We had the good fortune of connecting with Veda Tuscanes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Veda, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
The trades are heavily dominated by cis-gender men; it’s incredibly difficult to be a woman/femme person in the trades, and even more difficult to be trans or queer. We started Roommates Painting because we want to change that; we want to provide a space for everyone on the margins to experience the autonomy that comes from learning a trade. We also want to provide safe, quality services to our community, and anyone who feels nervous or trepidatious about having strangers in their home. It’s really about respect and mutual care.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Roommates Painting is small but mighty. We’ve had a fantastic first year working on everything from refinishing and painting kitchen cabinets, to furniture painting and staining. We recently painted an entire 3,000 sq ft house in just under a week. We’ve handled fine art, nervous pets (and people) and everything in between. We are hard working, skilled, and respectful and I’m so incredibly proud of the work we’ve done. I feel so much excitement about the future.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We are big fans of Colfax– Lady Justice Brewing for beers, Bahn and Butter Bakery for a delicious vegan bánh mì, Wellness Sushi for the best sushi in the world. Baker is great for vintage shops and Sweet Action has ice cream sandwiches. We frequent Kilgore Books and Wax Trax on 13th in Capitol Hill whenever we are in the neighborhood, and SubCulture has a fantastic vegan reuben. The great thing about working in so many different areas is that there’s always a new spot to try.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Honestly, it’s been a bit of an uphill battle the past few years. The other founder, Alex, has been working on crews for years gaining skills and putting up with a lot of pretty discriminatory situations, people, and dynamics. When we decided to focus on making this happen full-time, it was after years of struggle. And truly, without the support of our community, we wouldn’t have had such a great first year. We have some friends in Portland doing similar work (Queers Remodel PDX) and Heidi specifically has been so supportive of our work here in Denver– from promotion to leads to just answering questions about equipment when needed. That’s been huge for us.

I also think books like Stone Butch Blues have really helped both Alex and I understand that what’s really in our hearts is uplifting blue collar and working class queers. We have a long line of drag queens and queers that have paved the way for us to be ourselves now– and to continue pushing that envelope for the next generation of kids.

Website: https://www.roommatespainting.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RoommatesPainting/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/89867583/admin/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roommatespainting

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/roommates-painting-aurora?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.