PSU Magazine Fall 2003

A 'Devine' diva for color HEN GRETCHEN SCHAUFFLER '85 talks about house paint, she's not thinking of the cold, wet stuff some people slop on their walls. "I need paint that goes on like yogurt; the texture has Lo look rich; it has Lo feel good," she says. "The skin has Lo glow, not sweat." Schaufner's premium product line, Devine Color, is taking over the West Coast in hand-Lo-hand combat with Manha Stewart and Ralph Lauren. National volume sales are only a matter of Lime. lf she sounds more like a pampered day spa owner than she does a splauered do-it-yourselfer, that may be why Schaufner's passionate approach Lo paint is paying off, and why her winding educa– tional and career path has consis– tently ended up taking her right where she needs LO be. "I changed my major, like, 10 times-I'm exaggerating," Schauf– fler says. "I originally went into an therapy, but I couldn't deal with the kid thing. Then I went into architecture at University of Ore– gon, but I hated the straight line thing. Then, I was going to study fashion design at Bassist College (now the Art Institute of Portland), but 1 hated to sew. "By chance, 1 went into graphic design at Portland State," she says. "I didn't know what it was, but I thought-communication and an-I like both of those things." ut after earning a bachelor's degree in graphic design, Schaufller was at odds with her art. She went into a sales position with a pharmaceutical corporation. "I was always restless," she says. "As an anisL I never honed my craft-too much energy and not enough effort." That changed when she left her by-then successful corporate career in 1991 to raise two young daughters , deciding Lo pursue fine an part time. The result: bright, multimedia paintings of women having fun swinging, driving, or eating popcorn. Each piece had one or more mirrors inset within its scene. The pieces were so popular, Schaufner quips, "I sold every mistake I ever made. " That popularity led to an odd, but monumental turning point. Schaufller returned one night from an an show in Bellevue, Washington, having sold almost every piece she brought. She and her family had just moved into a new house, and Schaufner felt good-inspired in fact. "I said, Tm going Lo paint the walls."' he pauses in her story for a rare breath. "l never did another fine an piece again. Walls became my new canvas." By 1996, she'd built a home design consulting business around the colors, finishes, and glazes she'd perfected as a fine artist. But there was still a problem: While the anisL could design a decor treatment down Lo the most exacting hues, there was no way Lo ensure the quality of commercial paints her clients purchased. Lsounds like a nit-picking detail , but even today Schauf– Iler remembers "the 7,000- square-fooL mistake. " The colors had been matched using differem product lines. "I knew I needed my own paint line because I couldn't find the colors I wanted," she says. "The walls looked wet and greasy, or they looked parched and dry. "I began to see I had certain theories and ideas about color that others didn't see." Coming up with a "palette"-a collection of colors-was actually the easy pan. Harder, al first , was selling her concept Lo a paint company, so she paid a manufac– turer Lo create the product she wamed. After a few years, Schaufner's product caught the attention of Miller Paint, a Northwest corpo– ration. Miller now pays her to continue the series as its premium line. chaufller's wild-seeming ideas-combining an, esthet– ics, and marketing-cominue Lo blaze new trails in the paint industry. In 2000, Schaufncr im·ented "mmi color pouches" of her products so customers can actuall) take home a liquid sample and paint it on their wall. o more holding up small paper samples of colors and squiming to get the possible effect. It's the son of light bttlb-o\·er-the-head idea that can onl 1 come from a mind that's schooled, experienced, and unpredictable. Like Schaufller herself. -Lisa Lol'ing FALL 2002 PSU MAGAZlNE 23