How to Artifct Family History and Heirlooms

Creating an Artifct is often a joyful experience, sometimes it is also cathartic, and for many Artifcting has become their preferred means of planning for their today and for their future. Insurance fits into that final category of Artifcts: preparedness. 

As you update your policies or renew in the new year, consider: Do you have enough insurance coverage for your valuables? Are you over insured? Do you have the documentation necessary to file a claim if mother nature, theft, or an accident forces your hand? 

Ironically, in a 2020 poll from the Insurance Information Institute, fewer homeowners reported having a home inventory than a decade prior, despite increased familiarity with and options for digitization of photos, documents, and more as well as a proliferation of inventory apps for home goods and collections.

It’s human nature to avoid the negative, the improbable, and any issues that aren’t about today. But here at Artifcts, you’ll not only be able to create a record of items that are of greatest value to you, but in the process, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy reliving and sharing your stories and passions with others, too. 

Artifcts to Support Insurance 

When you create Artifcts with insurance coverage in mind, there are a few best practices to guide you. 

• • • Photos and video. Take advantage of the five photos and/or videos you can add to each Artifct. Take a picture of the object as a whole, take another picture of a maker’s mark, if any, and then photograph the item from other angles. We also strongly encourage you to record and include a short video of the object, showing it from multiple angles. 

• • • Documentation. Take a moment to find the receipt, appraisal, certificate of authenticity, or, if nothing else, a credit card statement that can help validate the original market price paid and the authenticity of the item. Attach it to your Artifct. When you acquire new items of value or collectibles, we recommend you Artifct That on the spot, when everything you need is at hand. This is a habit that will serve you well! 

• • • Provenance. Where did it come from? Why do you have it? What does it mean to you? Even if you have only family lore of where an older item came from, record that in the “Description or story” of the Artifct.  

If you purchased it, describe where and when you were when you acquired the item and what makes it valuable to you. No, sentiment is not a qualifier in appraisal or replacement value, but it will be important to helping you get the right coverage and setting your own expectations for items you value.  

• • • Add optional details. In your Artifct, click to view the “Full Form” and include how old it is, when you acquired it, and the marketplace or artist it’s from to facilitate an appraisal and any future insurance claims. We also strongly encourage to add its current physical “location.” And tag the item, e.g., #insurance, to easily sort your Artifcts by items you have, or want to have, added to your policy.  

Determining the Value of Your Belongings 

If you’re not sure of the value of an item in your collection, but suspect it’s valuable and want expert insight, you can Artifct That and then click “What’s it worth?” to share the Artifct and its supporting documentation privately with Heritage Auctions. They will assign your Artifct to the appropriate expert to review.  

You will receive a notification automatically in a few weeks when the free valuation is ready. You’ll find the valuation report in the documentation section of your Artifct. With the information from the valuation in hand, you can decide what to do next.  

Here's an example: You inherited a clock from your grandfather. You love it because it reminds you of him, always positioned on the bookcase next to his favorite reading chair, and you know he brought it with him to the United States from his homeland, Japan. The free valuation from Heritage Auctions informs you that that clock, in that condition, from that maker, in today’s market would go for between $18,000 and $22,000.  

You may think to yourself, “I better get an appraisal and confirm that it’s covered by my insurance policy.” Or you may think, “I loved Grandpa, but that clock is not that valuable to me. I’m going to sell it and use that money for {whatever you like}.” 

Before you sell a family heirloom or anything you value, you should consider these tips from Lark Mason, an expert in Chinese art and antiquities and frequent host on Antiques Roadshow. Read now! 

Insurance: Fact or Fiction 

We’ll close out this focus on Artifcts for insurance by revisiting our popular “Fact or Fiction?” discussion we had last fall with Howard Insurance, a private insurance advisory and risk management firm, about how to protect your ‘stuff’ from the chaos and mayhem that is life.

We invite you to test your knowledge with our "Insurance: Fact or Fiction" quiz, and then see what the experts have to say. (Hint: Answers are below.) We hope each point will build your confidence to take the necessary steps to protect all you cherish! 

1. 1. 1. I need an appraisal to insure an item separate from my homeowner's policy.
      2. My homeowner's policy will pay to replace items even if my jewelry, antiques, silver or fine art has appreciated in value.
      3. All homeowners' policies are the same and include the coverage for everything in my home.
      4. Coverage for my personal trust is automatically included in my homeowner's policy.
      5. All homeowners' policies include coverage for mysterious disappearance.
      6. My personal property coverage is worldwide.
      7. Coverage for my personal property includes water damage, hurricanes and floods.
      8. There is no deductible for losses to my personal property.
      9. Filing a claim for my personal property will not impact my homeowner's premium.
      10. Mysterious disappearance coverage is included automatically on valuables policies. 

As the fact-fiction quiz reveals, picking the right policy or combination of policies is critical to protecting your ‘stuff,’ and worth a conversation with your agent. Watch the video replay with Howard Insurance for the full details behind each of these fact or fiction questions. 

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Fall is here and with it comes everything pumpkin spice, cooler nights, and the return of Evenings with Artifcts! This fall our 5-part series is centered on interactive workshops that allow YOU, our Arti Community members, to follow along with us as we delve into the details of how to Artifct photos, ephemera, and everything baby, just to name a few.

No guilt tripping or extreme minimalism hacks here. We'll talk frameworks to tackle the sentimental clutter and photos, and invite you to take a fresh look at your legacy and life stories through the lens of Artifcts. We'll highlight key features and time-saving tips and provide you plenty of time to follow-along at home as you capture, preserve, and share YOUR story, YOUR memories, one object at a time. And to that end, each workshop will also lean on one of our many free checklists to help inspire our conversation. 

Mark your calendars for Wednesday evenings at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET from October 16th through November 13th. Look for event and RSVP details each week in our e-newsletter and on our social media channels (Instagram and Facebook). And please share with friends, family, and others you meet. The more the merrier!

If you missed any of our past Evenings with Artifcts, catch up now!

ENJOY A RECAP OF EVENINGS WITH ARTIFCTS, FALL '24

If you'd like to suggest a topic or speaker for future events, share with us at Editor@Artifcts.com.

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Note to reader: If you're excited about the recipe pictured above in this article, you're in luck! It's Artifcted and available here for you along with a photo of the original baker herself so you can make these treats at home, too. Enjoy!

When I was a kid, the sweet smell of cherries would waft through the house as my mother cooked down Door County cherries to transform them into all things delicious. My favorite was cherry jam, hands down. A sweet but tart treat on crepes, toast, and pancakes.

The physical artifacts of jam are many. Photos of our family out picking the cherries. Cookbooks and recipe cards, pots and slotted ladles. And of course, cherry juice-stained shirts, reused year after year while pitting the cherries.

While the ambition of passing down these traditions, cookbooks, pots, and so on, is a touching and earth-friendly one, reality suggests we need an alternative. Tight living spaces, our more nomadic lifestyles, and the fact that only person can inherit that item, when maybe 3, 4, or 5 of you want it, means going digital helps ensure your culinary traditions live on and can be shared with all.

Start Your Ovens and Your Artifcting 

This holiday season, as you set out to reenact old traditions and create new, keep your Artifcting habit front of mind so you can capture those moments and the details to recreate them long into the future. Here are holiday-ready Artifcting tips for all things culinary: 

Supplies and tools. You might think taking pictures of the supplies is senseless, but exactly WHICH brand did your uncle always use? And when Grandma said a cup, did she mean a 1 cup measurement, or did she use her favorite “cup?” When it came to this grandmother’s biscuits, it was most assuredly the latter! If you’re aiming for more predictable results like her granddaughter, Artifct those tools, too!

The real recipe. There’s the recipe that’s written down—and how we love seeing the recipe in someone’s original handwriting—and then there’s the recipe as it is actually made. If you can, participate in the making this year and take notes to compare with the current recipe of record. Artifct a recipe that includes all the details, making it less stressful to recreate next year.

Tricky steps, strange consistencies. If there is some art in the making, a short video or even a picture can help. I tried to capture just that in this Artifct because as a novice baker I was incredibly unsure that the consistency of my dough was right.

The end result. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we know, we know, but capturing a beautiful photo of the completed recipe to feature in your Artifct will entice family and friends to check out the recipe. And isn’t that the goal? You want them to check it out and bring it into their kitchens, too.

BONUS! If you ever publish your Artifcts to a custom holiday book or cookbook, you’ll have the great picture you’ll want to feature with the recipe and its story.

Make Artifcting a New Family Holiday Tradition 

Artifcting your holiday traditions is fun and easy and by design draws in people of all ages.  

If you’re reading this as you are nearly ready to sit down for your holiday meal, consider grabbing a stack of notecards or a blank book and passing it around. Gather favorite recipes, in their handwriting, to Artifct and share after the day.

Getting ready ahead of time? Make Artifcting easier for all to enjoy by taking a few minutes before the holiday to create an invite-only circle on Artifcts—our co-founder Heather does this ahead of every holiday meal hosted at home. Invite to your circle your brother, sister, parents, neighbors, and all others joining you for the holiday. Encourage them to share their recipes, holiday décor, and “best of” pics from the day with the circle to easily relive and enjoy for years to come.

Creating a circle is fast and easy. Watch our video or follow these steps:

1. 1. 1. Sign in on Artifcts.com.
      2. Go to the plus (+) menu in the top banner.
      3. Choose "Create a circle." You'll have options to add an image for the circle, name it, and add a description.
      4. You then have two options for inviting members.

• • • • • Option 1: Continue by adding each member's Artifcts screenname or email address, and then send the group a custom note so they know why you've invited them.
        • Option 2: Save your circle without adding members, and then click to ceate your  copy an invite link to send to everyone via email, text, or however else you prefer to reach them. Remember, to access circles you've created or have been invited to, go to your "Special Collections" in your top right menu.

We wish you happy Artifcting!

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For an extra dose of inspiration, sign in and download our culinary checklist for free!

© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.