew that I would be starting a family pretty soon. I had flexibility and work-life balance in mind when I decided to open a pottery painting studio. And it was my luck that I heard through the grapevine that Paint the Town (currently in U Village) was thinking of selling its Redmond Town Center location. So I approached the owner and asked her if she would consider selling it to me. And she did! I loved that I bought an existing store because it had existing employees with existing protocols and procedures. I tweaked some of it to make it my own, but I didn’t have to re-invent the wheel from scratch. And in fact, my current manager has been with the studio since 2001 (preceding me)! This gave me the perfect balance between starting a family (3 kids) and running a business.

When you aren’t working on commissioned projects, what can you be found doing? What are your other passions?  I love being near the water, especially Vashon Island. I love to travel, Europe before kids, and domestic travels after. I relish my book clubs with my friends. I immensely enjoy all kinds of creative projects from design to implementation.

What first sparked your passion and made you decide to turn it into a paying gig?  I took a sabbatical from corporate work because of the long hours and stress. To make use of my free time, I decided to take classes on how to paint (mainly in acrylic and oil). I’ve always been interested in art. During my sabbatical, I was asked to go back to work as a consultant where I could dictate my hours and terms while continuing to pursue my painting. Honestly, I do like working because it makes me feel competent and I feel like I’m contributing. It’s the long hours and stress that are associated with working in a corporate setting that I didn’t like so much. At around the same time, I was hosting my friend’s wedding shower and she wanted to do it at a pottery painting studio. When I first walked into the pottery painting studio where I was hosting my friend’s wedding shower, I knew right away that this was my next step. I thought at the time, and still do, this would be a great way of combining my passion for work and my interest in art.

What is your favorite project you never tire of doing?  Project Roos kids!

Why is it important to have great headshots that represent your business and your brand?  Because I have 3 kids and I am not at the studio every day, I think it is important for my customers to feel like they know who I am and hopefully, it will give them a more personalized feeling about the studio where everything they create is personalized, and a good headshot will do that.

Coffee or Tea?  Coffee

PC or Mac?  PC

Dogs or Cats?  Dogs

Modern or Vintage?  Vintage

Rain or Snow? Neither

Dicks or Burgermaster?  Dick’s

Ferry or Train?  Both

Fiction or Non-Fiction?  Both

Crossword or Sudoku?  Crossword

Seahawks or Sounders?  Seahawks

Sunrise or Sunset?  Sunset

Dancing or Singing?  Both

Facebook or Instagram?  Facebook

Pearl Jam or Nirvana?  Nirvana

Need ideas for grandparent gifts for the holidays?  It’s not too early to schedule time at Paint Away! and get started on a fun project with your child.  You’ll be glad you did!

Paint Away!  |   info@paintawaynow.com  |  (425) 861-8388