The following story is based on a true story shared with us by a member of the Arti Community. We’ve altered some details to protect their privacy. We hope their experience helps you feel less alone in the tough choices you make as times change, your way of life changes, and who you live that life with changes, too.

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When my father passed away, my mother was truly on her own. But she was not physically or mentally healthy enough to live on her own. My parents had been married for 63 years. Solitude and independence were foreign to her. I know that in many families the open question in this scenario is, “Who will take care of Mom?” If that’s the story you are expecting, you can stop here. That is not our story.

For my family, when it came time to settle the estate, my siblings and I sat down together in our childhood living room and spoke very frankly. All in our 60s and 70s, we knew our own minds and we knew each other well enough to hash it out together fairly quickly.

My brother said he wanted the house. He had no desire to leave the local area, so taking over the family home was his top wish.

My sister wanted my mom. You read that right. Her one request was that Mom move in with her so she could take care of her and ensure she had constant familiarity and companionship. This suited Mom perfectly, and so she moved into my sister’s home where she spent the final 10 years of her life.

Are you now wondering what it was I wanted? One thing: a cabinet that had sat in our family’s living room for as long as I can remember and surely longer. It contained the most glorious accumulation of ‘stuff.’

As a child, I wanted nothing more than to open the doors and explore all the knickknacks inside. I’d ask my mom about everything, driving her crazy as she was trying to get on with other tasks around the house. To me, a burnt casserole in the oven was just fine if I got to hear the story of Grandma’s crystal bowl one more time. 

The Cabinet of Curiosity Lives On

This cabinet of curiosities now sits in my home, filled with some heirlooms from my mother and my grandparents too. But over the years it has taken on the personality, interests, and lives of me, my husband, our children, and our grandchildren. It’s filled with stories, stories we tell as often as we may. The reality is, we have so little time together with our family that I don’t think there will ever be enough time to share them all. 

When I use the dishes and glasses, I think of the relatives who owned them. For example, one of my dear mother-in-law’s beautiful wine glasses has a nick on the edge. When I wash and dry the glass, and feel the edge, and I remember how she dearly loved her family despite our flaws. 

We have a silver bowl awarded to my husband for outstanding geological research, always in need of a polish, and seldom out on display (shame on us!).

Buried among the crystal pieces you’ll find a decanter we bought in Prague in 2012. It’s leaded crystal, so we couldn’t actually store the port we'd drink in it. We needed to decant only what we intended to drink. And, with that level of practicality, can you really blame us for letting it fall into disuse?

We also have the baking dish that Grandpa Art used for his freshly caught fish. And two glasses that our wonderful Uncle Lawrence and his friend created as they practiced their glass etching skills. Oh, and the vases from our travels in China. I’ll stop there, because it truly is my cabinet of curiosities.

My hope for you all is that you will discover the joy that is Artifcts. There are stories I want shared with my immediate family only. Other stories are for my siblings, my church friends, and others. Artifcts offers me a safe place to record and share them. 

Artifcts has become a lovely addition to my day, sitting down to create a few Artifcts, reflecting on my life, sharing with loved ones, and feeling like I’ve done my bit to ensure my family’s history is passed on. I know one day I’ll leave behind a cabinet of curiosities and memories to cherish.

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We know that maybe your story is not about a cabinet. Maybe your story and the messy memories of lives lived are decorating your shelves, packed away in boxes, or adorning every square inch of your home.

Whatever it is you collect, whatever items you choose to hold onto, do yourself, your stories, and your loved ones a favor, and record what these things mean to you. You may be surprised by the fun you’ll have in the sharing and telling, too!

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© 2025 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

I never planned to collect anything. I always had little things that I loved and kept, like a ring or a postcard, but never a grouping of any one thing. But that changed in 1992.

I received my first real bonus check and decided I was going to buy one big vintage poster for my NYC apartment. I went to the Chisholm Larsson Gallery with the intention of this giant statement piece for my wall, but instead, I saw this small whimsical little poster that I just loved. Little did I know that it would change my life and make me a collector.

The poster, Dom Z Facjata, I would later discover was a Polish film poster from 1963. The English translation is “House with Façade,” and the image never quite connected with the title like US film posters do.

The next year, bonus time rolled around again, and I went back and found another, Zagubione Dziencinstwo, which translates to the 1954 British film, “Mandy.” Again, the connection wasn’t quite there between the image and the film title or content.

I knew I had to dig in and understand more about why these posters were speaking to me.

THE POLISH SCHOOL OF POSTERS

In a very brief history lesson, the Polish School of Posters was an artistic movement from about 1950-1980. After WW II, the Polish People’s Republic was under strict Soviet rule. Oddly, posters were one of the only artistic outlets that were permitted during this time.  

Artists could interpret images for the Ministry of Art & Culture, which included film, theater, opera, circus, and other events. I later learned that these posters were full of metaphors, political winks, and symbolism about the time. This was why the images in each poster were not literal in terms of the film, opera, or event the poster was promoting. The posters became puzzles to me, challenging me to figure out the film, the image, or any connection I could make. 

I continued collecting and learning, buying at least one per year and seeking them out in different galleries in cities in my travels. Fast forward many years to today, in 2024, when there are at least 20 Polish film posters hanging in my home, at least 15 in storage, and many in their shipping tubes because I am out of wall space.

There are books from Poland on the history of the art. There are sites where I keep track of my “wish list” posters that I’ve yet to find. There are emails to a gallery in Poland always in the inbox. And so on. The posters are bright and fun. They are 50 to 70 years old and still look fresh and new.

To the average person visiting my home, it simply seems like a vibrant group of framed artworks, but there are so many lessons I’ve learned about art and history and film and politics all through collecting this joyous art, proving that you never know where a collection will take you.

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Eager for more about collections? You may also be interested in these ARTIcles by Artifcts:

Collection Management Made Easy & Meaningful

Collections of Dubious Financial Value

How to Artifct That Collection

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As co-founders, Ellen and I are always meeting interesting people at Artifcts. We were very fortunate to be introduced this spring to Rainer Jenss, founder of the Family Travel Association, former senior executive with National Geographic, and an avid traveler. We loved talking with Rainer so much that we invited him to be our first guest author at ARTIcles. Read on to learn more about his story and experience using Artifcts to remember his 2022 travels in Africa.

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My wife Carol and I recently returned from a vacation we took to Africa with 25 other people, most of whom we’d never met before, but all who had some kind of connection to the tour’s organizers, Henry and Claire Kartagener. In my case, I’ve worked in the travel industry with Henry Kartagener for years. He’s also been directly responsible for getting Carol and me to Southern Africa several times already, including our first visit back in 1992 that took us on a safari during which we actually ended up getting engaged. Thirty years later, we found ourselves returning yet again, but this time as part of a “Friends of Henry” contingent, some of whom had been to the continent before, many of whom had not.

As I’ve noticed on other trips we’ve been on as part of a group, conversations between people often turn to sharing travel stories. Some just recount something that happened that day, while others recall experiences from previous adventures. It’s as though the act of sharing travel memories with others somehow reinforces their meaning – and all the while, hopefully inspiring those who are listening.

I can relate. For me personally the tales from my life’s adventures traversing the planet and displaying some of the things I picked up along the way represent some of my favorite memories and what I’m most fond of in my life. I think we all probably feel that way in some way no matter how much of the world we’ve traveled. Either way, this idea only strengthens my conviction that traveling is one of the most important things we can do in our lives.

Taking it a step further, if I were asked to recall what our conversations were about, I’d say they usually revolved around the things most of us do while traveling, which include (in no particular order): visiting new places, trying new things, meeting new people, buying souvenirs, and of course, sharing pictures. In fact, it would be pretty easy to argue that thanks to the advances in cellphone technology, capturing and sharing the highlights of our journeys through pictures, whether they be bucket list vacations or just weekend getaways, seems to be the most common activity we almost all now seem to engage in.

Victoria Falls at sunrise. Click the image to view the Artifct.

But while putting our best-looking pictures on social media has become such an integral part of what we do while traveling, we usually do so without telling the broader stories behind the images we post. Sure, the photos themselves may look great and often make those we share them with envious. But on their own, they rarely capture why the person took it or what it means to them personally.

The national flora of South Africa is the King Protea, symbolizing diversity, change and courage. Click the image to view the Artifct.

After recently having discovered Artifcts, I’ve found that it’s now possible to not only preserve and organize the special moments from my travels, I can now do so by also documenting the stories behind them. The very same stories I just might share with fellow travelers somewhere down the road.

Which brings us to what happened when I returned home after spending more than two weeks in Africa with 25 of my new best friends. As usual, I had 100s of images to sort through and edit. But this time, I did so with a different purpose and perspective. Sure, I still tried to pick out the ones that were the most visually compelling. But this time I made sure to set aside some photos of things I usually wouldn’t display in an album or share on social media. Instead, I paid special attention to the photos and videos of those things that best told the story of our trip. Best of all, I used the Artifcts I created to produce a virtual album I shared with those I spent my vacation with. For the purpose of this story, I’ve also made it available to the public in hopes it might inspire others to give it a try. Just go to my Artifcts page to check it out.

Happy Trails . . . and Happy Artifcting!

- Rainer Jenss

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Reading time: 3 minutes

What happens when you come from a long line of genealogists and end up with three busy boys as the next generation? Genealogy and the desire to understand your heritage gets stalled…until you and your sons discover the Timeline view in Artifcts! 

Yes, I was one of the guilty parties. My mom has binders and binders of ancestry and genealogy information, can tell the stories about our family history ‘way back when,’ and has tried to tell us her story over the years. But if you were to ask me to tell you those stories about her, I’d look at you with a blank stare. I wouldn’t know where to start.  

That is until we discovered the Timeline view in Artifcts, and I saw my own life story revealed to me in a way I hadn’t seen before. You see, pun intended, I am a visual person and process information very analytically. Yes, it is interesting to see my family tree laid out with names and branches, but it doesn’t really tell me about the people, how they were wired, or how I might have been influenced by who they were or how they thought. When I understand those things about my ancestors and influencers, I gain perspective on my own heritage. 

Seeing my mother’s Timeline motivated me to create more Artifcts for my Timeline. As each new Artifct takes its place on my Timeline, it highlights one more life event, one more story, that shaped me. I could immediately see in my Timeline how my experiences, represented through my objects and stories, wired me to be who I am today. If my kids want to know who I am, why I place certain values on ambition and work, and why I work as much as I do to achieve and provide, all they need to do is look at my Artifcts Timeline.  

My Timeline now shows my world travel (creating an open and adventurous mindset); it shows my cadet days in the Civil Air Patrol (doing search, rescue, flying, and establishing the building blocks for my leadership style); it shows my days as a firefighter and EMT (helping people and being driven to serve); it shows my pilot experiences (adventure, focus, and determination); it shows my entrepreneurial experience (innovating and managing risk); and it shows my family and our shared experiences. 

So, to all of you who think you’ll get to it "someday," realize that someday may come too late. Start capturing your story one event or object at a time. When you open that box that’s been in the basement for 10 years and find something cool, Artifct it to tell the story using images, audio/video, and text. When you travel, take a photo of that menu or interesting memento and explain where you were and who you were with.

Once you get your Artifcts going and see them in your Timeline, you’ll have bursts of energy to go fill in the blanks, you’ll start seeing yourself for who you really are, and you’ll build out your story to carry your heritage to the next generation. And the best part? Your kids will love it too! 

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Traveling to Salt Lake City for RootsTech?

Stop by our Booth #1517 to hear Matt share more of his stories on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MT and Saturday at 12 noon MT. 

You can also read previous ARTIcles Matt has written, including Father, World Traveler and Now Downsizer and Stuck In the Middle With Stuff. 

© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Reading time: 3 minutes

"Getting old is not for sissies." I hear my grandmother declare in my head each time a new ache, pain, or grey hair enters my life. As I get older, one thing is for certain – she isn't wrong. 

Aging can sometimes feel like an uphill battle, a journey sprinkled with surprises that our younger selves never saw coming. For many of us as we navigate the intricacies of aging, we realize that perception is in fact our greatest companion. What might appear as a daunting uphill battle can, with a subtle shift in perspective, transform into a scenic journey filled with unexpected beauty. As we gracefully age, embracing this positive perspective becomes paramount. Perception, after all, is the brush that paints our reality, and in embracing this notion, we uncover the beauty woven into the tapestry of time. 

Each grey hair tells a story, and every wrinkle hints of experiences lived. Embracing positive aging is not about denying the challenges but rather about understanding that the lens we choose colors our narrative. Research tells us that cultivating a positive outlook can profoundly impact our physical health and overall well-being. Positive perspectives allow for more agency in our lives through choice and provides a sense of calm in chaos. Additionally, positive psychology encourages us not only to reflect on our experiences but to actively preserve and share them.

Consider creating concrete time in your week dedicated to revisiting old photographs, penning down cherished moments, or engaging in heartfelt conversations with loved ones. The wisdom gathered over the years becomes a treasure trove, and the echoes of laughter and shared moments resonate with a profound richness. These artifacts become a testament to a life enriched by the tapestry of memories woven through the years. 

Mindfulness is also a profound ally in navigating the journey of aging. It invites us to savor the present, to be fully engaged in each moment. Perhaps it's the subtle beauty of a sunrise, the pages of a well-loved book, or the emotional time travel of a making a familiar recipe. By incorporating mindfulness into our daily lives, we can shift our lens to find tranquility and a renewed appreciation for the nuances that make each day unique. Finding mental and emotional space to focus on one small, but mighty, moment can be the small shift needed to help reframe an instance of difficulties.

It's easy to get caught up in the societal narrative that aging is synonymous with decline. However, as we adopt a lens of positivity and gratitude, we uncover a new chapter where the passage of time becomes a source of empowerment. The wrinkles become lines drawn by the hand of resilience, and each ache carries the weight of lessons learned. In these early days of 2024, I challenge all of you to take inventory of your perceptions, be mindful of the moments around you, and decide where you would like your story to go. 

The journey is not without its challenges, but it is within those challenges that we discover the true essence of positive aging. It's an art, a dance, a shift in perception. In this grand spectacle of life, let's appreciate the hues that time adds to our canvas. Aging gracefully is not about avoiding the uphill climbs but about conquering the hills with a spirit that grows stronger with each step. Welcome to the show, where getting older is an opportunity to fully embrace the treasure trove of lived wisdom and echoes of laughter gathered and share in the beauty woven into the fabric of time.

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ABOUT DR. DARYL APPLETON

Dr. Daryl Appleton is the innovative and modern-day doyenne of wellness who is aggressively reshaping corporate, academic, and individual visions of wellness. Her consulting firm holds an exclusive clientele of global brands, top surgical residency programs, Fortune 500 executives, thought leaders & specialists, and professional athletes from across the globe looking to elevate their plans for success and fight burnout/mental fatigue.

Dr. Appleton challenges leaders, audiences, and organizations to redefine their values and views of success. In her unique approach, her firm utilizes neuropsychological techniques, communication strategies, and reprioritization of work-life S.W.A.Y. (Seeking What Aligns You) to help all clients meet goals and amend unproductive behaviors.

Dr. Daryl Appleton holds an Ed.D. in Leadership, a M.Ed. in Counseling, a C.A.G.S. in Mental Health, and an LMHC in the state of Rhode Island.

Get to know Dr. Appleton via her podcast, Feelings & Other F Words, which was voted one of Vogue’s Top 10 Mental Health Podcasts.

© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Reading time: 2 minutes 

Enjoy one woman’s story about the t-shirt quilt she dreamt of for so long and how Artifcts sweetened the gift that much more by preserving the quilt’s stories, too. 

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The moment came at long last. It was October 2021, and the time had arrived to transform the t-shirts we had collected during our three years living in the Balkans into a quilt for my children to cozy up under with me as we watch family movies together on Friday nights.

Okay, well, that was the dream anyway. With the eldest already 15 and the youngest 9, my goals in 2021 were a bit far-fetched and the quilt-to-be likely far too small for a family of five.

And to be clear, I created nothing. After realizing that a dear church friend made these specialty quilts, I handed over the t-shirts in time for her to make a surprise quilt for my family for Christmas. The quilt turned out just as I had always imagined during those days of living in and traveling around the Balkans and beyond, and it has the soft, well-loved memories built in.

Except, it doesn’t actually have the memories built in.  

I realized recently that my youngest doesn’t even remember our time in the Balkans. Our family’s once in a lifetime week in Paris, adventures in Croatia, Christmas in Budapest, it has all drifted from her memory.

If I want this quilt to get passed down for generations and have the stories retold each time a new person cuddles under it, I still need to supply the memories. And I do. Every time I’m asked, or when they stay still long enough for me to get in a few words before they roll their eyes—no, never, not in my home!—and trudge off to their rooms to do their homework. Well played.

As luck would have it, I know one of the founders of Artifcts, so I’m an early adopter. I knew it was on me, the keeper of those memories so quickly fading from my children’s memories, to capture them before it was too late.

So, this Christmas, part of my gift to my family is this t-shirt quilt Artifct and the many more Artifcts I’ve created throughout the year to ensure their histories and life moments are not lost.

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You may also enjoy these ARTIcles by Artifcts:

What Should You Do With Old Scrapbooks?

Rescue Mission: That's More Than an Old Photo!

Keepsake Boxes, Remembrance Boxes, Memento Boxes - Boxes Abound!

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.