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A TRIBUTE TO
Nancy Houseknecht 

Nancy Houseknecht was the Art Direc­tor for joey notes and an award-winning graphic designer with over twenty years of experience. Many joey notes designs reflect Nancy's considerable skills as an illustrator and her lifelong passion for children's book illustrations. She put the whimsy in •elegant whimsy ." Sadly, Nan­cy lost her life to non-Hodgkin's lympho­ma in 2017. We miss her creative spark, keen eye, and steady spirit.

After graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in fine art, Nancy joined the creative department of Residential and Dining Programs at the university as a graphic artist, and worked as a free­lancer for Trigon BlueCross BlueShiels in Roanoke. As a graphic designer for First 

Virginia Banks, Inc., Nancy designed ma­terials for all of their branches in three states. In 1998, she moved to Staunton and joined Folio Design, then branching out to form her own company, nhouse graphics. After several success­ful years working alone, she returned to Folio's collaborative atmosphere, assum­ing the role of Art Director. When Mar­sha Vayvada, president of Folio Design, launched joey notes in 2008, Nancy be­gan art directing for the fledgling com­pany as well. A natural onstage, she was influential in the local theater communi­ty, and also worked as a graphic design­er for the American Shakespeare Center for several years before her passing. 

A TRIBUTE TO
Nancy Houseknecht 

Nancy Houseknecht was the Art Direc­tor for joey notes and an award-winning graphic designer with over twenty years of experience. Many joey notes designs reflect Nancy's considerable skills as an illustrator and her lifelong passion for children's book illustrations. She put the whimsy in •elegant whimsy ." Sadly, Nan­cy lost her life to non-Hodgkin's lympho­ma in 2017. We miss her creative spark, keen eye, and steady spirit.

After graduating from Virginia Tech with a degree in fine art, Nancy joined the creative department of Residential and Dining Programs at the university as a graphic artist, and worked as a free­lancer for Trigon BlueCross BlueShiels in Roanoke. As a graphic designer for First Virginia Banks, Inc., Nancy designed ma­terials for all of their branches in three states. In 1998, she moved to Staunton and joined Folio Design, then branching out to form her own company, nhouse graphics. After several success­ful years working alone, she returned to Folio's collaborative atmosphere, assum­ing the role of Art Director. When Mar­sha Vayvada, president of Folio Design, launched joey notes in 2008, Nancy be­gan art directing for the fledgling com­pany as well. A natural onstage, she was influential in the local theater communi­ty, and also worked as a graphic design­er for the American Shakespeare Center for several years before her passing. 


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SYMPATHY card

Lovely Bird Blossom card offers a sweet sentiment to someone who's lost a loved one. "What is lovely never dies but passes onto other loveliness."

bird blossom

SYMPATHY card

Lovely Bird Blossom card offers a sweet sentiment to someone who's lost a loved one. "What is lovely never dies but passes onto other loveliness."

bird blossom

Fantasy vs Reality: Imagination Wins

     I'm in the business of making attractive things. With joey notes, the illustrations are beautiful, sentiments are lovely, and there's a clever reveal. My job is to elevate the mundane to something special, something beautiful, to make art. Our "Fishies" note card is a prime example of how we re-imagine reality here at joey notes.

     Sometimes that's a bit of a stretch. My recent real world experience with fish brought home just how disparate reality and fantasy can be. Contrary to what our charming "Fishies" card might suggest, fish make a mess. They fight and their sole purpose is apparently to create gross, stinking, murky tank water.

     I am a fish owner. We went to our local pet store, Pets & Pals, when our tank was too cloudy to see through. (Water testing is a valuable and free service performed in the store—just bring an H2O sample from your tank.) After testing our water sample, results showed our ph was too low, our ammonia too high, and our nitrates were in the unsafe zone. The employee who did the test was blunt. "You add another fish and it'll be dead by morning." We went home armed with the appropriate tools to reclaim our tank.

     Two weeks later we're back in the store with the same problems— gross, stinking, murky tank water. "Gold fish are such pigs," summed up the sales manager from Pets & Pals after reviewing the result of yet another water test from our fish tank..

     We own a simple 10 gallon tank, a filtration system, an algae eater, and one gold fish. I cleaned and scrubbed that tank until it sparkled. Then I added fresh water only to discover that I got rid of all the "good algae." Really? Seriously. Should owning a fish be this hard? I'm giving it a month. Okay, well maybe a little longer. I"ll add the pH drops and the Algae Gone packet and maybe a new filtration system couldn't hurt …but that's it. I think. Possibly.

     The upside of this woeful tale is that after I spend hours with my arms submerged in muck I am grateful to be back in my office. Back to a place that smells good. Back to making art. Back to creating what is beautiful, lovely, and pure— a place where goldfish aren't such pigs. You know, fantasy almost always trumps reality.

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