Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Paint Your Wings—Be Artistic Without Pressure

Story by Sam Calhoun

An August 2007 ASU graduate opened her own business in downtown Boone just 15 days after receiving her diploma.

Heather Reaves, 21, signed a lease on the building at 362 West King Street at the end of July, one month before graduating with a recreation management degree, and now her business is flourishing—one month since it opened.

“I love it—being a young business owner,” said Reaves, who opened on September 15. “At 21, transitioning from a student to a young business owner can be very intimidating, but I’m enjoying it.”

Welcome to Paint Your Wings, an art studio where the artistic and nonartistic are on an even playing field, and the sky’s the limit for creativity and fun with pottery painting.

“Paint Your Wings is a place where people can come of all artistic abilities and pick a piece of quality Italian pottery and get creative,” said Reaves.

Customers entering Paint Your Wings see a dozen worktables set up much like a welcoming kindergarten classroom. Each seat has its own placemat, brush holders and neon-colored sponges. Along the wall are shelves filled with an array of plates, pots, bowls, mugs, kitchen and home items, serving dishes, décor and “a whole bunch of cool stuff,” said Reaves.

Customers select the item they wish to paint and pay the price of the item—ranging from $8 to $42—and a studio fee of $6. Then, customers have free reign in the studio and can work on personalizing their item for as long as they wish—even for multiple days. Reaves and her three employees provide paints and brushes, and they also take care of the cleanup.

Reaves and her three employees are also on hand to offer help with designs and styles for less-experienced painters, but there is no pressure—a key to the business’s success.

“People need a place to come be artistic without pressure,” said Reaves. “And that’s what this is.”

“That is really nice,” said a customer, almost on cue, when she heard the interview in progress.

Reaves and her employees take care of the glazing and firing. The cost is included in the studio fee and takes about seven days.

The idea for Paint Your Wings, as well as the name, began with a tragedy that occurred in Reaves’ life four years ago. Reaves’ high school best friend Sara Michelle Wing died in a car accident during their freshman year in college. Wing, who attended the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, was on her way to Asheville to visit some mutual friends when the accident occurred. The loss hit Reaves hard, but with help from family and friends she began to cope.

“It’s been a positive thing since then,” said Reaves. “I believe she’s had a huge impact on my life since then. She was a poet, she was funny and the best friend anyone could have.”

During high school, Reaves worked at a pottery painting shop in Southern Pines—where she and Wing grew up—that Wing’s mother owns. While at ASU, Reaves got the idea to open Paint Your Wings—named after her best friend—and began traveling home to Southern Pines so that Wing’s mother could act as her mentor.

By the time Reaves graduated, she had her store name, her store idea and her business mentor—all she needed was to create her dream.

“I had it up in 1.5 months,” said Reaves. “Me and Haden worked our butts off to paint the place.” Haden, a Watauga High School sophomore, is one of Reaves’ employees.

Paint Your Wings is already popular with just about every demographic in the High Country. Reaves sees kids for birthday parties, seniors in the afternoon, alumni after football games, students trying to relax and even some people on dates. In fact, Reaves is initiating date nights on the third Friday of every month where couples can share the gift of no-pressure artistic expression for a $9 studio fee.

“I even play music that is conducive to that environment,” said Reaves.

Reaves is already seeing repeat customers. She offers frequent painters incentives that give a free studio fee to anyone who comes to the shop six times and gets a card stamped.

“I already have one person who is one stamp away [from getting a free studio session],” said Reaves, astonished.

Reaves hopes to expand her studio in the future, and add more activities such as mosaics, glass painting—such as on wine or martini glasses—and oil and acrylic painting.

“I want to be able to provide canvases, quality brushes and oil and acrylic paints so that customers can pay a flat studio fee to use it all and not have to clean it up,” said Reaves.

That sounds like a lot of work, but Reaves, as a young business owner, isn’t scared. She is at her business every day that it is open and she usually comes in twice on Monday—the day it is closed—to take care of deliveries and cleanup.

But she doesn’t mind—she loves what she does.

“I think the best part is seeing people that don’t think they have artistic talent and watching them come out with something great,” she said.

Paint Your Wings is located at 362 West King Street in Boone across from First Baptist Church. The studio is open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, closed Monday. For more information, call 828-262-9919.