Kildeer’s Color Me Mine studio to close

The owner of Color Me Mine paint-it-yourself ceramics studio said Wednesday she will close the Kildeer location on Feb. 17.

Natasha Braxton of Mundelein said it is “with a heavy heart” that she has to close the studio. Running the franchise with her daughter, Pat, for the past six years, Braxton said she will miss all the customers, employees and “lasting friendships” she has formed.

“It was heartbreaking. I cry just thinking about closing the store,” Braxton said of the location at 20771 N. Rand Road across from Deer Park Town Center.

Braxton’s husband, Stan, was transferred to Pennsylvania through work, forcing the couple to move this spring. She added that the lease at the Kildeer store is also coming to an end.

The mother-daughter team opened a location in Vernon Hills about three months ago and will continue to operate that studio.

Braxton added that the Vernon Hills store, at 700 N. Milwaukee Ave., features better foot traffic, an element that was lacking in Kildeer.

Braxton said her daughter will become the operating manager in Vernon Hills.

Braxton first discovered Color Me Mine with her husband when they lived in Pennsylvania. They celebrated their anniversary at the studio in 2002. Five years later, they opened their own franchise location.

“This has been a heart-wrenching experience,” she said of the store closing. “I express gratitude for all the people who supported us,” said Braxton, who grew up in Puerto Rico, where she lived until she was 11. She left her corporate job at Abbott Laboratories to launch the ceramics studio.