Carmen Shenk

Carmen Shenk is a artist, entrepreneur, and communicator weaving a more inclusive Anabaptist faith through spiritual practice, journaling, blogging, and vlogging.

Embracing purposeful simplicity gave them the opportunity to breathe, heal, and build an intentional and meaningful life together.

Shenk began blogging about her experienced in their tiny haven-home and that became her first book: Kitchen Simplicity. More great resources on embracing simplicity in the kitchen cane be found at TinyHouseFoodie.com.

In 2017 they purchased a Ford F450 turtle shell shuttle bus with 128 sq ft of living space and transformed it into a recreation vehicle that they called “Vinney” short for Vincent, my Van that Goghs.

In 2019, Shenk also began using the lessons she learned from living in a tiny house to transform a 660 sq ft small house on a foundation into a beautiful haven-home to the pair of them, their sweet dog, and their home offices.

Later she would distill the primary lessons of purposeful simplicity into a new book titled “The Simplicity Mindset: Living Purposefully in Contentment“.

In 2022, Shenk began her seminary education at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in Harrisonburg, Virginia working toward a Masters of Divinity.

In January of 2023, Shenk was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer and began treatment. She rang the bell in April of 2024 having completed 20 rounds of radiation and 18 rounds of chemo. Her final surgery was in May of 2024 and she is very grateful to report that she is currently cancer free and slowly regaining her strength.

Shenk is a fiber artist passionate about color and yarn, and weaving and sewing with recycled cloth. Her home and wardrobe are full of rich dopamine colors and handmade textiles! And most of the time her hair is also extra-colorful. Connect with her color-rich world on Instagram: @CarmenRoseShenk