JannaK

I'm a 30-something photographer/painter/,mixed media artist in Canada who adores sending and receiving snail mail. :). I'm an active member of Postcrossing, IUOMA (International Union of Mail Artists), Letter Writiers Alliance and Swap-bot of course! I love all the wonderful and creative things that end up in my mailbox. :)

My website is for my wedding photography business; while anyone can pose people, I excel at capturing the decisive moment, and the subtle emotions that people tend to cherish. I love photographing weddings because there are always so many true emotional moments, from not just the bride and groom but everyone attending. In 2014 I decided I wanted to spend more time painting and mixed media art for myself, so my business is on a hiatus at the moment, but the love for photography is still close to my heart.

I also have a full time career as a pilot. I fly for a regional carrier in Canada, and we fly mainly to fly-in only First Nations communities. I love this kind of flying, the challenges it brings and also the sense of accomplishment from it (flying in the north is not a matter of convenience but of necessity.)

In terms of random trivia, the things I love most are my husband and 8 year old son, cats (especially Bengals), bright colours, jazz and blues, traveling (especially cruises!), yoga (if I can do it you can too- I'm a reformed yoga skeptic!), reading (read all the books!!!) and painting. :). I'm also a firm believer in random acts of kindness and paying it forward. Be the good you wish to see in the world!

Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, The Tiger's Wife, the Divergent series, The Night Circus, Outliers, The Namesake, The Dinner, The Goldfinch

I don't watch it much but I loved Weeds when it was on, and enjoy Glee even though I'm not really into musical theatre. Breaking Bad... just wow! Orange is the New Black also captivates. Anything that opens my eyes to a side of life unlike my own seems to keep my interest the best. ;)

In no particular order my eye is drawn to...sugar skulls, "artsy" stuff (pens, ink, paintbrushes, etc), anything ocean related but especially stingrays and crabs, perfume bottles, cameras, airplanes, pretty jewelery, anything yoga related, lotus blossoms, buddhas, cats, cherry and watermelon motifs. :). I like Hello Kitty for reasons I can't quite explain. And I adore Barbapapas! They aren't common here whatsoever so any Barbapapas themed stuff would pretty much make my year. :)

As for colours, I adore cadmium yellow the most of all, but I love almost every colour equally, except perhaps beige (which I equate with giving up. Sorry beige lovers!)

I love postage stamps, especially modern ones! I love civilian airplane stamps (think Boeing 737 versus an F-18 fighter), and stamps from obscure little islands (Falkland Islands, Cape Verde, Pitcairn, etc.). Finland has a lot of great stamps it seems, but anything bright and new, or even bright and old are extra special to me. :)

Stickers from around the globe, art papers, paper "stuff" (it can be old, as long as it's not really musty smelling-allergies make it too tricky to work with), postcards and adcards (yes! adcards!!! Love them!), papers with non-English text (even junk mail and receipts), maps, rubber stamps or Lino cuts, washi tape, foreign stamps. Shiny, sparkly and bizarre also fit the bill. :)

I'm quite liberal and open to almost everything, however I strongly dislike country kitsch, dogs (sorry to you dog people-it's not personal), babies/dolls, and bible/scripture items. Thanks for respecting my wishes.

These shipping notes do not apply to most of you! However, once in awhile I think we need a reminders that yes, there really are good people left in the world, and the mail system just isn't awesome everywhere on the planet!

My dear swapping friends, there as some shipping details you should know:

• I am located in Canada. Great country, mediocre mail service, with slow delivery times (compared to other developed nations that is.)

• if you haven't received a piece from me within a reasonable time frame (this may be more than 2 weeks), PLEASE contact me before rating! I love swapping, and find joy in sending my swaps, so I never flake! (Sadly I have been flaked on and it's so disappointing.) In terms of pieces being lost, only one ATC swap I've mailed has ever gone missing, which puts the odds at less than 1% of it not reaching you. And I was happy to replace it, so technically that means 100% success. Hooray!

• USA swappers, I must reiterate, it OFTEN takes more than 2 weeks for letters or small parcels to reach you! This is beyond my control, so I would really appreciate a couple days grace or a message to contact me before you automatically give me a 1 (it's happened before- and subsequently been resolved, with 5s and even hearts, upon seeing the postmark and realizing that yes, Canada Post really can be absurdly slow!) If you worry a lot about not receiving something from me/Canada in general, at the magical two week mark, then you should probably just stick to regional swaps. ;)

-Like many swappers, I do not mail my swap the day partners are assigned but rather I use most or all of the allotted time. Even if it's a start in advance thing; I usually wait to finish it with preferred colours or styles to challenge myself a bit and to customize to the receiver! :) It's a good thing; I want to send you something lovely and for me that usually takes several days to think upon and complete. Opinions will vary but most of the time it's worth the wait. :)

-Thanks to everyone who has swapped with me or shall in the future. It's a great community we have here and I love being a part of it!

If you skimmed the very top part, you may have missed that I'm a pilot. That means I sometimes go several days, and occasionally a week between my logins here (sometimes it's two weeks during our busiest times-that's during June and December and sometimes just the odd, busy work stretch for reasons I can't begin to explain!)

All of my current swap deadlines are in my iPhone calendar so I can keep track of them without logging on so don't panic if it's been a few days without a login. I'm probably just busy working a few time zones away from my own bed and trying to spend my minimum rest time between shifts actually resting. ;). And if I'm away I can't rate, but it's the first thing I do when I'm off and one of the things I look very much forward to when I get home! :)

IMPORTANT: December is extraordinarily busy in my line of work (aviation- all the mail and presents and guests need people like me to get them home for the holidays!), mail volume triples and as a result I am choosing not to participate in any December swaps (except perhaps towards the very end). I very much look forward to January and swapping then. So if I haven't been online during the darkest days of winter, it's not been for lack of desire. I'll be back soon! :). Jan xo