An Introduction: Nancie Rowe Janitz, Ephemera Hoarder

Hello! I'm Nancie and I am a hoarder. A hoarder of all things paper and vintage. If you came into my studio right now, you would be a bit taken aback by the stacks of old magazines, maps and vintage Christmas, Birthday & Easter cards that are piled on my floor. I can't help myself! I'm a sucker for the old lettering style and hand-drawn graphics.

I am in love with anything shabby. Shabby Chic is not chic, you say? Nonsense! I think worn rose patterned fabrics, stitching, old shutters with peeling paint and especially magazine ads from the Victorian era are just beautiful. When I'm not paying the bills by creating paper and digital art, I like to dabble in mixed media, often using my vintage ephemera in my collage pieces.

I was thrilled when Emily asked me to be a part of Seven Magpies and I'm hoping to find treasures to blog about and inspire you in your own love of antiquities. As a young girl, I had an antique bedroom set with an old maple bookcase. I loved polishing that bookcase and running my fingers over the detailed scrolls in the wood. I believe it was in my bedroom, those many years ago, where I first began to appreciate things from another era.

When I'm not in my studio, I am at home with my husband John, my daughter Ellie (an equestrian student of Emily's), a neurotic corgi called Sonny, a fiesty yellow lab named Genevieve and an orange tabby named Fuzzy. We live in Plymouth in a 1960's quad on three quarters of an acre of mature trees. In the summertime, I have a veggie garden and love to make my own pesto. You may frequently see me in Ann Arbor at my favorite shoppe for vintage treasures (Found in Kerrytown), grabbing a nosh at Zingerman's or visiting Hollanders book arts store. I dream about someday restoring a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and joining a caravan out west with Sister's On The Fly to fly fish, drive cattle or attend cowgirl college.

I am an artist, a mom, a foodie, family historian, book lover, Words with Friends maven and advocate for daydreaming whenever possible.