Making the career leap from enterprise to consumer brand was not just about a shift from defining a value proposition to appealing to the individual's needs. It's not about creating a brand guide either. For Heather and me it was the A to Z of how we would build our corporate values and policies to how we will reinforce the same through every part of Artifcts. "Okay, but what does that mean, Ellen?" Let me tell you!

Privacy First

Our prior lives were about "need to know." Out here in the private sector it's about delivering value to consumers with the least intrusion possible on their personal information and identity. At the very least, putting decisions about privacy in their hands, not ours. We defaulted all settings to private, created restrictions on what information is shareable to social media (to avoid spilling sensitive information), and ruled out commentary and view stats to avoid unwanted and sometimes demoralizing vibes.

Authenticity

A word often abused, I know, but it has permeated every daily meeting between myself and Heather as we've built Artifcts over the last year. Take our brand video, for example: Our decision to hide behind the camera was not about our CIA backgrounds (although that didn't help), but a reflection of the reality of Artifcts - it's about the objects of our lives and the humanity captured by them, not us as co-founders. It's about real people, memories, connections, and experiences, and, of course, stuff.

We've stayed true to our values and used our growth this past year to collaborate with other "underrepresented entrepreneurs" along the way. Did you catch our recent competition with Brooke Robinson's Goodtype lettering community? You will see this theme persist. In an upcoming ARTIcle we'll share our interview with a female entrepreneur out of Austin, Texas, who stepped out on her own during the COVID pandemic to offer workshops and services for archival preservation - what's old is new again!

Playfulness

Our logo taps as pages load, have you noticed? You can even view the original inspiration for it in this Artifct about the creation of our logo. We think it will flip its tiles, too, one day to the great discomfort of our creative director. Our primary brand color is a vibrant, life-reflecting green. We have a kid flying on our 404 error page. (We hope you haven't seen that yet!) We launched our company with teaser videos about how not to Artifct, starting with a dog digging frantically on a beach. Speaking of, one of our original product personas was pets! If we are going to become a "museum of humanity," in the words of one of our original community members, we can't take ourselves too seriously, and we must always reflect our community and be approachable. (HELLO! Did you catch our new year's day post on social media?)

Sustainability

Sustainability is another foundational element of our brand. We believe that Artifcts provides Arti Community members a forum to appreciate the stuff they have and impart the meaning of it to future generations. We are evaluating how we can bring sustainability into all parts of our business from expectations we have of our cloud services provider to the Artifcts we feature on our website and the content we publish, including pieces we have published about upcycled, custom textiles from a New York-based clothing designer and an Austin-based home goods artist. It also means that as we dream up Artifcts-branded swag for our team and ambassadors, we're seeking out individual illustrators and lettering artists, sustainable product materials, and Artifctable-goods. This holiday we even reminded our audience that you can gift the Artifct experience without so much as a bow wasted!

Singular (but Evolutionary) Focus

Parents, you've probably heard this expression, "Are your listening ears on?" It's product suicide if you do not have built-in mechanisms to collect information about your product. If you've checked out my LinkedIn profile you've seen this concept reflected another way: "When you argue with reality, you lose, but only 100% of the time." (Byron Katie)

At Artifcts we are loyal to our DNA and laser focused on the stuff in people's lives and the meaning behind those objects. But we're at the beginning of our consumer brand journey. We have a lot to learn from consumers and how Artifcts will serve them over the years to come. During the earliest days of Artifcts, we found, for example, that only by directly addressing, "What is an Artifct?" could we then help people over the hurdle of what to Artifct first. Now we tell people we're redefining 'artifacts' because Artifcts are not restricted to items of historical relevance, high dollar value, heirloom status, or parts of collections. Artifcts are objects that have meaning to you. That's it. This 'stuff' helps to define parts of you, your legacy, and your relationships with others.

On that note ... 

... What would you say are the defining elements of your company's brand? Or, you, dear consumer, what helps solidify in your mind what a brand is all about? Let us know at Hello@Artifcts.com. We'd love to learn from others who have tread this consumer brand path before us to help reshape the world around us.

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Columbus Day is upon us, once more evoking questions about US heritage and how we choose to honor those who contributed to our national heritage. Today more awareness exists about Columbus’ dark history and in several US states and cities Indigenous People’s Day has been created to honor the indigenous history and future of the United States. You’re not here for a history lesson (and we’re not qualified to provide it in this case), but if you’d like to learn more, History.com offers a brief primer on Columbus Day. 

What we can offer is the first of a series of modern and ancient indigenous Artifcts, with useful details about their origins, the concepts and people portrayed, and how and why they were made. As always, we started local, turning to a holy man of Cherokee and Apache heritage and resident of Corpus Christi, Texas, to learn more about indigenous Artifcts he’s been honored with. 

Indigenous "Treasures"

Growing up in Wisconsin farm country, kids would find arrowheads in creek beds and freshly plowed fields. It was not an unusual occurrence in the least, but still special enough to create excitement. Only in preparing this piece for ARTIcles did I learn that indigenous people who come across these artifacts leave the artifacts in place, sprinkle tobacco (“the ancient one,” the oldest of herbals) onto the artifact in blessing, and move on. In modern times, outside of reservation and national park lands, leaving an arrowhead in place would not likely be possible. The better course in these situations is to contact the nearest tribe and share the discovery with them so that they can manage the artifact. 

I share this to emphasize that while a child’s choice to remove an artifact as a treasure is in no way malicious, the act fails to honor the spirit and history of the artifact. Picking up that theme of honoring our past, today we are privileged to share with you two Artifcts from the collection of Larry Running Turtle Salazar. 

In my first 30-minute discussion with Running Turtle I must have encountered themes across a dozen topics I wanted to explore ­about his life and learnings. His casual discussion of his self-described 10-year-pilgrimage into ­­Tibetan Buddhism, including a meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Plum Village Monastery in southern France … via an introduction facilitated by Steven Segal … who Running Turtle had studied aikido, his 4^th and final blackbelt, with back in the 90s … is an example of the tangents we found ourselves on and that I wished we could explore further. But today, let’s focus on Artifcts! 

Indigenous Artifcts Old and New 

Don’t tease me. Show me the Artifcts > 

Running Turtle describes himself in part as a wisdom seeker. (In part? He is human after all and lives many realities: artist, healer, parent, entrepreneur, neighbor, author, and so many more.) Through sharing these Artifcts, opening his ceremonies to non-indigenous people, sharing his artistry, he provides us the opportunity to be wisdom seekers, helping to bring rest and truth about the past and future of the indigenous people of the United States. 

Let’s start with the old. The first Artifct is a bust of an indigenous man molded in clay by Running Turtle himself when he was 14 or 15 years old. In this artistic rendering, the indigenous man is crowned with a golden eagle feather ­­war bonnet that is approximately 95 years old. The necklace and pedestal carry with them much longer histories. Read on.  

Modern monument from a master. The second Artifct is also a bust, but this one was created by internationally known sculptor and bronze artist Dave McGary shortly before his passing in 2013. Read on. 

Closing Thoughts

We encourage you to make the choice to learn more about the indigenous people’s history where you live. Or, if traveling in Texas and by luck it’s the last Saturday of the month, be a guest at Running Turtle’s drum circle and experience what may otherwise feel for most of us like lost heritage. Take an active role in preserving history, too, whether it's yours or that of your local community, country, or far-off places in the world.

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© 2021 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It's Fall, y’all. That means college sports are in full swing and students across the country are celebrating Homecoming with their friends and families. Here at Artifcts that means class rings and letter jackets and sweaters along with other school spirit gems. What better way to showcase your school pride and preserve and share memories from ‘back in the day’? (Or maybe it wasn’t that long ago!) 

The Artifcts we are featuring today all have fascinating stories. Each represents a ‘piece of me’ for their respective owners and recalls fond memories of school pride and identity. All also offer a history lesson of sorts, although that was not intentional. The beauty of Artifcts is that you never know what you’ll discover! 

Want to show your school pride? Artifct your class ring, letter jacket, school sweater, or any other school swag and tag it #SchoolSpirit. Artifcts will donate $250 to the top Artifct'ed school as part of the Artifcts Homecoming Challenge! Check out the ones that @Wendy and @Matt have already Artifcted.  

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© 2021 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday was launch day. Today we turn to inspiring entrepreneurs. We’re sharing with you four Artifcts from four entrepreneurs. Meg Willis, Skip Mills, Teresa Smetzer, and Matt Ramsey live colorful lives filled in part by their entrepreneurial endeavors. Each has offered an object, an Artifct, that helps us learn more about their lives as entrepreneurs. 

• Meet Meg whose time on her bike allowed her mind to relax and her to create Good + Simple Wellness. View Artifct.
• Skip's Sky Pilot logo came from his passion for flying and now adorns his custom woodwork. The logo is also representative of many of his life and career choices, from mechanical engineering, piloting aircraft and commanding troops in the Air Force, to managing an applied university research lab. View Artifct.
• Teresa has spent a career addressing national security missions in one way or another from her positions as a civil servent and corporate executive. View Artifct.
• Meet Matt, whose father’s mortality crystalized for him the perils of waiting and the need to act now to change how he could give back to the world and simply be a cool dad. View Artifct.

Entrepreneurs as a group take risks, but to do so they themselves must first be inspired to set off into that world. Sometimes it is the people in their lives and other times events outside of them that provide that spark, but no matter the inspiration, we find there is also some physical representation of that choice – an Artifct. 

So, today, we celebrate all of you entrepreneurs! What objects in your lives speak to your entrepreneurial experiences and dreams? Start free or sign in to create your own Artifct and tag it #entrepreneursunite.

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© 2021 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.