After years of living in and converting camper vans, Abbe Minor naturally became part of a community of people in San Diego working on similar projects.
One friend was working on a big red van. Another was building a space where every interior detail was orange with a 1980s psychedelic theme.
The 24-year-old told Business Insider that this community offered her a version of "la-la land," a place where boundaries were limitless and challenging the norm was welcomed.
So, she set out to do just that for her most recent van-conversion project. In April 2023, she purchased a bold yellow 2022 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
For the next nine months, she designed and built a space that's just as much functional as it is artistic. She used Moroccan plaster to create organic, curved walls, and handmade Spanish tiles line the shower.
The space screams luxury — and so does the price tag. By the end of the conversion, Minor said she spent $140,000 on the build. Today, she values the van at $235,000.
It's an investment she said she doesn't regret.
"I wanted to learn new skills and create something that scared me," she said. "At the core of all this is art."
A bit more about me
Hey there, I’m Abbe Rose Minor, and I’m a little bit of everything—a van builder, adventurer, author, and content creator.
Much of how I ended up where I am stemmed from an unconventional upbringing. My family owns and runs a large campground back in my hometown of Stafford, Connecticut, where I spent nearly every day growing up. Both of my parents were incredibly resourceful—my mother running the financial side of the business, and my father running the utility end of the business. Between the two of them, there was no problem that didn’t have a solution.
Naturally, this mentality became my norm.
From a young age, I gravitated towards art and design, and as I grew older, the campground became a blank canvas for me to exercise that proclivity. And so, I began my building career renovating old RVs, park models, and cabins, wiring my brain for construction, and learning the basics of my building dictionary. Of course, I’m an entrepreneur at heart, and through days of small-scale building, I decided I wanted to take my knack to the next level, and completed my education at UConn earning a B.S. in Real Estate Investment. During these years, I stumbled into an opportunity that would take me down a path I could have never imagined: Building my first Sprinter van.
I’ve since road-tripped to 48 of the 50 states, formed lifelong friendships within the van building community, built a platform to share my work with the world, and most importantly, supported myself by doing what I love.
My goal is to push boundaries in van design and reshape the way people view living spaces, large or small. Your environment shapes your life; it influences how you feel and reflects who you are. If you want to feel clear, calm, safe, and inspired, your space should be a sanctuary. Each of my vans feels like a rolling, functional piece of art. Every edge cut, surface adorned, and detail thoughtfully chosen blends form and function into a harmonious whole.
