Meet JoAnne McGrath | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with JoAnne McGrath and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi JoAnne, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Truthfully I wasn’t thinking about starting a business. During the pandemic, like a lot of us, I spent a lot of time on YouTube just watching content that interested me. I found myself watching a lot of furniture flipping videos. I have always been an artist and a painter and felt sure I could do something in that area. I wound up getting a desk for myself from Facebook marketplace (for a really low price) and flipped my first piece of furniture. I liked it so much I acquired a few more pieces. Some were very inexpensive. Some were free. I sold my first two pieces and was thrilled. When I realized I could get furniture for free, breathe new life into it and sell it like new while saving it from going into a landfill, I was hooked.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
So my artistic endeavors have not been in a straight and obvious line. When I was still in high school (a lifetime ago) I started getting hired by other students to do portraits in pencil. It was a side hustle before we had the term “side hustle”. Years later I was involved in a running underground event that featured artists, musicians, fashion designers and models. And at one point a friend’s baby shower inspired me to write and illustrate my first children’s book, “The Pig that Loved Pizza”. The truth is I wrote the book and dedicated it to the baby as an alternative to attending the shower. For some reason baby showers and bridal showers aren’t my thing. But hey, it inspired a book!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am a lover of Toluca Lake. It’s such a pleasant village in the Valley close to Warner Brothers studios. I would start off the day with a stroll down Riverside to Priscilla’s coffee. It’s a great place with a wonderful staff who really gets to know all the regulars. Even all the regulars get to know all the regulars. It’s great to go with friends or by yourself to finish up that script or drawing you’ve been working on. During the day we could duck out of the heat and catch an independent film over at the Laemle NoHo 7. Yes I still like to go to the movie theater. We could pop back to Toluca Lake for dinner at Hungry Crowd. The food is great. I highly recommend the mushroom risotto. The owner really cares about this place and it shows in the food and the service. This place is warm and friendly with no pretentiousness. Lastly I would head over to Spin the Bottle for a glass of wine. Another great neighborhood spot that is always brining with locals in a good mood and the staff knows wine and will happily let you taste some samples to help you find something you’ll love. Toluca Lake is definitely a neighborhood not to be missed.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Along the way, different things and people inspire me to create new art in whatever form I make it. With regard to furniture flipping; hands down, I owe a lot to Lauren Hull, the Furniture Flipping Teacher on YouTube. I’ve never met her in person. But her generosity in sharing everything she was learning as she got into this field was invaluable to me and a lot of other people whom she influenced.

Instagram: @joflipsit

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@callmeacab?si=5xtblEOQ6OUyhXjt

Image Credits
All photos taken by me.