“We really do live in such a unique and sweet place,” Nadia Neumann said of the township. “And I want more people to feel that way.”
For Nadia Neumann, it started out as a passion project for her new home in Medford.
“I was looking for a specific piece of art for a specific area of my home,” she explained, “something Medford-specific” for a little hallway.
But she couldn’t find it.
“I’ve always loved illustrated maps and decided to make one of Medford,” noted Neumann, who utilized her graphic design skills for the project. And that’s what she did. She hung her map in the hallway of her home “and absolutely loved it.”
“Our town is just so special and unique,” she noted of the township, “and seeing it on full display in this whimsical illustrated map gives it an almost fairy tale feel.”
The map shows Flying W Airport, with a little picture of an airplane. Neumann highlighted little tokens and landmarks, including the historic Kirby’s Mill and Cross Keys Schoolhouse, the iconic buildings in historic Medford Village, farms along Main Street and places like the Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge.
Neumann grew up in Mount Laurel and has called Medford home for three years. She met her husband in college and lived in California for six years, swearing she would never return to New Jersey.
But when she decided to move back closer to home, her sister suggested Medford.
“My sister is in Tabernacle and I was like, ‘We’re gonna miss the nature of California,’ but we wanted to be closer to family,” Neumann recalled. “And she said, ‘You should check out Medford.'”
Neumann admitted that even though she grew up in neighboring Mount Laurel, she didn’t know much about Medford. Now – after three years back – she has fallen in love with it.
“I feel so much pride in our little town,” she noted, adding that her goal for her project is to increase community pride. “To see (the map) in this medium, it makes it idyllic and sweet.”
Neumann has her own natural skin care company for which she does illustrations.
“I’m a one-woman operation,” she acknowledged. “I outsource some things, but I love actually doing the graphic design, so I’m just sort of self taught, and I really enjoy that.”
Neumann calls her map a digital illustration with a hand-drawn feel.
“I wanted to keep it more minimalistic,” she pointed out. “Just black on a really nice hand-made cotton paper.”
At a friend’s suggestion, Neumann reached out to a few local stores to see if they would be interested in offering the illustrated maps for sale. They can now be found in a number of local coffee and gift shops in town. She also has an Etsy shop called Merry Little Maps.
“The biggest thing for me was to connect to the community, the business owners,” Neumann related.
The experience has also been therapeutic.
“I enjoy working on the maps in the evening when the hecticness of the day is done,” she said, “but it’s especially true because I’m home full time with my sons right now. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to get out in the community and meet people and feel like I’m a part of this sweet little town I call home now.”
Neumann so enjoyed making her map, she made another for Medford Lakes. In September, she held a paint night class that showed how Medford residents could make their own map.
“We really do live in such a unique and sweet place,” she observed, “and I want more people to feel that way.”
