DIP Design Is Personal

Greetings!

My name is Gretchen Schauffler, creator of Devine Color, Color Therapy From The Northwest. There's a story behind every brand I create, stranger than fiction, and the story behind DIP Design is Personal is no exception.

In 2015, I walked away with a 5-year non-compete in the paint industry after selling Devine to Valspar Paint, and began practicing meditation. Which one day led to a very auspicious meeting with a polar bear, and two little two words that changed the course of my life and destiny: Dig and Dip. Clear as bells.

I took the word 'dig' as literal, 'search', while somehow I knew that word 'dip' was an acronym; the words' destiny in process' fell out of my mouth. 

When I searched for the word 'dip', the Big Dipper naturally came up. Polaris. Ursa. The great bear constellation, containing a star that always points to True North. No matter how lost you are. Or where you stand. By putting another dot on the 'i', it becomes a rotational ambigram, a word that reads the same even if it is upside down.

That vision started the clock, a quiet countdown to 2020—the year my non-compete would end with an end in mind. If I were to create a paint brand again, I would call it DIP Color. A compass to reach destinations and  a destiny you are meant to live

Literally, I got a website with a clock ticking down the minutes.

Timing, however, took a life of its own.

In 2017, I had the opportunity to sell flooring at Target, and the word 'dip' became the name of my new company, Design Is Personal.

DIP Color paint would be next.

As I worked on Dip Color, I cycled back to a quote I had written in my book Devine Color: When Color Sings: "Growing up in Puerto Rico, I lived with boundless color... This is the color baggage I brought with me, and I was not afraid of it." 

Color Baggage jumped out of the page and became more than a phrase—it became my way back home, and back to Devine. The baggage I carried from San Juan to Portland wasn't just my past; it was also my future. It was my root system. My palette. My story. This West Coast land. These skies. These colors. They weren't just part of the journey. They were my True North. This was my karma. 

I began to dig all the way to the bottom of my bag. I unpacked my color baggage all over again, grew new roots, and old ones became stronger, greater, and more resilient than ever.

I realized this was my dharma.

I called my new paint company Color Baggage, after my dharma, to help people dig into their color baggage, colorful experiences and memories that caused them to fall in love with the world, and create a sense of belonging and connection in their homes that feels like true love, baggage and all, with a bucket of paint. To  live a life by design that is both divine and personal

I have a polar bear to thank for that and why Ursa is featured so prominently in my wallpaper patterns. Color Baggage would have not been possible without her.

"POLAR BEARS are considered by the Inuit to be a Mighty Magician— an animal that becomes one with its environment, blending in and out of the spotlight when the time is right. They conquer difficulties with deliberation, resolution, and a playful approach. They are known to be fierce mothers who prepare future generations to survive and thrive, regardless of circumstances, by trusting in the Divine order of the Cosmos and their right to be a part of it. Polar Bears are a spiritual beacon of fierce independence and a sense of power that can only come from knowing one's true north and living it with complete abandonment. Their symbolism is a source of empowerment and guidance. "If you are looking to live your Dharma, ask a Polar Bear." ~ Gretchen Schauffler

Please, enjoy everything Color Baggage has to offer. And come say hello to DIP at designispersonal.com.

Colorfully,

Gretchen