“I hitchhiked when I was 21 from Louisiana to Cambridge, Massachusetts. I had dropped out of school and I had to get as far away from my dad as possible.”
— Cathy Deano, co-founder, Painting with a Twist
In her monthly “Grab Bag” column, Editor in Chief Laura Michaels asks the tough questions—What superhero power would you most like to have? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?—to show a side of franchising execs you don’t normally see.
Who would play you in the biopic about your life?
Meg Ryan. I like her personality. I’m someone who likes happy stuff. I was thinking of Cybill Shepherd, but she’s a little more serious than I am. Of Meg’s movies, ‘You’ve Got Mail’ has always been a favorite.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Selfish people. I just think it goes against the collective consciousness of everything we should be trying to do in the universe. We’re all in this together—sometimes we need to be reminded of that.
If you could be a member of any TV show family, which would it be?
I’m 69 and I loved ‘Cheers.’ That’s not exactly a family, but I loved that show. I would have liked to work at the bar. I’m also watching ‘Friends’ right now and loving it. The writing is actually really smart. Same with ‘The West Wing.’ I love good writing.
What’s something you would seriously stockpile if you found out it wasn’t going to be sold anymore?
Mascara, chocolate and vodka. Wow, that came out really easily. Mostly I do Tito’s, and for chocolate it’s Lily’s, the sugar-free kind. And right now, I’m using BadGal mascara. I’m blonde, and my eyelashes are blonde, so I need a really good mascara.
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Definitely mopping. I don’t like to mop. I have a lot of stuff in my house, furniture, some sculptures, and so getting around it all is tedious.
What superhero power would you most like to have?
Strength—physical strength. I think that you could help a lot of people with physical strength.
What’s something not many people know about you?
I hitchhiked when I was 21 from Louisiana to Cambridge, Massachusetts. I had dropped out of school and I had to get as far away from my dad as possible. For no bad reason, he just wanted me in college. It really was pretty uneventful but I would never do it today. A truck driver got a little handsy with my friend and we had to jump out of an 18-wheeler. Another couple I remember, they asked us when we’d last eaten, and it had been a while, so they took us to McDonald’s.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
I have two. One is shopping, and the other is historical trashy novels. I like the history part, not just the trash. I would always want to read them on planes but then you don’t want other people to see what you’re reading, so a friend of mine had a book cover made that says, ‘The Collected Essays of Cathy Deano.’ So now nobody knows.
What’s your favorite travel destination?
I went to Sicily last year, it was fabulous. I’ve also done 30 days in Italy, which was incredible. I just got back from Jamaica; we’ve been doing that every year for 40 years. In Italy, I loved Taormina. It’s got these narrow, cobblestone streets, all the little cafes. I’m not much for the big cities.
Which time period in history would you want to visit?
Georgian. The Victorian era was just too straight for me. I say Georgian because I like the whole romance of it. The food, the architecture, the clothes.