Painting with a Twist Owner Takes Risk, Finds Success

News of businesses filing bankruptcy is not uncommon these days. And, for a small business owner, just the possibility is enough to crush the entrepreneurial spirit of the some of the most optimistic. For those considering opening a business in Michigan, the idea may particularly be daunting. So what do you do when you have an idea and a plan, but the economy isn’t on your side?

Michelle Lewis, the owner of Painting With A Twist in Ferndale, says you take a risk.

After 13 years of working as an architect, Lewis, a native Detroiter, was looking for a change. It was 2005, and business was slowing down. She began applying for several out-of-state jobs. That same year, Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc across the South. The disaster area stretched from Texas to Florida. New Orleans was one of the hardest-hit cities.

Lewis was offered a job with an organization contracted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “I needed something to sustain me, and I knew they needed help in Louisiana,” she said. The job was located in New Orleans and involved “basically anything they asked,” she said.

She spent most of her time in New Orleans working with a group of planners who worked with people within the community to get ideas on how they could rebuild the shattered city. She then spent a year assisting public entities in rebuilding schools, libraries and other government buildings by assessing their damages and writing grants so that they could be reimbursed.

The experience was harrowing. ”There were some places that I have no words for,” said Lewis. “The devastation that the hurricane caused was indescribable.”

Despite the destruction and damage Hurricane Katrina caused, she admired New Orleans’ residents. “A lot of people lost everything except the shirt on their back,” she recalled. “The spirit of the people down there is incredible.”

Working in such a damaged area and among such intense human suffering was difficult, but she did have some great experiences. Lewis said she made a friend, and that friend introduced her to her first painting class. One night, she and the friend attended a painting class at Corks N Canvas. The concept was simple – art, friends and wine. 

After seeing the vibrant paintings that adorned the studio walls, she thought, “I can’t do that.” To her surprise, she could. She posted pictures of her painting on Facebook and received rave reviews from her family and friends. Many wanted to know if there was a Corks N Canvas in the Detroit area. There wasn’t – at least, not yet.

After five years in New Orleans, Lewis decided it was time to return to Detroit. “I came back here because here is home,” she said. “Even though we’re facing hard times, I’m not ready to let it go.”

Once she returned home, she remembered the painting class she took with her friend, and she began to wonder “what if.” The idea hit her. “I took that ‘what if’ and turned it into a reality," she said.

She decided to bring Painting With a Twist, a franchise of Corks N Canvas, to Michigan. And she had already discovered the perfect space.

One night during a visit to Detroit in April 2010, she was walking along the streets of downtown Ferndale. She noticed a vacant storefront on Woodward at West Nine Mile Road. The space was perfect – she just didn’t know for what. It was large, modern and had floor-to-ceiling windows. She had to have it.

Now that she had a plan, she wasn’t about to let Michigan’s harsh economic climate scare her away. “Yes, it’s bad, but people still live here,” she said. In September, she opened Painting With A Twist in Ferndale, which seemed to be the perfect place for an art studio. “It has an eclectic, artsy vibe,” she says.

Opening a business can be difficult, she said, especially when the economy is working against you.

“I was willing to take a risk,” she said. “And I wanted to be the first one to open one here,” she says. 

At Painting With a Twist, guests are encouraged to enjoy a glass – or two – of wine as they recreate a work of art with the help of a local artist. “The instructor is able to pull out something from someone that they’ve never used,” said Lewis. “This is not your momma’s art class.”

Today, she’s glad to be home, but she hasn’t forgotten her second home. “The sense of community is greater down there,” she said. “To the people of New Orleans, family means more than a roof.” It’s a city where everyone knows everyone, she added.

And the secret to her success?

“You really have to be passionate about it, and you have to put a lot of time into it,” she said.

You also have to offer something people are willing to pay for. “Art appeals to everyone,” she said. “Anyone who can see can see the beauty of it.”

For more information about Painting With a Twist, visit paintingwithatwist.com or call 248-850-7182.

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