We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amy Johnson (Atomic_Monroe) a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Amy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

They definitely taught me the value of hard work, they never just gave me things, they made me work for it. My very first baby doll I can remember wanting around the age of 5, my mom said if you want that doll you can do dishes until you pay it off, and I did!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi I’m Amy, ( AKA: Atomic_Monroe) and this is my pinup story! I’m not really sure where exactly the path that led me into pinup modeling really began, but I guess I would have to say that growing up, my mom loved antiques, and and she would drag us into antique stores all over to browse, and I guess that’s where my love of vintage fashion, and retro decor, all started. In my 20’s, I began to dress in a slightly more retro fashion, and started slowly collecting vintage clothing, and home decor items. As social media, especially YouTube started to become popular, I started watching more channels specifically related to vintage fashion and decor, and began to realize what a large community of vintage lovers there were out in the wild. For a while I thought I was the only one dressing in 1950’s fashions, especially in the small rural community I grew up in. This really opened my eyes to more possibilities, and that’s when I started my vintage Instagram and TikTok channels, I wanted to feature the products I promoted, bought, thrifted and anything antique or vintage/ vintage inspired. My hope was that my channels would be a happy place that other people who were interested in dressing vintage or decorating there homes retro style would find some helpful inspiration. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge advocate for reduce, reuse, recycle, and buying second hand, antiques, or thrifting, can ultimately help reduce our future carbon footprints. I think what sets me apart from others is definitely my style, I tend to always do my hair in a “ Marilyn Monroe-esque “ style everyday, even when I’m not modeling, and because people always comment on my hair looking similar to Marilyn’s, that’s ultimately what led me to my pinup name (Atomic_Monroe)that and the fact that I love things atomic and mid century modern. I think I’m most proud of slowly growing my social media channels, I so much enjoy all the sweet comments I get from within the community such as “ my mom had that dish/picture/ hairstyle/ decoration growing up- it’s a way for people to share the wonderful memories of days gone by, and the people who’s lives touch each and every one of us, either through their story’s, or their belongings we are lucky enough to thrift or antique. Another thing I’m most proud about for 2023 was that I was lucky enough to be featured in a popular pinup magazine this year, and I was ecstatic to have been featured in a full page spread! I feel like the Dita Von Teese of the Midwest! I think what I want most people to take away from this article is to just be you, don’t worry what everyone else is saying, or what the “trends” say is in, or out, or what you should be doing or wearing, if you want to decorate or dress 1950’s/60’s/70’s/80’s… etc… you do you, be unique- there is no one else like you, and that’s what makes this crazy world go around!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think the story’s that we get to hear from subscribers- story’s about items that they have thrifted or bought at an antique store or sharing a story about someone in their own family is always special to hear about.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

On one of my photoshoots with a 1928 Ford Trimotor airplane I was stepping out of the plane, the heel of my shoe caught on the step and I fell forward arms outstretched to stop my fall and I broke my right arm. I got up, dusted off, and went on with my shoot, despite being in so much pain ( I thought I just sprained and dislocated it, later on with X-rays it was determined I had fractured it) I wasn’t able to go in to get it checked until two days later. The following day after the photoshoot I wrapped it up and went to my next event which was a jazz riverboat cruise. As they say, beauty is pain, and the show must go on.., broken arm and all!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/littlemnvintage?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==
• TikTok: @atomic_monroe150

Image Credits
Evilsmilephotography Southerntouchphotography