Meet the Artists

We are pleased to introduce our new Meet the Artisans of WSOAPP page. Over the course of the next year, the WSOAPP mods team will be interviewing a different artisan to get the scoop on their business and the inspiration that drives them to create. A few weeks ago, we caught up with Joan Minervini of Vintage Keepsake Trunk.

Joan Minervini, of Vintage Keepsake Trunk lives in sunny Southern California with her husband, her two dogs and a very precocious cat who enjoys “assisting” her in her studio as she works. By day, this busy mother, (of two grown children), manages her husband’s pool repair and maintenance business while by night, she works in her sewing studio to create the beautiful pieces that we have come to know and love as designs from “Vintage Keepsake Trunk”.

Joan is a true veteran in the crafting business, having seen just about every fad and craze come and go over the years. And like all savvy business people making a living in the crafting industry, she has adjusted her style and her art to meet the changing demands of the times when she had to. For well over 20 years, she has done just about everything that could be handcrafted or done to succeed in the business, from crewel work and heirloom sewing for 1950's Vogue and Madame Alexander vintage dolls to running annual home-based Holiday Boutiques for her products. But no matter what the style of art she works in, or what manner of marketing approach she chooses, there is one element of the crafting process that really continues to be near and dear to her heart, and it is the heart of her entire business altogether; the element of nostalgia.

After Joan’s father passed away and her mother remarried, she ended up in California, a long, long way from that idyllic world she grew up in. At present, she holds dual degrees in nursing and in accounting, and had worked for a long time as an ICU nurse. A serious accident left her with a crippling disability that makes working a regular job or long hours of standing on her feet impossible, but her creative spirit is still the driving force behind her in every way.

Joan’s message to everyone out there is “Don’t give up-there is always hope and there is a way to keep going even with a crippling disability.” She uses her own life as an example to others who are disabled and she is always happy to share with anyone seeking help or advice….her nursing knowledge and experiences are a plus too! Her strong fortitude and her philosophy of not letting anything stand in her way gave birth to her first home based cottage business, “Collectibles By Joan”. Her style under that division can be characterized as “vintage 1950s” You can see some examples of her doll costuming for Madame Alexander dolls in her galleries at WSOAPP. Her primitive folk art and country line where nostalgia abounds is “Vintage Keepsake Trunk”

Facts at a glance:

• Main art styles: Vintage Shabby Chic and Primitive Folk Art Business Name(s): Collectibles By Joan, Vintage Keepsake
• -
• Trunk Length of time working in crafting: Over 20 years.
• -
• Very happily married-two grown children
• -
• Professional life outside of crafting: Holds nursing and accounting degrees, Retired ICU nurse, Home Office Bookkeeping &
• -
• Management
• -
• Mother to 3 fur-babys. 2 big dogs; a Rottie-Buddy and a Rhodesian Ridgeback- Toby. Felix, a cat that she bottle fed as an abandoned kitten. Today Felix is her faithful studio companion and partner, hiding doll body parts all over the place for her to find. (keeps her on her toes)
• -
• Hobbies and interests outside of crafting: She plays piano. Hosts family gatherings. She attends church. Before the accident that left her disabled she had been very active and loved to hike and camp in the mountains with her family.
• -
• Main inspiration: nostalgia