Born in Ogden, Utah, Jo says she owes her dreams to parents who were honest, good people who worked hard and taught their two daughters to be and do the same. Her mother, who she believes is wiser than her educated years, made her believe that there wasn't anything she couldn't accomplish-she simply needed to learn how. If someone else could do it or succeed at it, she could too-it was as simple as that.
Jo graduated with honors with a double major in Child Development and Art from the University of California at Sacramento while her first husband was attending law school. After graduating, they moved back to Ogden and Jo opened Apple Arts, a retail store that sold art supplies. After deciding that the retail industry wasn't for her, Jo started the Vanessa-Ann Collection with very little money, a good idea, and an uncontrollable passion.
Twenty-one years later, she has served two terms as Vice President of the National Needlework Association, was honored with the YWCA's first "Business of the Year" Award, has received numerous awards within the industry for prize-winning photography, and has traveled around the country teaching and consulting. She has authored approximately 20 of her own books and has been responsible for the publication of over 200 titles which have been designed and written by over 100 individual authors.
Jo, now with her daughter, is also co-owner of Ruby & Begonia, a retail gift and home décor establishment in Ogden, Utah, which boasts "an embarrassment of riches". The White Fig, also co-owned by Jo, is "a most unusual gift basket company".
Jo has a son, a daughter, and a son-in-law, all of whom she adores more than words can describe. She is renovating a home built in 1929, where she lives with her husband and his aquarium, her daughter's 5 cats, and her son's dog.
Jo says she has been blessed with both the best of times and the worst of times, which she believes is needed to make people understand and appreciate all that life has to offer.
