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Nostalgia: Mental Disorder Turned Cultural Megaphone

June 15, 2022

Did you know that in the late 1600s and extending through the days of the U.S. Civil War nostalgia was considered a mental disorder? The term nostalgia is derived from the Greek nostos, or homecoming, and algos, or pain, or in other words, “a longing to return home.” Soldiers suffering from nostalgia were considered a risk to their regiment, brigade, or other unit and could have been discharged from service. 

Fast forward nearly 150 years and nostalgia today earns companies billions making what was old new again. Insiders call it the nostalgia economy. In-person and virtual marketplaces for vintage, antique, second-hand, retro, and upcycled have thrived. ThredUP, a publicly traded online consignment and thrift store, claims that the global secondhand apparel market alone will topple $220 billion in the next five years, a figure it revised upwards dramatically over the last year. Check out the 2021 and 2022 reports.   

Marketing mascots and slogans, tv show reboots, and collectibles all play into the nostalgia economy. Just think of all the children's toys – original Barbies, Nintendo and Atari gaming consoles, Hot Wheels cars, Pokémon cards, and so much more. Or iconic clothing. Even my 12-year-old tried out “mom” jeans as well as a preppy accordion-pleated skirt straight out of the 1995 movie Clueless (although she claims Pitch Perfect, 2012). And don't forget pop music as well as vinyl-devoted music fans. “Vinyl records” videos on TikTok have nearly 650 million views! And finally, my favorite retro category – machines. I’m looking at you typewriters, hand tools, and polaroid cameras. 

Text asking if you have collected any nostalgia-based items during the COVID pandemic

Join the conversation with us on social media!

Nostalgia-motivated buying has transformed collectibles auctions, too, by drawing younger than ever bidders. According to a February 2022 article in Antique Trader, Dallas-based auction house Heritage Auctions reported that 37% of first-time bidders in 2021 were millennials. What collectibles brought in the money? Nostalgic items like playing cards and video games along with a Harry Potter book. (I can’t believe the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, came out 25 years ago!) 

Social media has accelerated micro trends and communities in all things nostalgia, offering a never-ending, scroll-happy stream of throwback goods (often for sale). People can "Discover” online, Covid-safe, communities of like-minded fans of whatever vintage item bubbles up next. But like fast-fashion, and fast furniture that we featured last week, people also talk fast-nostalgia. Is anyone else wondering when they will realize why that “it” thing fizzled to start with, maybe starting with wired headphones, as featured in a November 2021 article of Teen Vogue 

Headline from Teen Vogue: Wired Headphones are the New "It" Accessory - and We Should Have Seen It Coming

 
 
 
 
Click the headline to access the Teen Vogue article.

We have a special appreciation for nostalgia and its place in our lives here at Artifcts, uniting us through our shared histories and connecting us to the world we've grown up with and the cultures we've come from. Reminiscing can renew feelings of joy, and often temper the sorrows since we know that we tend to look on the past with rose-colored glasses, safely detached from daily life.  

We hope that here at Artifcts we can all take concrete steps to harness that nostalgia for good and find meaning by linking the past, present, and future. Where will nostalgia take you next in your Artifcting journey? 

Below are three nostalgia-strong Artifcts from our co-founders' personal collections. You can click an image to view the related Artifct. What nostalgic items are in your Artifcts collection? 

pink and blue pastel vintage piggy bank    Collection of vinyl Christmas records    pair of black, thick-framed 1960s eyeglasses

Click an image to view the Artifct.

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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What's New at Artifcts
New Feature: “In Remembrance” of Whom We’ve Lost 

Artifcts in lieu of flowers is a concept born from the Arti Community. We are each the keepers of unique moments in one another’s lives. No one person can possibly be our own personal keeper of all of our memories and stories. No device for that matter either! Today we’re proud to announce the launch of what we have lovingly named “In Remembrance.”  

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It has always been possible to create and share Artifcts privately. Now with Artifcts “In Remembrance” anyone can create an Artifct and share it with someone who is grieving a loss. It's a meaningful gift for someone who is greiving, whether the loss was yesterday, a year ago, or many decades in the past.

Choosing to share an Artifct “In Remembrance” sends a non-editable copy of the Artifct, marked with a black ribbon, to the Special Artifcts Collections of the individuals, circles, or sharing lists you select. Recipients need only a free account to access these Artifcts.  

They will be able to view and download any photos or video and audio snippets you include in the Artifct, too. Maybe they will frame your photo! No need for messy storage and sharing here, there, and everywhere, email, text messages, share drives, chat groups, or temporary memorial sites.   

How Can "In Remembrance" Help You? 

If you have experienced grief, you know that the waves of pain and near paralysis that wash over you as the minutes, hours, and days go by can be all encompassing. With the best of intentions, people may gift you mementos, photos, stories and memories, and more. But it can be hard to recall them when you need them most. And you are only one person! So many people grieve the loss of a single person. What about all of them? 

Through In Remembrance, the objects, photos, video clips and more of our loved ones and the stories behind them can be shared with us so they are accessible from anywhere and at any time we need them. Grief has no timetable. Neither do Artifcts. 

Beyond Grief: Artifcts are About Life 

The reason traditional estate planning is dead is that it has nothing to do with happiness or helping you live a fulfilled life. [...] What about planning to build the life you will ultimately leave behind when you die? - Daniel Scott, Forbes  

Daniel got it right. What is life about if not the moments that make it up? Legacy planning is what estate planners now look to to help people be prepared in life and thoughtfully build that life. 

Artifcts supports preparedness in life, too. We capture together the categorically valuable items we collect – the art, jewelry, collectibles, and more – and equally important the items that mean something to us because of the stories, personality, and life lessons and wisdom they impart today and long after we’re gone.  

For every Artifct you create, we’ve included a small prompt “In the Future” - what are your wishes? What do you want to become of this object? Is it a family treasure to keep always? Will you donate it or bequeath it to a loved one? Consider that to ensure pieces of your legacy live on as you’d wish. 

Bonus: You can also now let us know what we should do if your account is inactive for more than a year after your membership lapses and, ultimately, if you'd like to contribute to research via Artifcts! Check it out in your Account Profile under Security & Longevity> Preserve Your Artifcts.

The entirety of your Artifcts collection is a piece of your legacy, too. Make sure you preserve your Artifcts by naming your Legacy Contacts so we can ensure your digital Artifcts live on as you’d like them to as well. 

For more tips and how-tos, download the Artifcts Guide, "Helping You Be Better Prepared in Life and Providing After-Loss Support."     

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Calling All Family History Buffs!

Love family history? Love bonding over family lore, stories, and other funny quips, quotes, and oh-so memorable moments? You’re in good company with us here at Artifcts! 

What we’ve discovered over the past two years is that family history may sometimes be fickler than we think. It’s easy to lull ourselves into believing that Grandma’s always going to be here to make her famous biscuits. Grandpa’s always going to be here to tell us the story of his steel pennies. But we know this is not true. 

Although we have yet to find a way to stop (or even stall!) time, we have discovered we can capture those moments, stories, and histories straight from the source. Thousands of photos and documents locked in your hard drive, or difficult or expensive software, will not do justice to your family history. You know the dots you want to connect, so start connecting them where you can easily share them with others with more permanence than memories alone allow! 

We’ve put together tips to make sure your family history will be remembered. 

  1. No need to reinvent the wheel. Use the photos and videos you already have and attach the documentation that is already lurking in your digital or physical file cabinets. Founder’s tip: Add a link to digital files in the ‘Location’ field if you have a digital folder with other related items. 
  2. Sharing is caring. Remember to share privately or publicly with your family (cousins included!) or other interested parties. Create a circle, invite your family into it, and you can all swap Artifcts like a big group chat! 
  3. Ask others to contribute. If you don’t know all the details, ask other family members (who have paid Artifcts memberships) to help fill in the blanks by giving them 'Edit’ access when you share. Our co-founder Heather recently asked her aunts for help in trying to track down the details of this old photo.  
  4. Families love using (name) tags. Tag your Artifcts with a family last name, first name, or initials to capture pieces of family history that are easily searchable, findable, and shareable. Got a big family? Encourage others to use the same tags, such as #GrandmaDot or #NickersonFamily2023, to build the family's Artifcts collection. 
  5. Include citation links. Are you the family keeper or the family genealogist? Include citation links to your research or even family tree details in the ‘Description;' as you would elsewhere, leave out details of living family members if you intend to broadly share or make the Artifct public. 

Ready for More? 

Curious how others are Artifcting their family histories?  

Check out our Family History Month Your Way piece for additional tips and tricks, along with our Gift Your Loved Ones a Why for an important reminder of why all that history is so important.  

If you especially love history and want to see some unique Artifcts, check out the Nickerson Family Association’s Artifcts collection. They’ve Artifcted pieces of their family history from the 1660s! You never know what you’ll discover.  

Happy (Family History) Artifcting! 

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Using the Artifcts App to Create Artifcts

“ANY of my photos I took on my phone?”
“Can you help with all these voice messages? Are they ‘stuff?’”   
“Oh, I can do that walking around my house! My son thinks it’s all junk.”  
“I have a three-hour layover in Denver. I’ll start Artifcting then!”  
{What will you say?} 

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We took notes as our newest Artifcts Community members tried out our app last week at the RootsTech conference in Salt Lake City. We must have chatted with more than 500 people who stopped by our booth. Some were conference attendees. Others are themselves respected builders of the premiere brands in genealogy services today. The awe factor of our modest app centered around how much you could do with a single, easy to use application. We’re declaring that a win! 
 
On Monday we offered a free webinar to walk through some of the ins and outs of creating an Artifct from the Artifcts app.  You can watch the recording, blooper moments and all, on our YouTube channel ->  

 

Your Turn! Try a Few of the Artifcts App Features

The more feedback from all of you, the better and better the app will be. Download the app to your iOS or Android device, give it a try, and write to us at Hello@Artifcts.com. We review every message! 
 
CREATE A NEW ARTIFCT
Use what you’ve got!  

On your phone, that is. Go for it, scroll 1000s of photos back in your gallery to that ONE photo you’re thinking of. Or pop into your voicemail and rescue that message you’ve saved for months or even years.  

      1. Open the voice message. 
      2. Click the share icon 
      3. Choose the Artifcts app! 

 

Select a voice message on your mobile phone        Click to share the voice message       Choose to add the voice message to a new or existing Artifct
 

Images are from an iOS phone. Android will have slight differences. 
 

Start fresh. Work with the latest. 
From the Artifcts app, click '+ Artifct.'  

How to create a new Artifct on the app 

Now choose to take a new photo, use an existing photo, video, or audio file, and off you go! Remember, you can choose up to five media files per Artifct and rearrange them to flow with your story. 
 
SHARE AN ARTIFCT
Mobile Style

You can always share an Artifct with someone based on their Artifcts screen name or email address. You can even post public Artifcts to social media. But did you know that the Artifcts app offers a special sharing option? 

      1. Click the share icon on your Artifct.
      2. Choose ‘Share link’ to send the Artifct via text message. You don’t even have to enter the email, phone number, or know if they are already an Artifcts member. Simply type to find the contact on your phone and send the Artifct in a text. 
      3. If the Artifct is private, and you haven’t already given the person permission, they will be able to “request access” when they click to view the Artifct link you sent them. Don’t' worry, they will be encouraged to sign in (or create a free Artifcts account) first to see if they already have access.

Bonus! If you have notifications for the Artifcts app enabled on your mobile device, you’ll learn instantly when they request access. 
 

FIND OUT: WHAT'S IT WORTH? 
When you supect real market value or historical relevance

You can find out if your treasures are authentic and potentially valuable!

      1. Click to view one of your Artifcts
      2. Scroll to the end of the Artifct and click "What's it worth?" to ask Heritage Auctions.
      3. After expert review, Heritage Auctions will attach directly to your Artifct a free valuation within two to three weeks. Be sure to provide helpful details. We offer tips in our FAQs for valuations.  

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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