ELEPHANT JOURNAL – JUNE 18, 2019
How to Take Self-Care to a Whole New Level: Add CBD.
"The trouble with the current boom is the cannabis cowboys who are jumping right into the mix with genuinely caring, mission-driven folks. Where, then, do the CBD-curious even start? And how can the CBD-converted up-level their understanding and integration of this powerful plant into a healthy lifestyle? We know just the place."
It Takes a Village to Pioneer a Revolution
And we wouldn’t still be here today without ours!
Whether you’ve known us as Color Up Therapeutics, Color Up CBD, VXN LAB, VXN Wellness or VXN Den—it’s still us. Still the same mission. Still the same heart, soul, and products you've known and loved.
Our brand is made up of the pioneers, leaders, and innovators of the cannabis reform movement–who are also spa and wellness professionals–our niche in the broader cannabis revolution. And every step of the way, we are inspired and shaped by these legendary leaders.
Shauna Blanch, Co-Founder, Co-Owner and Head VXN in Charge of Strategies and Systems
Growing up an ethical herbivore and conscious consumer, Shauna’s entrepreneurial spirit was fueled by her parents as they built their family business. Denver-based Shauna is the COO, co-owner, and co-founder of Color Up Therapeutics, a cruelty-free, all-natural CBD company. With seven (now thirteen) years in the cannabis industry, Shauna is also a licensed massage therapist, certified reiki master, and yoga teacher.
Marrana James, LMT, LE, RYT
Co-Owner, Head VXN in Charge of Partnerships and Logistics
Marrana’s extensive knowledge in the wellness industry is marked by her profound 29 year journey as a Massage Therapist and Esthetician. Before joining our team in 2019, she spent several years as a skincare sales and education manager, learning the ins and outs of the spa world. During our transition in 2023, Marrana stepped up to fulfill the role of one of our previous co-owners and in 2025, after 6 years of devotion, she became a co-owner of Color Up, dba, House of VXN. Her role here transcends managing partnerships and education; she's a mentor and a guide, enriching our community with her wisdom, humor, and genuine care. She has educated hundreds of students on both the Endocannabinoid system and our line of cannabinoid infused products, and has been monumental in keeping us all dedicated to our wellness journey’s. She wears her heart on her sleeve and we always know what she's thinking by the expressions on her face. Her yoga classes, massages, and reminders of self care keep us all walking in the direction of our truth.
Amber White-Benzel, B.Sc.
Co-Owner, Head VXN in Charge of Production and Manufacturing
Amber blends scientific rigor with a nurturing heart and creative mind. She stepped up to fill the role of one of our previous co-owners during our transition in 2023 after 7 years of dedication in our manufacturing lab, and in 2025 she became co-owner of Color Up, dba, House of VXN. Her leadership is characterized by compassion, precision and a commitment to excellence– through supportive feedback, patience, and open communication. She's kept our products rolling through our most challenging times, and her ability to remain composed and clear-headed is irreplaceable in our ever-changing industry. Blending science with creativity, she writes all of our manufacturing protocols, manages inventory, oversees production, and is the guardian of our product quality–ensuring every item we produce meets the highest standards. Beyond her scientific prowess, Amber's artistic side shines through her music production, Reiki practice, and photography skills. She brings a holistic approach to the science behind our brand, and she is an inspiration to the women in our community.
Brigitte Ownsby
Founding Family (3% Owner) and Head VXN in Charge of Labeling and Bottling
Brigitte's belief in plant-medicine is not just a profession but a way of life. A devout believer in plant-medicine throughout her life, she infuses her passion into everything she does. Her positivity and contributions in the lab make her an invaluable and beloved member of our team. She has a green thumb, growing her own cannabis, mushrooms and other herbs to share with the community, and her homemade bread and baked treats are more than just food; they're expressions of the care and love she offers to our team every day. She is the embodiment of the nurturing spirit we stand for, and she never misses an opportunity to remind us all how fortunate we are to be doing this work. She’s Marrana’s mom, house momma to all of us, and a motherly reminder of how mother earth should be honored and cared for every day.
Ellen Blanch
Founding Family (3% Owner) and Head VXN in Charge of Advising and Finances
Though she lives across the country and doesn’t work with us day-to-day, Ellen has been a guiding force behind our journey since the earliest days of Color Up. Her quiet strength, unwavering belief in us, and deep well of wisdom have grounded us through every transition—from startup chaos to our evolution into House of VXN. For over a decade, she’s been a trusted advisor to Shauna, offering care, counsel, and perspective that has shaped this house more than most will ever know.
We Honor Every Hand that Built this House
We honor every hand that built this house—from two of the Color Up Therapeutics three co-founders who moved on in 2023, to the countless team members, practitioners, customers, students, educators, and entrepreneurs who launched their dreams within our walls. Every contribution, seen or unseen, was a brave step toward creating a more honest, caring, and empowered world. This is a small and growing list of those who have pioneered the movement alongside us. We continue to add more as we locate our older media files!
Kali - The Muse Behind Our Brand
Bryce Conley - previous co-owner of Color Up
Will Parker - previous co-owner of Color Up
Meet Shauna, Color Up co-founder and co-owner
February 12 2015
Founding Color Up Therapeutics
Our company was born after our co-founder's dog, Kali, was diagnosed with cancer and treated with home grown marijuana and hemp plants. Leading up to this experience, Color Up Therapeutics' three co-founders spent many years in the cannabis space, both professionally and personally. Having all moved to Denver to become more intimately involved in the cannabis movement, they came together through friendship in 2013. When Kali's life was extended by over a year due to the cannabis care she was given, the three quickly realized their shared mission to educate their communities on cannabis as a medicinal option for health and wellness.
2016
Launching First Line of Products
The three created a (not yet licensed) basement lab (think hot plates and mismatched "office" chairs) and coined their creations Color Up Therapeutics. We launched our first round of pet products in honor of Kali and began sending them to family and friends back home, and around the country. Shortly thereafter we created body care products for our co-founder to use in massage therapy sessions, and to be used in the local massage school, Denver Integrative Massage School.
2017
Opening First Wellness Center
We opened our first physical location where we shared space with a friend's yoga studio and another friend's plant shop–we built our first licensed manufacturing lab, created a retail space / massage therapy room, and together hosted community wellness events that incorporated cannabis. We officially launched our pet care, body care, and professional skin care lines through ecommerce and at our brick and mortar. With the help and support of the instructors and owner at School of Botanical and Medical Aesthetics, a local boutique aesthetics and massage school (the one our co-founder graduated from), we expanded our cannabinoid infused skin care product line to include a professional 7 step European facial protocol.
2018
Rebranding & Expanding
In 2018 we rebranded to Color Up, taking the Therapeutics out of our name due to government regulations. We launched our retail "Life" line in an effort to reach more people by focusing on preventative options containing fewer active ingredients. We began our journey with Oncology Spa Solutions–the only trusted oncology program in our country–and had all of our cannabinoid infused offerings oncology safe for care after treatment. We built an education team and scaled our impact nationally across spas, hotels, trade schools, and boutique retailers.
2020
Sticking Together & Expanding
After an late year rebrand in 2019 from Color Up Therapeutics to Color Up due to laws and regulations, we had a brief halt in all operations which led to several team members being temporarily furloughed for one to three months, our lab was eventually deemed essential bringing everyone back to work. During this time we quickly shifted to an online platform and launched consulting services for our account partners in an effort to support the survival of our industry. We set up up spa parties for clients, started drop shipped to our account partner's customers, hosted weekly educational classes, decorated outgoing mail, and we kept our team close.
Our co-founders parents and our "landlords" who we call family, generously provided us with both financial support, and stability that allowed us to offer the small businesses within our wellness center, that same support in return.
After the world opened back up, we leaned into our community and opened a second retail location at Nurture Wellcare Marketplace–we offered community massages from students who were interning with our team, we educated on cannabis wellness, and we created a supportive retail environment.
On the last day of the year, we moved our wellness center and lab into a new location that our land-family provided for us, we built a lab twice the size of the one we were in, and we began our next five year journey.
2021
Facing the Aftermath of 2020
The aftermath of 2020 proved to be more of a challenge for our team than the year itself had been. Along with several revenue-heavy trade shows canceling without refund, a sharp decline in the number of active professionals and spas around the country lost us several major accounts, to include an expensive bankruptcy case from one of our twenty-six-location spa partners. For the first time since 2015, we had to tighten our reigns and dig deep to keep our wellness center and lab operating at full capacity.
2022
Opening 3rd Brick and Mortar
In 2022 we opened a retail and wellness center location in Phoenix, Arizona alongside our friends and community leaders, Archipelago Clubs. With the intention of tapping into the newly legal cannabis industry and opening up more revenue streams to sustain our business, two of our co-founders temporarily relocated to establish roots. our education team joined on occasion to spread the good word.
2023
Shifting Leadership
In 2023 two of our three co-founders stepped away and our remaining co-founder bought them out to keep our small business moving forward. Due to contractual obligations, as well as a desire to align with our new leadership team, we changed our name to VXN Wellness. VXN honors the women who stuck it out and stayed for the fight, while paying homage to the female fox–clever, adaptable, witty, nurturing, and loyal. The rebrand to VXN Wellness was manageable, although largely unsuccessful after having just stocked all of our customers up on Color Up products at a discounted rate–part of the buyout process.
2024
Pausing to Realign
In 2024 we paused operations briefly—an intentional decision that came from the hard reality that after years of absorbing rising costs, processing fees, and battling an unbalanced regulatory system, our pricing no longer covered our costs. Rather than compromise our ethics and morals to keep going, we paused to re-align.This pause allowed us to reorganize, revamp our operations, and figure out who's here for the long haul. We began focusing on our manufacturing lab and slowly started the process of closing our 7 room wellness and events center.
2025
All Together Under One Roof
As we entered into 2025, our original co-founder, Shauna, was joined in ownership by two women, Marrana and Amber, who have been with our company since shortly after inception. Each of our mother's owning a small percentage to honor the extent they each went to support us through the last few years. We made the decision to close our remaining brick and mortar location at the end of 2024 in an effort to know our capacity, and to focus on where our passion is–our small-batch, licensed hemp manufacturing lab. We rebranded as House of VXN to bring all of our brand names under one roof, like the family we are, and we moved into a really cool new warehouse, Saltbox, where we now share walls with other inspiring small business entrepreneurs.