Truth is Stranger Than Fiction
During a virtual webinar of #longevitech (meaning, longevity technology) thought leaders in the early days of Artifcts, I was invited to present Artifcts to the group. As always, talking about Artifcts brings out stories and connection, breaking down barriers in a group of strangers as we all recognize that emotional pull to the objects we’ve collected over the course of our lives.
At the end of this particular event, one of the participants asked me for a follow up call. I would casually describe this person as a “highflyer” for their frequent appearances on the conference circuit as well as in mainstream print and broadcast media.
I was delighted. I thought perhaps they were interested in helping Artifcts break into the media spotlight, a huge challenge for a startup.
No, it turns out that they had a different objective, an objective to reshape our vision for Artifcts.
“You have built a brilliant product that focuses on a critical gap no one else is addressing and will be hard pressed to address with the integrity and thoughtfulness that you have done. But you talk about it all wrong.”
That was one hell of a way to start the conversation. They continued:
“Never again tell that story about the first Artifct ever created. It diminishes and confuses the value of what you created.”
The Story of the First Artifct
When we were first building Artifcts, we invited a small group of trusted allies and friends to try us out. They were our beta group.
The beta member who created the first Artifct gave us a shock. He Artifcted a living, breathing cat: Princesa. He and his wife had adopted Princesa off the streets of Sao Paolo, Brazil, and now she enjoys total reign inside their new home back in the United States.
“While we chatted with [her fosters], she walked off to explore. After about 15 minutes we went looking for her and found her lying in a sunbeam, asleep in our home office. We decided that she had chosen to adopt us,” recalled Charles in his Artifct.
Never had we imagined that living creatures, human or otherwise, would be Artifcted. We were focused on solving our original problem: the inanimate ‘stuff’ in our homes and what its value is to us.
Princesa the Artifct, however, lines up beautifully with Artifcts and why we took out that second 'a' in “artifacts.” We are redefining artifacts from conventional objects of absolute financial and/or historical value that may belong in museums to items of meaning and value to you. In this process, yes, we can easily Artifct items of financial value, collectibles, fine art, and more, but we can also capture the ordinary and sentimental items that represent important pieces of our life stories, our legacy.
Princesa is a story of compassion and warmth and speaks volumes about the person who created the Artifct in her honor. We like to think of her as the Arti Cat.
What Do I Personally Artifct?
True enough, no cat Artifcts for me. I would say that I Artifct the 'stuff' that I care most about, truly has a great story, or I want to be sure stands out from the rest of my 'stuff' for my family so they know what it means to me. My Artifcts are a roadmap for my loved ones.
My top 5 Artifcts categories:
I smiled when I looked to see what my top 5 categories were, because there are no surprises here. I cherish moments, invest a lot of time and energy decorating our home, and am certainly a lover of books (especially REAL books, not digital). My top 5 Artifcts categories are:
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- Life moments, with “photographs” and “life’s firsts” my most popular topics
- Home, which is dominated by recipes and holiday ‘stuff’
- Art, with kid art far and away the top subcategory I’ve used
- Textiles, and here apparel was my top subcategory. I said, “Really?” Sure enough, hats, t-shirts, Halloween costumes and more are all represented.
- Books and other print media, with a fair balance between fiction and non-fiction and a dash of signed editions, too.
My top 5 Artifcts tags:
Since you can create custom tags and add as many as you want to each Artifct, tags are both practical for easy sorting and personalized reflections of why things you Artifct are important to you. My top 5 Artifcts tags are:
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- #Violet, my daughter. Enough said.
- #ArtifctsVideo, but rarely do I record a video to tell a story. Instead, I am almost always adding a video from my phone that I recorded at an event—family gathering, concert, swim meet, etc.—that relates to the Artifcted story.
- #WorkLife, because it’s good to see how far you’ve come, what you’ve done, easily share that with others, and lessen the burden of keeping all those mementos. I don’t even have an office to display them in!
- #Decor, as I mentioned, I put a lot of energy and thought into our home with authentic personally meaningful items to make it warm, inviting, and comfortable.
- #Christmas, because no matter your religion, it’s a time of year when people are a little bit kinder, have an excuse to be a bit merrier, and we take a breath to enjoy more time together.
My 5 favorite Artifcts:
Favorite is probably relative to my mood. But the ones that pop first to mind as I write this article are these:
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- Aquamarine Ring. I have no heirloom jewelry to pass down to my daughter, so through a bit of adventure, I bought a ring to pass down to her one day. I Artifcted the crazy story of my trip to Brazil and included the receipt and appraisal in the Artifct, too.
- Coqui frog. On a trip with my co-founder Heather and her daugthter, hiking in the rain forest of Puerto Rico, my daughter picked up a whisteling coqui frog keychain. The Artifct includes a video proving that she had learned how to whistle just like the frog.
- Ice Skating in Russia. Russia was never a country I imagined visiting once, nevermind half a dozen times. So finding myself ice skating there was surreal. One of my colleagues even captured a video of me on the ice, my Wisconsin roots serving me well.
- Muriel the Welder. My great-aunt didn't think people were interested in her stories. She was 97 years old when I flew to Arizona to Artifct with her and I learned she was a Rosie the Riveter during World War II. Such a powerful combination of personal, family, and world history in one little Artifct of a photo of her welding, the goggles she wore, and a video of her telling me all about it.
- Petra 2023. I wish everyone could visit each of the Wonders of the World. Petra was worth the 12+ hour bus ride, and then some. I'll never forget it.
Interesting aside: As I wrote about those favorite five, I realized there are two themes among those Artifcts. First, every one of them is tied to travel. And second, all but one includes a video. I think you can learn a lot about yourself simply by looking at WHAT you choose to Artifct.
I think you can learn a lot about yourself simply by looking at WHAT you choose to Artifct. - Ellen Goodwin, co-founder, Artifcts
What I've Learned in 400 Artifcts
Why I am sharing all this with you?
Earlier this year I passed an arbitrary threshold of 400 personal Artifcts. My 400th Artifct was a special Christmas present from my daughter: the vinyl version of Adele 21, “I remember you playing this album in the car when I was little,” she said, as I unwrapped it Christmas morning.
In full disclosure, I never expected to have so many Artifcts. Like my critic who told me to never again speak of Princesa if I wanted insurance companies, financial planners, and estate attorneys to take me seriously, I had a narrow “let’s get started somewhere” vision of Artifcts. To me, Artifcts was first and foremost about capturing items of significant financial value or that were family heirlooms. And I don’t have many of either.
But Artifcting is as much a stress release and therapeutic benefit to me now as anything else. I love that I’ve captured these great moments in my life AND digitally organized it all for myself and my loved ones in case I get hit by a bus, so to speak. It’s connection, peace of mind, and a creative outlet.
Looking inside my Artifcts collection, several life themes emerge:
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- I’m reconnecting with people through my Artifcts. Sometimes I’ll go months even years without talking with someone. We’re both busy, geography has divided us, life has happened, but that has not diminished their importance to me. Sometimes I no sooner create an Artifct than realize I must share it with So-And-So, they’ll love the memory, they’ll laugh, they’ll feel better. I’m not demanding any time from them either. I can share it, and they’ll see it when they see it, like a surprise gift in the waiting.
- Maybe I am funny. Lately, other professionals in my sphere keep remarking that I’m funny. Come to think of it, even at the car dealership last week, the guy who insisted on calling me “young lady” (really, I’m not young), also said I was funny. But as a kid, I’m not sure my family ever thought I was funny. Now when I re-read Artifcts I’ve created, I realize I tend to tell stories as they are, no holding back any of the color, and they are funny. Sometimes it’s more like “you have to laugh or cry” but funny all the same.
- Appreciation for life. I’m far from perfect; I make mistakes and try to learn quickly from them. I hit roadblocks like cancer. I come through it all seeing so clearly what a great life I’ve had. Maybe a bit predictable and boring according to some, but I love my family, community, amazing people I’ve met, and world travels and petite road trips. I’ll take it all with gratitude.
I challenge you all to take a look at your Artifcts collection as it grows and see what themes emerge.
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Artifcting has so many benefits in life. Which of those benefits are most important to you is personal. And you may discover, like I did, that the benefit you care about most changes over time, too.
As always, we love to hear your stories and hope you’ll write to us (Editor@Artifcts.com) to share what Artifcts and the act of Artifcting means to you. We’d love to share with the broader Arti Community in future editions of ARTIcles by Artifcts.
Happy Artifcting!
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The first four days of our 12 Days of Artifcts challenge. Objects with stories, your stories!
