You came here because you like old stuff and weird places, right? Awesome, me too. That’s why I created this blog. So, who is the Atomic Redhead? Well, that would be me, Janey, and my pronouns are she/her. Since I can remember I’ve loved old stuff. From the corseted Victorian era to the groovy 1970s. And that pretty much sums up my aesthetic and this blog right there. Here you’re going to find abandoned places, tourist traps, stellar architecture, museums, old signs, my spin on vintage fashion, vintage home, history lessons (don’t worry, they are about fun and weird things), and trips to amusement parks, because, hey, I live in sunny southern California, with three stellar amusement parks within 35 miles of me. Oh, I’m also a bit of a geek, and love attending comic conventions – aka Cons. I’m a complex person.

Oh, you wanted a bit more of a bio? Okay then. I was born in Oregon of an Idahoan and a Californian who were antique dealers. I grew up on a healthy diet of I Dream of Jeannie and The Munsters, classic cars in the garage, and cutting my teeth at flea markets and thrift stores. I began wearing vintage clothing in middle school, and began buying and restoring vintage furniture in high school, amassing a collection of Heywood-Wakefield and a cabinet full of Franciscan Starburst before I was 18. It all came in handy when I got my first place. In college I learned I could turn my passion for history into a degree. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a BA in, you guessed it, history, I married my high school sweetheart, Patrick (he’s a key player here on the blog – designer, coder, and the man behind the camera if I’m in front of it), and we settled in Portland, where I followed in my parents footsteps and became an antique dealer, while also doing work with vintage clothing stores as a shop girl and model. After living with the rain for over 20 years it was time for a change, and we moved to southern California in 2014, and later buying our first home, a 1954 ranch located just one mile from Disneyland. After a brief stint as a Cast Member at the Disneyland Resort, I decided to dedicate myself fully to this blog, and to finding the most unique places to share and the craziest of history to bring to life.

A note when it comes to being a part of the “vintage community” and “vintage living.” This blog is pretty old when it comes to the world of blogging. I started this blog back in 2009, and there is a fairly large evolution over the years. I went from wearing vintage more on the weekends and special events, to wearing it daily, attempting period perfect looks, and being very active within the Portland vintage community. Eventually, and even more so after the move to California, I used vintage clothing as a stepping stone to develop my own personal style, mixing and matching eras and adding new pieces in the mix, and as a result have felt less and less a part of the vintage community. The home Patrick and I have however is still nearly all vintage furnishings, and that is what I mean by “vintage living”  or “My Vintage Life” – living with vintage things, or using vintage items on a daily basis. But just because I love the aesthetics of days gone by does not mean I “feel like I was born in the wrong era” or wish I could live in the past. Every time period, no matter how beautiful the clothes or architecture, has its issues and extreme problems. With a degree in history, I recognize the problematic issues of the times in which the things I love so much come from, and do not reflect what are known as “vintage values” such as racism, homophobia, and traditional gender roles.

Interviews

“Meet Janey Ellis, a Mid-Century Woman in a Very Modern World” – Antique Trader, January, 2022
“Cherished + Personalized 50s Wonderland” – Atomic Ranch. Originally published in Vintage Holiday magazine, November, 2017
“Meet a Fellow Vintage Blogger” – Chronically Vintage, July, 2016