I'm Jonnie Andersen-Sack and I started JohnnyVintage on Etsy in 2008. My love of thrifting, going to auctions and dumpster diving led me to a house full of vintage goodness I decided finally to part with. Part of detaching myself from this hoarding lifestyle was photographing the stuff before I parted with it, and I finally realized that it was photography which was responsible for making me feel free, unburdening me from amassing too many collectibles, knick knacks and "velveteen rabbits." I love sharing the stuff I find with others and love it when they send their own photographs of the way they display or use my finds. Because I've been doing exactly what I love, my shop took off and I found myself selling to rockstars and other celebs, and being featured on blogs (Oh Joy, Apartment Therapy, and more) and in magazines (Country Living, Thrift Store Decor, and more).
I had always been a fan of creating with junk and found objects. I studied art after high school at the University of Nebraska and later earned my Master's degree in photography from Yale University.
I lived a quite eccentric and eclectic life, preferring always to pursue jobs where I would learn something over a "straight line" philosophy. Over the years, I've earned 22 national championships in horseback riding which led to a stint as a horse trainer, as well as some time in Colorado working with handicapped youth on a ranch. I stumbled into an accidental career as a professional boxer while I was working at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas as a cocktail waitress. I worked for an interior designer who did the design for palaces in the Middle East. I've been a photography professor at UNLV, CSN and the Art Institute. I've worked as a professional welder, and plans are being made for some large-scale sculpture. My granny was a third generation seamstress who taught me to sew, and sewing eventually turned into a passion for designing clothing, interior goods and upholstery work. All of this adds up, for me, to a visual searching for truth. I find making things, building things, seeing things (as in photography) is the only way to express myself fully. My photographic work has been shown in Las Vegas, Omaha, New Haven and NYC and my work was featured on the cover of the Los Angeles Times digital edition in 2008.
You can contact me via my facebook page, on etsy, or via my email:
jonnie_andersen@hotmail.com
