These Katrina survivors have crafted a new life around Spring
Painting With a Twist studios in Kingwood and The Woodlands recently commemorated the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a storm that radically changed the lives of the franchises’ owners.
The aftermath of the hurricane brought New Orleanians Algy and Kermie Irvin to Texas.
The couple settled in Spring, before opening the Painting With a Twist franchise at 570 Sawdust Road in The Woodlands in 2009.
The franchise features classes taught by a local artist where students are encouraged to bring a bottle of wine.
The couple opened a second location in Kingwood at 6850-A FM 1960 East.
The Irvins banded together with other franchises to host a “Painting with a Purpose” event on Aug. 26. Half of the proceeds from the evening will be donated to Young Audiences of Louisiana Charter School at Kate Middleton in Gretna, Louisiana.
“Painting with a Twist adopted this school about a year ago,” Kermie Irvin said.
While living in Louisiana, Kermie was a volunteer who helped paint murals at the school and spruce up the interiors.
“We just wanted to make it a fun and exciting place for kids to come,” she said. “We wanted them to be excited about learning and about art and we had a ball doing it.”
The school’s principal, Brandon House, said the volunteers set the stage for creative learning by adding their artistic touch to the campus.
He said the charter school serves grades kindergarten through fifth and is run by the nonprofit Young Audiences.
“We’re an arts integrated school,” House said. “We do things a little differently than most schools do. We use different learning modules.
“We encourage students to learn through movement, singing and any art form,” he said. “We offer music, dance, theater, visual arts and media arts.”
House added that fundraisers like the one hosted by Painting With A Twist help the school follow its mission.
“There isn’t a whole lot of funding out there for a school like us,” he said. “We have to go out and create everything from the ground-up. Any resources we need, we have to purchase ourselves. And we create our own curriculum.”
Kermie said she still feels the impact from the hurricane. “We lived and worked in New Orleans,” she said. “Katrina disrupted our lives. We lost everything. We were completely wiped out.”
They spent a year in the city trying to restore a measure of normalcy to their lives.
“But it became overwhelming,” Kermie said. “It was time for us to make a move. I put my résumé out there and Houston came calling.”
Kermie is a mechanical engineer and Algy was a commercial photographer.
After Katrina, they met Renee Maloney and Cathy Deano, who opened the original Painting With A Twist studio in 2007 in Mandeville, Louisiana.
The two women had decided to start a business that would provide an escape for a community that continued to suffer in the storm’s aftermath.
Their concept was to offer something entertaining, less structured than a normal painting class.
The owners wanted to take the fear out of art, to show people they could have fun painting without being an artist.
Classes filled up quickly.
Deano and Maloney decided to open a second location in New Orleans.
The Irvins were one of the first in line when the opportunity arose to start a franchise of the business.
“We were like, ‘This is what we’re supposed to do,’ ” Kermie said. “We opened in the middle of the recession and people thought we were crazy. But we were afraid of nothing at this point. We said, ‘If we can survive Katrina, we can survive opening a business.’ ”
Both franchises have thrived since opening and become popular spots for residents.
Customers come to catch up with friends and get away from the stresses of day-to-day life.
“They come in, they enjoy it, they have a good time, and they leave with something too,” Kermie said. “This is the perfect business for us. We truly understand their stresses. People do need an escape.”
Algy said they have a number of Painting with a Purpose events and other outreach programs.
“We work with multiple organizations,” he said.
Besides supporting worthy causes, Algy said that he can see the joy on his customers’ faces when they put the finishing touches on a new creation.
“The impact is immediate,” he said.
The couple plans to open a third studio by the end of the year.
“Painting with a Twist is not just a business for us,” Kermie said. It’s a love for us. It’s near and dear to our hearts.”