Do you ever watch a commercial, read a book, or learn about a new product (like cremation ashes turned into jewelry or custom framing for an old soccer jersey) and think, "Yup, not for me. I'm not sentimental." I feel this way all the time, and you've told us that many of you feel the same way. 

You know what makes me pause though? The thought that I could very well get hit by a bus tomorrow and my 12-year-old daughter would have very faded memories of me, of our relationship, and of all those things I tried to share with her in life, to help her be her best self. That makes me realize that even if sentimentality does not have a place in my life, making sure my daughter has a history certainly does. 

As it turns out, I’m not sentimental about ‘stuff.’ I’m sentimental about the memories trapped inside the stuff. The stuff is just a great reminder to pull me back and take a moment to share those stories and memories.

My sister looks at this a bit differently. Also not very sentimental, she’s more interested in sharing discoveries with others, and these discoveries are fairly endless. She shares to encourage others to see bits of the world—beautifully designed objects, cultural landmarks, stunning photos—through her eyes and then go experience each themselves.  

Put another way, she’s sentimental about the experiences trapped inside the stuff. 

For others I know, keeping a record is unrelated to sentimentality – it's literally about the stuff. What is it, what's it worth, and maybe even what should I do with it now that my parents gave it all to me. That kind of stuff. Inevitably, even this person says, “None of it, well, except these three things, means anything to me. I don’t need it." So maybe if we’re not sentimental, maybe there is something to the idea of a legacy. Not legacy in the sense of wealth. Material possessions are a very small subset of legacy (which we chatted about here).  

Sentimental or Not, Take a Moment to Remember

Memories fade and are imperfect no matter your age. We all face this. We are in the wrong place at the wrong time and never get the stories to those who will enjoy or need them. Time slips away. Capturing bits of you and crafting that legacy is frankly up to each of us. 

There are so many ways to give shape to a legacy. Creating scrapbooks and photobooks as well as sitting down for videographies or personal podcasts probably top the list. Open form and fill in the blank journals, pen to paper or digital, seem to still have a place in our modern, digital world as well. We of course encourage you to Artifct. Artifcting is new and we're learning every day how we can continute to build a place to meet your needs beyond what it is today where everything is centralized, accessible, sharable, and transferable!  

The point is, capturing legacy is not something for people who identify as being sentimental or are of a certain age or social stature. It's for all people, all ages, which is the gentle reminder we wanted to offer today. So, what have you done for your legacy lately? 

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Let's see those Artifcts! Have a fun story to share? Ping us at Hello@Artifcts.com. We'd love to feature you in our curator's choice series.

© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As we approach the end of Artifcts’ first year in business, Ellen and I can’t help but get a little nostalgic about all the people whose paths we’ve crossed as we launched Artifcts into the world. Our collaborators have ranged from world travelers to authors to experts in home organization and downsizing. It’s an ever-growing group of people with one thing in common: ‘stuff.’ Lots and lots of stuff, and all the history, memories, and stories that go along with it.

Most of the time, our conversations evolve at a breakneck pace with one comment or observation very quickly leading to another and like magic, new Artifcts are born. Sometimes, however, we must first overcome skepticism related to our relationships with stuff or just sheer inertia. If you know anything about us, you know those hurdles don’t last long.

We have observed over the past year that most skepticism is directly related to three main myths about all our stuff. (And yes, even as Artifcts’ founders, we’re sometimes guilty of these too.)

Myth #1: No one wants my stuff.

Yes, it's been written about ad-nauseum in major print and digital publications, but we think based on our experience over the year, they’re missing the mark. True, your children may not want random pieces of furniture with no history, story, or memory associated with them, but, that dining room table, the one they grew up with, that’s probably a keeper. Love letters that Grandpa sent to Grandma during WWII? A family treasure.

Taking a moment to document and share the story, history, and memory behind the item makes it much more valuable and not just in the financial sense. We’re talking about heart value here, the emotional connection that binds one generation to the next. We often hear from Arti members that once they share the story, memory, or meaning behind the item, it suddenly goes from “No one wants it,” to “It’s been rehomed!” Sometimes even the most insignificant object can take on new meaning once the story is discovered. Click here to view the story behind co-founder Ellen Goodwin’s recently rehomed and repurposed treasure.

This bag's wearing the strap! Click the photo to read the story. 

Myth #2: Photos are worth 1,000 words.

Sorry, Dear Reader, we beg to differ with you here. I spent an entire weekend at a genealogy conference listening to people talk about how they wished their ancestors had written more than just the date and, if they were lucky, who was in the photo. What was the story behind that pose? That trip? That house? Photos are only worth the words that are somehow (safely) attached to them.

Trust me, I know first-hand. I’m still trying to track down details of photos my mother saved from high school. Who, what, when, where, and most of all (to me at least), why? Why that photo? We can almost always guarantee winning over the most skeptical of skeptics when we share the photo example. Still curious? Take a look at one of @Grandmom’s public Artifcts to learn the story behind her photo.

Not just any restaurant. Click the photo to read the story. 

Myth #3: I don’t have anything old, valuable, or otherwise “Artifct-able.”

Good try, but we’re not buying it. We’re redefining Artifcts together. Your Artifcts don’t have to be old, historically significant, or valuable. An Artifct is anything that has meaning to you. It’s that simple.

That drawer of birthday cards, love notes, and letters from my family and friends. Yep, all Artifcts. No monetary value whatsoever, but I’d be sad to lose them. Same thing with all my daughter’s artistic creations. Chances are she’s not going to be the next Picasso, but I cherish her paintings, drawings, and ceramics all the same. And if she happens to be the next Picasso? I’ll have the history and stories securely documented! Hello provenance.

We'd love to hear from you! What do you think? Convinced? Not convinced? Have another Artifcts myth you’d like us to bust? We’re game! And if you need only another little nudge or two, stay tuned. We have a lot more coming, including habit change tips, handy checklists, and even our first Arti Evening series!

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When Anthony Bourdain passed away, he left behind an estate of objects, objects surely with stories. Or not. 

Some stories were no more than, “It belonged to him,” and if you admired his work or his person, maybe that would have been enough to compel you to purchase a piece from his estate auction. Other objects carried the weight of the star and a glimmer of who Anthony Bourdain was in the moment and place when the object became a part of his life. Pieces of his legacy.

Famous or not, the same is true for the objects of your life. Much of what you own you simply own. It decorates your home or maybe serves some functional requirement—why, hello, Chair. But some objects are more than objects, to you. You know where that print hung above your parents’ sofa. That 3000-piece train collection that was a joy for all and chief resident of your uncle's 500 square foot basement. And don’t forget that seemingly random ceramic jar set. You bought those in a small town outside Lake Garda, Italy, during your honeymoon. 

Other objects come into your life through others, such as the passing of a relative. These are especially challenging objects. You may not know anything about them other than who gave them to you. Maybe you chose a few items to take from your grandmother’s estate or an item was bequeathed to you and you think you can’t go against your grandmother’s wishes and have to hold onto it. 

Objects have histories, people have histories, and it all gets really complicated.

At Artifcts, we simplify and try to alleviate some of the burden stuff can create by making it easy to capture the history, life experiences, and memories behind objects. This holds true whether or not you keep the item.

To understand more about factors to consider when you want to sell an item, we sat down with Lark Mason of Antiques Roadshow fame and who you can often find these days at his New Braunfels, Texas-based auction house Lark Mason Associates. His message was clear: “I wish people understood their own motivations [regarding objects] more. Are they deriving an emotional charge from owning it? Do they want to make money somehow?”

The motivation for selling is vital to Lark Mason Associates because a seller’s motivations can influence whether the sale is a success in the eye of the beholder - What’s the minimum acceptable price? What is the sale timeline? (If you’re in a rush, you may have to forgo some of the value premium in favor of closing the deal.)

So, if you have you decided to sell an item, take Mason’s advice and pause and reflect on your goals and motivations:

• • • • Are you downsizing and must part with some objects?
      • Do the objects simply no longer fit your lifestyle or current decor, so you want to sell them and use the proceeds to replace them?
      • Do you have legal or financial problems that require you to divest assets?
      • Are these inherited and/or you are charged with dispersing the estate? If there’s a will, what does it say to do with proceeds of any sales (e.g. divide among children, philanthropies, other)?
      • Are you sure you’re ready to let go? Acknowledge your emotional attachments to the items. Artifct to remember and to maybe share those Artifcts with others who have ties to the items. 

As Mason gently noted, once you let go of an item, its identity is changed for good. Someone will bring the object home to a new environment, display it in a new way, not how your grandmother did. Not with the companion pieces or surrounding bookcase. (Although we see attempts to do so! Check out this Artifct.) Not with her favorite music playing in the background. This means then that “Even those ties to what ‘once was’ get weakened over time—now you have random grouping of objects that have been inherited through lethargy, financial, and emotional connections—and shift,” said Mason. 

We know the content of Bourdain’s personal collection moved on to new homes, and to Mason’s point, they likely took on new identities. Maybe the chef’s knife is no longer actively used and sits encased. Or his desk has become a foray table featuring photos of a family Bourdain never met. So it goes for him and for all of us. 

But what legacy do you want to leave behind? And how will you make the most of the objects you accumulate as you live your life? Documenting and readying them for sale is one option, and Artifcts is here to help guide and support you if you do.

Happy Artifcting!

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If you have items you would like to consign or auction through Lark Mason Associates or are in the market for a new piece, visit https://www.larkmasonassociates.com. 

© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

You've probably heard of TV shows like Antiques Roadshow and Pawn Stars. Maybe you're a top fan? Sometimes curiosity gets the better of us and we just want to know if this family heirloom, collectible, or other object is worth more than our sentimental attachments to it. Sometimes we are working to be better prepared for the inevitable. We can't take the stuff with us in the end and someone will have to deal with it when we're gone.

Now paid members of Artifcts can send Artifcts to Heritage Auctions Appraisal Services, Inc. for free valuations. Each will give you a sense for the potential value (or value range) for your item or comparable items in today's market. Just open your Artifct, and click the button, "What's it worth?"  We have Valuation Services FAQs ready for you, too!

Our process offers a seamless result. When ready, your free valuation will appear in the Documentation section of your Artifct, and you'll receive an email notification so you know it's ready and waiting for you. You can even choose to ask Heritage Auctions for a no obligation appraisal estimate in case you expect you will need one for insurance, estate, or other purposes.

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When you hear the word "legacy" what comes to mind? Estate planning, memoirs and videographies, maybe heartfelt donations to causes you support? For some, the reaction is a bit different. Maybe you think legacy is only for the rich. Or maybe you are among those who think, "I'm not that important," or "My actions in this life should be enough, no?" If you think that way, that might stop you cold, preventing you from doing anything about your legacy. 

We'd like to encourage you to look at legacy from a fresh perspective. 

Myths, legends, campfire stories: What do they all have in common? They are relatable and they carry on through time by virtue of being shared. But what happens when, like in the children's game Musical Chairs, the music stops, and maybe you stopped or failed to share those stories? They die with us. That, dear reader, is legacy lost. That's your personal history, a history built through the years, that is irretrievable.  

What’s left then are the other forms of legacy that are more tangible. We chatted recently with two researchers in this area of "legacy" and have distilled what we learned about facets of legacy into four themes:  

1. Financial … as in money, real estate etc. 
2. Material (possessions) … you know, the 'stuff' of a life lived, some with sentimental value, some with monetary, some with both (which is which?!) 
3. Reputational or symbolic … capturing our stories, words of wisdom, and other marks made on the world 
4. Instructions and wishes … including how to dispose of an estate, invest money philanthropically or otherwise, make sure So-and-So gets an education, etc. 

We think a lot about legacy at Artifcts. Core to our mission is ensuring you can capture the value to you of all the ‘stuff’ that you collect throughout your daily life in a fun, personalized, and easy way. Why? We want to make sure whoever your “they” is knows the true value of an item before it’s too late. Do not let the next generation miss out on all those life experiences and stories that make you... you! Everyone has a story or two worth sharing.

Consider these examples from the Arti Community - it was the legacy of the person and their story that made each special: 

• No one wanted Grandmom's three brass trays until they heard her story about buying them and her meeting with a king cobra. 
• That sandal would have gone in the trash (still may) without the lesson learned. 
• Her “famous” biscuit recipe would have been lost forever if her granddaughter hadn’t asked. Now it can be recreated from generation to generation.  
• That delightfully wacky clock might have been first on the auction block but now they know that this was a memento from a special family moment. 

Don't wait. Take a step and craft your own legacy. Grab an old photo. Dust off that knickknack on the shelf. Take a fresh look at the art on your wall. What stories from last week or decades ago lay hidden in plain sight? Create an Artifct today. 

Happy Artifcting! 

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

From mementos to heirlooms, your home’s interior can be as colorful as you and your Artifcts. Some of us skew maximalist in nature, maybe because life is busy and we accumulate stuff, maybe because we’re our family keepers and don’t want to let go of it. Others of us tend toward minimalism, but maybe still rebuff the idea of a strict minimalist home lifestyle. Personally, I need to be surrounded by color, texture, and 3D ‘stuff’ that is meaningful to me. Don't tell me to digitize all of my stuff and be happy to let it go either. 

Now, don't get me wrong, like many, I dream of hiring an interior designer to simplify and beautify my space. I follow several on social media. But I’ve also always imagined a designer’s work to be incredibly challenging. Or is it only a client like me that's challenging? 

The last thing I want is a house full of thingamabobs from your local mega chain store, upscale design house, or otherwise. It feels impersonal, as though I’m living in a hotel - brilliant (maybe) but benign enough to please most. I want to be surrounded by family, friends, and memories, and that takes custom "Been there, done that," "She gave it to me when I was 10," "I got it when I traveled through Italy," stuff. The stuff of Artifcts. 

So, I met up recently with a couple interior architects and designers to ask, almost like therapy, “Am I difficult?” It turns out that, no, I’m not difficult or alone in this quest for meaningful stuff and life moments to surround me in my home.  

Allison Shields, Founder of AM Shields based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, shared with me how a home interior she designed recently moved her to reflect on how very different her personal design view sometimes is from her clients’ perspectives. And guess what? ‘Stuff’ was at the heart of it. 

"Everything I own has a specific story, a relationship to where it started. An object can throw me into a vortex of remembrance of that trip I went on. Even as a child, everything was curated and meaningful to our family. This client I had recently was the opposite. It was a shocking experience. They were not just minimalists. There wasn’t a book they’d read or photo of a family member incorporated into their new home. Nothing personal, and yet they loved the results.” 

@AMSHIELDS "Hallway to Heaven" featuring her mother's art collection.

This type of depersonalized living is probably on the extreme end of home interior design. Maryana Grinshpun, the Founding Partner and Design Director at Mammoth Projects NYC, remarked that often people in NYC, no matter their wealth, do not have the luxury of stuff and clutter. There’s just no space! 

But even then, some piece or another will typically make an appearance in the design. “Clients usually will tell me even before I show up that they have something important, something that connects them with their story, that needs to be incorporated. For one client it’s grandma’s stool from the old country; for another, a surfboard. And why not? Telling stories through objects is compelling. And my job is to see the world through my client’s eyes, create that curated view, and build a design story around it.” 

Maryana and Allison agreed, too, that the greatest challenge as designer is that you start with a blank page each time. And the first line can be the hardest to put down. It starts to reveal the character of the people who live in a space and the space itself.  

Each Artifct can help define the first line in a more personal way than any Pinterest board you might pull together. As you look around at the moments that fill your space, we want to leave you with a few thoughtful tips and a few of our own personal Artifcted moments in our spaces to help inspire you: 

• Here's a quick and easy fix: Try re-arranging. Space at a premium? No budget for a new look. Ask a friend or neighbor for ideas on how they would rearrange a key room in your home, like the living room. Then try each arrangment. You might be suprised how it breathes new life into your space. 
• Sometimes it's not the space. It’s how you’re living in it. Don’t love living in your space anymore? Has stuff been relegated to the back of your closet or other storage space when it would bring you more happiness to be able to display and enjoy it? Might be time for a little help for a designer who can help you balance what comes out and make it pleasant and functional, too.
• If you bring in a pro, try oversharing. You might have a lot of stuff, even too much stuff, but little or no inclination towards design. That’s okay. Be honest about your obstacles to date in designing your living space and bring the stuff into the discussion. Let the designer know, “This art is meaningful to us. Can you do something with it?” 
• Objects can help with tight budgets. Few people have five and six figure budgets to commit to home interior design, so then what? Look again at what you already own and consider how your possessions can play into a new look and feel for your home. You might just realize you have this thing or a collection of those things that will help get the job done whether you're doing it on your own or bringing in professional reinforcements! 

We’d love to be inspired by your Artifcted moments at home, too! Share with us on Instagram (@theartilife) or on Facebook (Artifcts). 

Happy Artifcting! 

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ABOUT THE FEATURED DESIGNERS

A.M. Shields. A design and interior architecture firm creating thoughtful, inspiring and unexpected spaces for commercial and residential clients. The A.M. Shields web site and portfolio are under their own redesign at amshields.com and am.shields.interiors (Instagram). Contact Allison at allison@amshields.com for a consult. 

Mammoth. A NYC-based design-build studio and one-stop shop for a seamless renovation, including interior design, construction, and furnishing. Check out Mammoth online at mammothnewyork.com or mammoth_projects (Instagram).

© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.