Joy Teiken | Fashion Designer, Joynoëlle

“I always wanted to be a fashion designer, but I was born into a very practical family,” Joy Teiken explains of her roundabout entree into a couture career. “It really started in 1989. I was still in college. My brother was getting married and my mother was dying from breast cancer, and at that time the wigs available were very bad and very hot. So I found a vintage dress at a thrift store in a fabric that matched my mother’s dress, and I made her a hat.” Still, it would be more than 10 years before Teiken launched Joynoëlle, her bridal, ready-to-wear, and demi-couture collections that feature hand-sewn details and sumptuous textiles.

Instead, she became an art teacher. “Teaching was great, but I never thought it was the right thing for me,” she says. When a handful of students asked her to teach a fashion design class, Teiken was at first hesitant. “I didn’t know how to sew. But I taught myself as I created lessons for the students, and it was very, very successful.”

Ultimately, the class pushed her to pursue her passion. Starting with hats and quickly adding a line of handbags, Teiken traveled the art-fair circuit and sold her wares at a handful of local boutiques. After three years, she jumped into the business full time. “I had people coming to me asking for wedding dresses. That was the first real item of clothing I ever made.” Her bridal gowns continue to be a main reason people visit her atelier in south Minneapolis, but it is her singular aesthetic that keeps clients coming back, requesting everything from beautiful coats created out of upholstery-style fabrics to elegant evening dresses fashioned out of vintage kimonos.

No matter what she designs, Teiken cites the process of working with clients as the most thrilling aspect of her craft. “They come into the atelier with a basic idea of what they are looking for, but the dress or coat really evolves during the creative process. Fabric is always the starting point, but the fabric changes and takes shape differently on every person, and the individual’s character and personality always plays into the design.” Custom-made coats start at $600. 312 W. 42nd St., Mpls., 612-209-7822, joynoelle.com