House of VXN's Evolution
Every Name Held a Truth.
Every Season Served a Purpose.
We’ve gone by many names over the years: Color Up Therapeutics. Color Up. Color Up Wellness Center. VXN Wellness. VXN LAB by Color Up. VXN LUX by VXN Beauty Den. VXN Den.
Every treatment. Every service. Every formula. Every event. Every act of resistance. Each one meant something. Each one reflected a moment in time - what we knew, what we believed, who we were, what we stood for, and what we were building together. And through it all, our identity was never in our branding, it was lived in our actions - how we choose ingredients, how we treat the Earth and each other, how we tell the truth, how we show up, and how we stand beside the people around us. Every name we’ve carried has told a piece of our story:
Color Up brought clarity and education into cannabis when stigma and misinformation ruled the space. We built a wellness center that became a launchpad for women-owned businesses, a training ground for future estheticians and therapists, and a beacon during the chaos of 2020. That wasn’t just a business -it was the roots of this movement we are leading.
VXN Wellness gave voice to the women who stayed. The ones who showed up with strollers, spreadsheets, and steel in their spines. It gave us a banner to stand under in a male-dominated industry and reminded us that leadership and love are not mutually exclusive. It gave us our grit.
VXN LUX became our bridge when the CBD space grew volatile. It was our effort to steady the ship while the storm passed, and it was honoring to our brilliant female formulator, and all the women who had come before us, fighting the good fight, so we could be here today. VXN LUX wasn’t about luxury, it was about survival and strength in its most feminine form.
House of VXN is not just a new name. It’s our rebirth. A return to our why. A recognition of our capacity. And the building of a house that finally fits the women, and the mission, that shaped it. House of VXN is not one name - it’s all the names, all the identities, all the chapters we lived through, brought together under one roof. It is the culmination of every moment we refused to quit, every system we chose to challenge, and every truth we dared to speak out loud. This is our reclamation. The staking of our claim, the naming of our family, and the uniting of our forces. House of VXN is the home we’ve built together: founded in education, powered by purpose, rooted in ritual, and driven by our commitment to rewrite what leadership and true wellness look like.
From formulation to foundation, every phase had a purpose.
Pre-2015 | Before the Brand
Before there were products, there was purpose. Our founding women were already embedded in the movement—working in dispensaries, growing cannabis, writing curriculums, lobbying for legalization, and standing at community booths collecting petition signatures across Colorado.
They brought decades of combined experience from both the pharmaceutical industry and the cannabis space -merging the clinical with the sacred long before it became marketable.
When the opioid epidemic hit between 2010 and 2013, they left the industry behind and moved to Colorado to stand with revolutionaries. We were educators, chemists, growers, caregivers,mand advocates.
2014 | The Catalyst: Kali
Our co-founder, Shauna's beloved dog, Kali, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. With nothing left but intuition and ancestral wisdom, she created a custom wellness plan using homegrown cannabis and legal mushrooms. After adjusting from THC to hemp to ease symptoms without side effects, Kali lived one more year—joyful, pain-free, and fully alive.
That experience changed everything.
Our first formula was for love - not profit.
February 12, 2015 | Color Up Therapeutics Is Born
We began sharing our tinctures and salves with friends and family. The healing was real, and the demand was organic. Color Up Therapeutics became one of the first CBD wellness companies in the U.S.—founded by three women who had already helped shift the cannabis industry from shadow to legitimacy.
We launched at community events, taught at fairs and festivals, and used education as our first product.
2016 | Educators First, Always
We launched our first eCommerce site, including our pet and people tinctures. Education wasn’t a marketing strategy - it was our mandate. Cannabis without context is just another trend.
2017 | The Yoga Grow & First Brick + Mortar
We opened The Yoga Grow, a wellness collective and sanctuary space. Here, we launched the first licensed CBD skincare lab in Colorado, introduced Color Up’s professional-grade line, and pioneered cannabis-infused wellness events—yoga, breathwork, plant education, and ritual.
Our products debuted at The School of Botanical and Medical Aesthetics. Our mission became embodied.
2018–2019 | From Local Love to National Reach
Color Up became a hub—a center for healing and holistic education. We expanded into oncology-approved services, pet wellness, wholesale, and white-label partnerships. Our wellness center hosted workshops, incubated women-owned businesses, and became a healing anchor in the local wellness scene.
We grew the team, the lab, and the mission.
PETA Certified: Cruelty-Free + Vegan.
NYC Debut – Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Spa
We launched with Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Spa—our first luxury partnership in New York City. This milestone marked a shift in industry recognition, proving our formulations could stand alongside legacy brands in high-end spa environments.
Aveda School Partnership Begins
We began a professional education partnership with Aveda Institutes, providing curriculum and cannabinoid-based product knowledge to the next generation of estheticians. This partnership continues today.
Expansion into Paul Mitchell Schools
We expanded our professional education into Paul Mitchell Schools, training future wellness professionals on CBD formulation, client care, and ethical use of plant-based products.
Oncology Spa Solutions Approval
Our entire product line underwent a rigorous review process by Oncology Spa Solutions, a leading authority in oncology-safe skincare. For several months, our formulations were tested in clinical and treatment settings, with every ingredient reviewed for safety and integrity.
We also trained our full team - estheticians, massage therapists, and spa employees, under their curriculum to ensure trauma-informed, oncology-compliant care in both formulation and service delivery.
The Cannabis Master Program for Wellness Professionals Goes Live
In tandem with our massage-specific training, we launched the Cannabis Master Program for the Wellness Professional—a robust, self-paced digital curriculum now hosted on Teachable. Tailored for yoga instructors, fitness trainers, chiropractors, energy workers, and holistic health professionals.This launch positioned us as one of the first brands in the cannabinoid skincare space to provide professionally structured, lifestyle-integrated cannabis education with bundled product support.
2020 | The Pandemic Pivot
During our highest volume sales season, we were forced to relocate. In 30 days, we purchased a new building, rebuilt our lab, and never missed a payroll. We leveled up with full dropshipping, virtual spa parties, and digital education while continuing to serve our professional community.
Accredited Education & National CEU Recognition
NCBTMB Accreditation: A Major Step in Professional Education
In 2020, Color Up officially became an approved Continuing Education (CEU) provider through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (NCBTMB). This milestone recognized our long-standing commitment to clinical integrity, science-backed education, and practitioner empowerment.
This marked the beginning of our expansion into national CE-accredited training, with more course approvals in development—including future accreditation for our full Cannabis Master Program. Being NCBTMB-certified cemented our credibility as an education provider—not just a product brand.
A Pandemic-Era Leap Into Community-Based Retail at Nurture Marketplace
While most brands paused in 2020, we expanded—with purpose. In June, we launched our retail storefront at Nurture, Denver’s premier wellness marketplace and collective healing space, located in the historic Highlands neighborhood.
Our Nurture shop wasn’t just retail. It was relationships..
This space gave us visibility, traction, and community connection during one of the most unstable years in modern retail - and allowed us to keep pushing forward while others pulled back.
2021–2022 | Financial Hits & Forward Vision
Our largest wholesale client (a 26-location spa) filed bankruptcy, triggering major financial loss. Despite the industry downturn, we stayed grounded. We paused to listen, recalibrated our pricing, and built deeper partnerships. We focused on resilience—refusing to abandon our purpose.
Caesars Hotel + Spa Partnership
Our credibility reached new heights as The Spa at Caesars Hotel in Atlantic City began carrying our products.
It was a testament to the clinical quality and luxury efficacy of our formulations.
Launched our first product containing topical CBG and CBN, as well as our first product designed for men and first product incorporating mushrooms.
2021 | Expansion into Phoenix, Arizona – The Palm at Coronado
In partnership with Archipelago Clubs, we opened our second wellness center at The Palm, a historic property located in Phoenix’s Coronado Historic District. This marked our first expansion outside of Colorado and reaffirmed our commitment to creating sacred, community-driven wellness spaces.
At The Palm, the Color Up Wellness Center included multiple treatment rooms offering acupuncture, esthetics, massage, cupping, and energy work. We partnered with local, licensed practitioners like Dr. Rachel Israel, DACM of Vibrant Wellness and Abby Alexandra, LE of Our Sacred Alchemy, integrating into the heart of the Phoenix healing community.
This space wasn’t just about treatments—it was a multi-use wellness hub, offering events, yoga, and education exclusive to Archipelago members while remaining open to the broader public.
We didn’t just open a second location.
We planted new roots—with the same soul.
2023 | The Women Who Stayed
Two of the original founders stepped away.
Shauna, the remaining co-founder, bought out the business and stood with the women who had been there from the beginning: Amber, Marrana, Brigitte, and Lili.
We re-emerged as VXN Wellness - a multicultural, plant-based collective rooted in wellness, justice, and ancestral intelligence.
Early 2024 | The Pause: Purpose in the Stillness
In Q1, we took a strategic pause. Our pricing no longer covered our costs. The market had shifted. We were being crushed by fees, regulations, and lack of advertising access as a CBD company. But instead of collapsing - we paused, we recalculated, and we told the truth to our community.
That pause became our rebirth.
Spring 2024 VXN LUX is Born
Created by our team on volunteer hours, VXN LUX launched as our first non-CBD product line. It gave us access to new markets (Amazon, Meta, Google) and protected the exclusivity of VXN LAB for professionals.
Every formula was made to serve hormone-shifting bodies, menopausal skin, and the diverse biological realities of womxn.
September 2024 | VXN LAB Steps Forward
As our wellness center softly closed, our identity sharpened.
VXN LAB became our dedicated, pro-only, CBD formulation arm - focused solely on high-efficacy, clean cannabinoid products made exclusively for estheticians, bodyworkers, and licensed professionals.
2025 | The Circle Expands: New Co-Ownership
After years of service, stewardship, and sisterhood, Amber White and Marrana James officially became co-owners of House of VXN, joining founder Shauna Blanch at the helm of the brand they helped build from the ground up.
Amber White – Lab Director, sourcing specialist, production lead, and integrity guardian for over 7 years.
Marrana James – Operations Director, licensed massage therapist, esthetician, and partner liaison with over 7 years of dedication.
In addition to the three women who lead the company day-to-day, each of their mothers now holds 3% of House of VXN.
This wasn’t a business move. It was a gesture of gratitude, reverence, and restoration. Because this isn’t just a company. It’s a lineage. And we stand on the shoulders of women who taught us what real care looks like.
This transition isn't just symbolic, it's structural. It honors the truth that House of VXN has always been built by women who stayed, who served, who protected the vision, and who invested their lives into the soul of the brand.
Ownership didn’t change the mission. It solidified the foundation.
April 2025 House of VXN is Born
Together, Shauna, Amber, and Marrana now lead House of VXN into its next chapter: as a fully women-owned, practitioner-led company committed to ethical wellness, collective care, and radical economic sovereignty for small businesses.
Now, we are House of VXN.
Wholesale-only. Practitioner-aligned. Community-powered.
We no longer split our focus - we sharpen it.
We’re building a resilient economic ecosystem where wellness is ethical, inclusive, and owned by the people who live it.
What Hasn’t Changed
The mission
The matriarchs
The hands
Our promise to Kali
One of our original co-founders is still here
This brand has always been built by women - and still is!