Inspired by their songwriter mother’s blend of creativity and religion, Joan’s six daughters and two daughters-in-law started the Catholic-themed jewelry business in 2006. They recently started a blog post on their website chronicling their religious reflections as well as adventures in motherhood.
They are Dayton’s “Satellite Sisters of the Soul” — writing from their homes all over the Dayton/Cincinnati area, sharing daily doses of real-life wisdom and learning, in the process, so much about each other.
“I have been amazed and astonished at my four sister-in-laws’ very beautiful, inspired writing about their families and about their faith,” said Laurie Minardi of Beavercreek, who is married to Mike Minardi. “The stories they have been sharing over these months, I actually never quite heard verbalized although I should have been aware of each of their spirituality and closeness to God. But when I read what the four of them write, at times, I am moved to tears. I have been very uplifted by their columns. And I have learned more about each of them through their writing. I can see and hear a large part of their mom and dad quietly speaking though them in their writing.”
The sisters also continue to be inspired by the steadfast faith of their father, John Minardi, a retired University of Dayton professor and research engineer. But Minardi gives all the credit to his late wife, who died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 65. “It’s all due to their wonderful mother!” he said.
Patty Borgman of Miamisburg said the blog is a way to create a “corner store” atmosphere, even though the business doesn’t have a physical storefront. “It’s a way to get to know our customers better and for them to know us,” siad her sister, Sue Webster of Cincinnati.
Using mom’s words
For years the siblings had kicked around the idea of a family business, and during a brainstorming session in 2006 they hit upon the idea of creating Christian-themed jewelry using recast vintage Catholic medals as well as contemporary jewels and beads.
They chose the name from a popular Catholic song that their mother was fond of singing: “On this day, O Beautiful Mother/On this day, we give thee our love/Near thee Madonna, fondly we hover/Trusting thy gentle care to prove.”
Borgman noted, “In a letter to artists, Pope John Paul II talked about the idea of beauty being a reflection of God, and something worth trying to achieve. He talked about creativity as a spark of our image and likeness of God.”
Borgman, an artist, often posts very visual blogs, such as her recent calligraphy of one of her mother’s song lyrics: “No matter what be the situation, I lift my arms in adoration, and sing with jubilation praises to God.”
In the accompanying blog Borgman wrote, “If you have been reading our blog posts you may have noticed that our Mom’s spiritual life has had a great influence on all of us. One of the many ways she loved to praise God was through song. She used to tell me that when I found myself worrying to sing instead because that would fill my head with prayer instead of worry. Although it might sound simplistic, I have found this to be great advice throughout my adult years and it has helped me get through some pretty difficult stuff.”
John and Joan Minardi’s eight children have 49, count ‘em, children of their own, so you might think they’re too busy for a small family business. Sometimes On This Day Designs president Nancy Findley of Cincinnati — mother of 11, grandmother of two — thinks the same thing. “There have been a couple of times when I thought maybe this was a lot of work for a little reward,” she confessed. “But then we have had people tell us, ‘I gave that bracelet to my sister with cancer, and she hasn’t taken it off.’ That makes it all worthwhile.”
Since she’s already confessing — hey, it’s what we Catholics do — Findley goes on to admit that writing a blog every week can be a challenge as well. “We talk about how hard the blogging is, but then I realize that I have created this tiny journal of my family life that I’ve always wanted to have but never could find the time to do.”
‘Spirituality behind the piece’
The company's website, www.onthisdaydesigns.com, touts the jewelry as "the melding of our faith and fashion." The blog strives for the same balance, often mentioning the meaning of a particular piece of jewelry. Laurie Minardi recently created a necklace, with a vintage medal of St. Francis and a contemporary medal of Pope Francis, to honor the new Pontiff and his namesake. "I like the customers to know the spirituality behind the piece, or the way a particular medal has touched me," she explained.
Just as often, the sisters write about the joys and challenges of day-to-day life. None are professional writers, but I have noted with surprise — and more than a little chagrin — how beautifully and succinctly they write, taking a small detail and drawing upon it to illuminate a greater truth. Webster recently asked, “Where’s fun mom?” in a blog that lamented that her three younger children didn’t get the same exuberant young mother as the first three.
Carolyn Petrick of Kettering recently wrote a column that was ostensibly about her granddaughter Jazlynn’s love of dandelions. “Not sure when our perspective on dandelions changes but at some point, for most of us, we lose the wonder of blowing off dandelion seeds and just see the weed,” she wrote.
“This got me thinking that I’m feeling a little ‘weedy’ about myself. Lately, I’ve been looking through negative eyes. Holding onto some regrets from the past and worries about the future. Things are changing, kids are growing up and with age the body is getting baggy and saggy. I’m seeing the beauty in others but not in myself. But, in Jazlynn’s love of dandelions, I’m reminded that in God’s eyes I’m beautiful and I need to be open to the breath of His Spirit, blowing me out to do His will.”
About the Author