A line had already formed outside Color Me Mine by 9:30 a.m. Friday morning, stretching the length of the storefront half an hour before the doors opened for the studio’s official Grand Opening. The event advertised that the first 25 guests through the door received a free mug. Face painting and a photo booth were on the schedule for later in the day.
I asked the first person in line what drew them to the event, she said she’d seen the shop on social media, probably TikTok, she thought. She had taken a class there a couple weeks earlier with a coworker and wanted to come back.
Color Me Mine is a paint-your-own-pottery studio. Guests pick a piece from the shelves, pick materials from a paint station, then decorate it however they like at their table. The staff are artisans themselves and are on hand to help new painters with patterns and techniques. Once a piece is finished, employees fire and glaze it in-house, and it’s ready for pickup in seven to ten days. Finished pieces are food-safe and lead-free.
Shelves along the wall are stocked with a wide mix of options: puppies, gnomes, planters, dog bowls, cups, and plates among them. Near the back, demonstration stations show the difference between light-over-dark and dark-over-light paint layers, along with before-and-after examples of how colors change once a piece has been fired.
Mayor Armondo Pavone was present for the ribbon cutting. He called it the kind of activity-based business he believes will thrive in Renton, adding that it “creates another space for residents to come down to the Landing.”
Steve, one of the owners, said his family had long enjoyed pottery painting but used to travel outside Renton to find a studio. He was excited, he said, to bring that kind of experience closer to home.
The studio opened its doors in February and, according to one resident, picked up steam around Valentine’s Day as couples came in to paint together. The activity seems to be popular for couples, families, and colleagues looking for an after-work hangout.
Color Me Mine operates as a walk-in studio and also hosts birthday parties and larger group events. Learn more about their craft merchandise and studio at renton.colormemine.com.
Color Me Mine Grand Opening, Photo Gallery by Renton Signal
