"Always always answer the mail." When a subtle, easy to miss email titled, "Media Inquiry," popped up in the media inbox at Artifcts back in May, it nearly got skipped over. Junk email is pervasive and startup life is uniquely chaotic. But what was clear from a glance were the credentials of the journalist behind the email, veteran reporter Faiza Elmasry, and that of course of Voice of America (VOA), providing news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of more than 326 million people.

As it turns out, after months of research into approaches to preserving family legacy, stories, and memories, Elmasry found that Artifcts emerged as a unique and powerful solution accessible to people worldwide to capture their histories and heritage. She wanted to learn more about the founding philosophy of the company, the founders themselves, and the means by which Artifcts helped its community members to unite the stories with the 'stuff.'

We're pleased to share with you today the Connects series video produced by VOA to celebrate the lives and legacies now so easily captured through Artifcts. Enjoy it now on VOA News.

We are grateful to Faiza Elmasry, and her colleague June Soh, Camera, Producer, and Editor, for this opportunity to bring the story of Artifcts to the VOA audience.

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Today Carson Wealth released its latest Wisdom and Wealth podcast epsiode, featuring a discussion with Artifcts' co-founder Ellen Goodwin. The topic? Your family's estate, all the tangible and intangible memories, collections, and more, and how Artifcts enables all people to craft their legacies, keep an organized inventory of their belongings, and pass down stories, not just 'stuff.'

If you have ever struggled to "get it all done," keep the memories, organize the home, complete legal and financial plans, this is the episode for you; Artifcts is the solution for you. Click the image below to access the podcast. Enjoy!

We encourage you to add Wisdom and Wealth into your podcast listenting rotation. In preparing for the podcast, Ellen took pages of notes and tips from past podcasts to put to use in her own family's day-to-day and long-term planning!

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

“If you want an engaging conversation, ask people about the ‘stuff’ in their homes!” said Steve Gurney, Founder and Director of The Positive Aging Community, after a delightful and high energy conversation with the founders of Artifcts yesterday. 

The Positive Aging Community seeks to foster the connections to the right solutions and the connections to help make aging choices easier and more accessible for all. Within that framework, Artifcts has created a brand new domain for ‘stuff,' so that all the objects we collect and accumulate as we live our lives are transformed from a burden on future generations – and even as we move and downsize today—to the source of personal connection, story and legacy, and financial security.

“It’s not enough to capture memories with journals and interviews and ignore all the ‘stuff,’ and today we learned that The Positive Aging Community agrees,” said Artifcts co-founder Heather Nickerson.  “There’s a lot of frustration and exhaustion out there because of the burden stuff has become to store, sort through, and find future homes for. If we can alleviate that burden and capture the meaning, memories, histories behind our belongings as well, we’ve made the world better.”

The entire discussion with The Positive Aging Community is available on instant replay here. The discussion ranged far and wide. A few themes we touched on included:

• The simplicity of creating Artifcts – As Steve said, if you can join a Zoom call, you can create an Artifct. 
• No need to be a storyteller or have that kind of time in order to create Artifcts. Just write five words, e.g. “My mother gave me it.”
• Collaborating through Artifcts' invite-only circles and shared editing privileges to capture stories you do not personally know at all or only in light detail
• How to Artifct large photo, document, and other collections
• Making Artifcts more accessible to those who are less comfortable on computers and smart phones through Artifcting with a child or grandchild
• Finding the right solution for your needs and making sure you know how you can download your digital assets and assign legacy contacts so your digital assets are not lost in cyberspace in the event you or a loved one passes away.

###

© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Artifcts welcomes Matt Paxton to its strategic advisory board. Established in March, the board provides diverse expertise and decades of experience across technology, estate planning, community building, marketing, strategic growth, and now ‘stuff.’ Matt Paxton started his career with his own downsizing and moving business before gaining national celebrity through appearances on the TV show Hoarders and more recently paving a new path with the PBS series Legacy List with Matt Paxton.

“Matt approaches stuff by looking at the humanity, the history, behind the objects and people’s attachments to them. He doesn’t demand a painful dive into a one-size fits all minimalism. We’re kindred spirits here at Artifcts,” said Artifcts co-founder Heather Nickerson. “Matt’s empathy and energy are great match for the passion behind Artifcts. Everyone needs a history and Matt respects that. He sees first-hand daily the need for Artifcts,” chimed in Artifcts co-founder Ellen Goodwin.

Look for the co-founders of Artifcts and Matt to be out and about through special virtual engagements and live appearances this fall. The trio will continue to Artifct-by-example and release tips to help you join in to redefine artifacts one recipe, heirloom, and travel trinket at a time. Heather reminds everyone, “Remember, when in doubt, just pause, look around, and snap a picture of the first object you see with a story or memory to capture. Artifcting is for all of us.”

The full Artifcts strategic advisory board includes:

• Matt Paxton, Downsizing, Cleaning, and Organizing
• Georgia Mavrookas, HR & Marketing, Ex-Bumble
• Richard E. Miller (Dutch), Wealth Advisor and Relationship Manager, Glenmede
• Aravinda Gollapudi, Technology Executive, Sage

###

© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Artifcts, Inc. is pleased to announce its corporate partnership with NEDA (National End-of-Life Doula Alliance). NEDA’s mission is to inspire positive, creative change in American death practices by creating high standards, ethical and practical guidelines, and rich networking opportunities for all End-of-Life Doulas, resulting in meaningful experiences for the dying, their caregivers, and the agencies involved.  

Artifcts’ mission to help people capture, preserve, and share the meaning (and stories) behind the objects of their lives aligns with NEDA’s desire to create a meaningful experience for the dying and their families. Through Artifcts, families can connect and reminisce over their happy memories, histories, and legacies. Families can also utilize the Artifcts platform to export a copy of their most cherished Artifcts to their estate plan or will, enabling the owner to pass down stories in addition to "things." 

Artifcts looks forward to working with NEDA to help inspire positive, creative change towards end of life customs and practices.

###

© 2021 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.