Melissa Rosenthal loves to travel and enjoy different food, cultures, and experiences a new place has to offer. Over the six years she’s lived in Fountain Hills, she continues to look at it through the eyes of a tourist. This mindset has filled her with creative ideas for capturing the unique qualities of our town in a fun way.
In mid-November 2022, Melissa launched her business called FH560.
“When friends or family came to visit, or I wanted to send Fountain Hills-themed gifts to people,” says Melissa, “I always struggled to find anything that excited me. The stuff I found was…meh…okay. It was usually stuff with the athletic font that said Fountain Hills across the front. It wasn’t special, and it didn’t say anything about everything that makes Fountain Hills so unique.
“So, I decided to create something.”
Melissa coupled her desire to send cool Fountain Hills stuff to her friends and family with her tourist-minded viewpoint, and FH560 came to life.
“The name FH560 refers to the max height of the fountain when all three pumps are running,” explains Melissa. “We have so many cool things in our town, so it was fun to pull together interesting design concepts that were really representative of Fountain Hills.
“So, the fountain is fun to feature because it’s notable, it’s right in the center of town, and its story is fascinating. It was built to draw people out to the desert. One of the fun items I created shows my idea of how the fountain works.”
Melissa holds up a sticker of a whale, and the water spout is the fountain.
“It includes little fountain facts tucked into the design. 560 max height. 330 usual height. 7,000 gallons per minute. Every hour for 15 minutes from 9-9. So, it’s a great way to educate people about some facet of our community.
“When you walk into a town as a tourist, you take note of things that the residents take for granted. They get so used to everything around them that they no longer notice the ‘wow factor’ anymore. They don’t think about the unique things that make their town special.
“One of the coolest things I saw when I first moved here was a pack of javelina in the wash behind my house. I thought about that while designing items for FH560 and decided to pair a javelina with mountain biking since it is so big here. I love getting creative with these designs, and people seem to love them.”
T-shirts are the bulk of her business right now, with a Dark Sky tribute t-shirt being her best-seller. She also sells totes, fold-up travel bags, stickers, magnets, and mugs.
“I also sell a shot glass, also known as an Arizona rain gauge,” says Melissa.
She also listens to feedback from her customers and the people she meets in the community. The feedback has led to plans to add sweatshirts and performance polos soon.
On most Wednesdays, you can meet Melissa in person at Art on the Avenue. She has shirts for sale at Fountain Hills Express Convenience Store and the Chamber of Commerce gift shop. All of her items are available on her website at FHAZ560.com.
“I hope that as people start seeing more and more FH560 items around town, we might start seeing ourselves and this community a little differently. To start noticing the unique qualities that make our town so special.”
Visit FHAZ560.com to see all of Melissa’s products. You can also click HERE to follow her on Facebook or HERE to follow her on Instagram.
