Collecting Story: Fran Hoepfner

Fran Hoepfner of Vulture and Fran Magazine shares the stories behind some collected treasures

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Collecting Stories is a feature of Landline that invites guests to share meaningful objects from their lives or work and tell the stories behind them. You can submit your own collecting story here.

Name: Fran Hoepfner

Bio: I'm a senior news writer for Vulture in New York City and the editor-in-chief of Fran Magazine. I grew up in a house full of tchotchkes and have spent most of my adult life, so long as I'm making enough money to feed myself, collecting strange and endearing odds and ends.

Describe your collection: I have so many fun little objects all over my apartment with little rhyme or reason beyond a personal investment in them. I wanted to pick out items from the collection that I look at every single day due to their placement in my home and my personal fondness for them.

Object 1: Three vintage Life Savers ads

My mom worked in marketing before she had kids, and she spent much of my childhood identifying good advertising and bad advertising. In turn, whenever I get roped into thrifting with friends, I skip the stuffy acrylic sweaters and go right for the ads and prints. There's a whole wealth of vintage magazine ads for Coca-Cola and cigarettes (two things I love but barely indulge in anymore), but more rare and delightful to me are the old Life Savers ads. I have minimal vices, but candy - especially fruity, gummy candy - is a big one. These hang in my bedroom wall. You may notice that a few of the hanging objects in this collection are crooked. My apartment is actually on a slant, making it nearly impossible to achieve any uniformity with wall art. I actually have a fourth Life Savers ad I've yet to put up on the wall, but I will soon - and I mean it this time!

Object 2: Chicago Sun Times Nancy matchbook

I love love LOVE Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy cartoons. I have a number of his assorted anthologies and various Nancy paraphernalia (more to come) and even a Nancy tattoo on my right bicep. For my birthday, my friend Marian got me this vintage Chicago Sun Times matchbook with Nancy on the inside. I'm from Chicago - though grew up reading the Tribune - so there's an extra nice bit of nostalgia to the item. I love "Smile and chuckle seven days a week at Nancy" because I basically do that now following an account that reposts old cartoons on Twitter. This sits on my desk for display only.

Object 3: Nancy Paper Doll

My friend Cameron got me this Nancy paper doll which is both adorable and modestly terrifying. I believe this is from the 1970s, so it's a later version of Nancy than the original Bushmiller cartoons. She's got a slightly rounded face and bigger head overall - more cartoonish, in a sense. Because it's a paper doll, the Nancy on the flipside is in her undies (which I've omitted for her own protection). I have this hanging up in the window of my office, so if you find yourself looking up in Brooklyn, you may see her one day.

Object 4: Kissin' Don't Last!

This was a housewarming gift from my friend Lucy when my now-fiancé and I moved in together three years ago. Lucy is an estate sale pro and picks up great little objects constantly. I like the threatening undertones of the ceramic plaque - especially because arguably kissing should outlast cooking? We have this hung up in our kitchen and I'd like to think it keeps our manners in check when we're cooking and cleaning in there.

Object 5: Fin Whale pencil drawing

My fiancé got this 1940s pencil drawing of a fin whale for me for my birthday a few years back. I love whales, and I love pencil drawings of animals, so this was a slam dunk. There's a gracefulness to a fin whale - of all the cetaceans they're built the most like dancers. I grew up falling for the spell of humpbacks and orcas, but I've grown to admire the lithe form of some of the smaller baleen whales. This is hung up in our living room, where I can admire it every day.

Note: To read more of Fran’s writing, subscribe to Fran Magazine (one of my faves) and follow her work at Vulture.

Call Me! (or not!)

I’d love to hear from you! Drop your thoughts in the comments to share with the Landline community, or reply to this email to contact me. You can also find me on Instagram, or email me. I don’t have a dedicated phone line yet (just like in my youth), but maybe someday I’ll achieve Claudia status and get a Landline.

Thanks for reading!

This is a free post for subscribers of Landline. Consider subscribing to the paid plan to get my weekly email of recommendations and links, a podcast episode, and more! You can also help me spread the word by sharing it with a friend who would love it. Thank you for being a friend!