I have a passion for music, particularly the violin. I love it's versatility—from classical, to celtic, to bluegrass—gender and class mean nothing to the violin. All types of people play this instrument, from the very wealthy to the "barely getting by," from the very young to the very old, and everything in between. The variety of people choosing to have their image captured forever while holding a violin is fascinating to me. I love the way the instrument looks, and sounds, and feels, and smells. This Etsy Shop is the marriage of my love for both vintage photography and the violin.

I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education and minored in Photography. The history of photography, in particular, has always fascinated me. Since it's invention in 1839, new processes and developments quickly surpassed previous technology. In it's brief 173 years, there have been many changes. We have witnessed one such development in our life time, with the advent of digital photography. Many High School students today have little knowledge of any photography process prior to digital photography. Sad, but true.

I started collecting vintage photography while I was teaching a unit on the History of Photography to my High School Art Students. I wanted to pass images around the classroom as we were learning about each photographic process (so much more fun than reading about them in books!)—so we looked at a real Daguerreotype, a real Ambrotype, real Tintypes, and real Cabinet Cards and Carte de Visites. I wanted my students to see these beautiful images in person, to touch them, and feel them, and smell them—in order to plant the seed of love in my students for these early photographic processes that no longer exist.

Collecting antique photographs (and selling them to support my habit!) became a passion that rolled into my "summer job" each year when school let out. It is now my full time passion.