We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Minerva Moon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Minerva below.

Minerva , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was a bit of a late bloomer who felt very uncertain of her place in the world, so I didn’t realize I wanted to earn a living (even a supplemental living) until my mid-20s. I always enjoyed making jewelry, sewing and inventing cosplays, but it didn’t occur to me that other people would be interested in what I made until my boyfriend pointed it out to me. “You should do craft fairs”, he encouraged, “you should start modeling since that’s what you want to do.” I started looking into local events for vendors and talking to photographers, and signed up for booths and photoshoots. They happened almost simultaneously; one year I was only posting photos of my creations on Facebook, and the next I was making new pages for my art & modeling and selling at fairs and sharing my photoshoots. The feedback was immediate and positive; my friends and their friends loved what I was doing. Since then I have built up followings that support my craft, my art and my creativity and it’s made me so happy to share these parts of me with the world.

Minerva , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started out feeling a little intimidated because I knew so little about what I was doing and what my end goals were. Of course I wanted to make money and gain popularity within the communities I was joining, but I also felt nervous about being in any sort of spotlight. Because I came into my own so late, I didn’t have a foundation of confidence under me to give me that stability that so many others seemed to have. As I did more events and photoshoots, that foundation slowly formed to help me develop my styles and expand my creativity. As a model, my specialities are gothic and steampunk aesthetics but I’ve also enjoyed doing boudoir, horror-themed sets and helping photographers bring their visions to life too. As an artist, I make gothic and alternative jewelry, tote bags, wallets, purses and more. I recently started making self-care products like soaps, lip balms, bath bombs and candles. My tagline is “made with love and witchcraft” because I imbue my power and spirit into everything I make, and I make it with intention and care from start to finish. I’m extremely proud that I have done everything my way, without compromising my goals and vision for the sake of fame.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I feel like I’ve made a difference when someone approaches me and says “you’ve taught me how to feel confident in myself, how to stand my ground, you’ve made me feel seen, you’ve inspired me to follow my own path”, I love that I have sown confidence and happiness in people, because I didn’t start out that way either. I want to encourage and support everyone I reach. It’s also extremely rewarding when a customer tells me “your bath bombs helped me sleep, your candles smell amazing, I get so many compliments on my wallet/bag/earrings/necklace,” it’s very reinforcing to know that I make high quality products that people love!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Society can stop looking down their nose at things they don’t understand! Instead of disapproving, they should be glad that there are people willing to go against the grain and defy “social norms” – and be themselves! The most creative people aren’t going to blend in with a crowd, they’re going to stand out! Artists have a unique interpretation of the world and if I had a dollar for every time someone made a comment like “I mean this just isn’t my style”, “this is weird”, “no thank you” I could buy a house. Stop fearing that which doesn’t fit into your tiny little box and admire that which is different. It also wouldn’t hurt if social media platforms would stop decreasing visibility to artists’ selling posts – if we aren’t seen, we can’t sell. So many artists aren’t able to make a full time living because platforms expect us to boost posts and pay for advertising that hardly reaches our target audiences anyway. We just want to share our art with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.minervamoonseporium.com
• Instagram: minerva_moon_girl
• Other: Modeling FB page: Minerva Moon Cosplay and Modeling Artist FB page: Minerva Moon’s Emporium Artist IG: minervamoonsemporium

Image Credits
RSII Photography