Diana Schraner, 57, moved with her parents from California to Switzerland in 1980.
When it came time to think about college, she wanted no part of it.
“I had learned three languages, graduated Swiss high school and made a ton of great friends. At 17, I just wanted to be a painter,” she said.
Switzerland has apprenticeship programs for all kinds of jobs, including painting. Schraner contacted Hintermann AG, president of the local painter’s association, and was accepted into his program.
Over the next three years, her training included working on construction sites, painting houses, learning chemistry, color theory, how to bid a job and how to treat different kinds of surfaces.
In 1990, her parents moved back to California, settling on a large ranch in Cloverdale. Schraner, her husband and their son followed several years later.
After getting her contractor’s license in 1994, she operated Earth Colors Painting for more than a decade before venturing into the cannabis industry.
Schraner and Jammie King had family members in the cannabis industry and would often help staff the booths at events. A friendship grew and the two began to hang out.
When the city was in the process of adopting a cannabis ordinance, the two were instrumental in helping pass Proposition P, a cannabis tax for Cloverdale.
They then decided to go into business together and applied for a retail license. In 2019, Red Door Remedies became the first cannabis dispensary approved by the city.
Read about other local business owners who have unexpected backgrounds here.
