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A Letter from Our CEO

Heather Nickerson, Artifcts
August 26, 2021

Dear Readers, 

I am very proud to announce the launch of Artifcts, our web and app-based platform that enables people anywhere and everywhere to capture, preserve, and share the stories (and meaning) behind the objects in their lives. 

Why Artifcts? My mother was the initial inspiration for Artifcts. She passed away unexpectedly several years ago. Like most of us, she had a lot of stuff.  

Following her death, I was frustrated because I had her stuff, but what I really wanted were her stories. The who, what, when, where, and why behind the objects. Why did she have a certain item? Where did it come from? When did she get it? What was the story behind her beloved softball glove? What did it mean to her? Why did she love a specific piece of jewelry? Who gave it to her? Was it for a special occasion? What occasion? Sadly, the objects could not tell her story. Only my mother could have done that, and she was no longer here.  

That was the genesis of Artifcts—an overwhelming desire to ensure that anyone anywhere would have a safe and secure way to pass down stories, not just things. To ensure that others would never have to be in the same situation I found myself in one January morning, sitting in my mother’s closet fighting back tears, pondering what to keep and what to rehome.  

That was the genesis of Artifcts—an overwhelming desire to ensure that anyone anywhere would have a safe and secure way to pass down stories, not just things

As with any idea, Artifcts has evolved over the months to be more than just a place to document the who, what, when, where, and why behind the objects in our lives. We’ve created and enabled a variety of features that allow our community members to capture small (and big) moments in time, connect with loved ones, and preserve the meaning behind the objects that speak to who we are and where we’ve been. 

I invite you, dear Readers, to join us on our adventure. Share an Artifct with a friend or a loved one. Tell a story that hasn’t been told before. Create, connect, inspire. (Or if you want to make your insurance agent very happy, export a copy of your Artifcts to your homeowner’s policy.) It’s all doable here. 

Go ahead. Give us a try. Tell us what you think. We’d love to hear from you. 

Happy Artifcting, 
Heather

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© 2021 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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What's New at Artifcts
Why We Support Hilarity for Charity: Bringing Light to Alzheimer's

Hilarity for Charity (HFC), how we adore you! We first met the HFC team at the 2022 spring American Society on Aging Conference. At the time, Artifcts was in the process of competing for funding to study the potential of the Artifcts platform to be used as a screening tool for mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Spoiler: We won! The more we at Artifcts learned about HFC's focus on care for families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease, inspiring the next generation of Alzheimer’s advocates, and advancing brain health research and education, we knew this was an organization we had to find some way, any way, to support.

Today we're honored to lead periodic, free, virtual HFC Caregiver Lounges for two of the groups that HFC supports: caregivers to those with dementia and youth ages 15-25. In all cases, we're seeking to bring people together through a new tool, Artifcting, and the ease, joy, and meaning made possible with each Artifct created.

"I know firsthand the joy that's possible when you simply ask a loved one, "What is this {thing}?" and then give them the space to tell their stories and reminisce about days past," said Ellen Goodwin, cofounder of Artifcts. "It's also remarkable how you can break through those uncomfortable silences and awkward moments between grandparents and grandchildren who are unaccustomed to spending time with each other and can lean into Artifcting as a win-win, meaning time together and capturing stories for always."

     HFC Caregiver Lounge, Oct. 2023

 
 
 
 
Check out wearehfc.org or follow @WeAreHFC on Instagram for the Caregiver Lounge schedule and event details. Images above show what to look for!

Last fall, HFC also invited Artifcts to a private fundraiser event in Austin, Texas, where the guests delighted in what Artifcts has built and is now doing within the brain health community. One guest remarked, "Imagine if all for-profit companies built with the vision AND the heart of Artifcts? It would be a different world, a better world." 

       Mother and daughter dressed up at HFC event

 
 
📸 Credit: Images 1-2, @baileytoksozphotography @magenbuse; Image 3: Artifcts co-founder Ellen Goodwin and her daughter dressed up and shining at the event @Egoody

Yes, Artifcts may be a young startup, but we have a vision that means transforming all of our relationships with 'stuff' and each other, one Artifct at a time. It's about meaningful connection meeting the practical realities of life: We collect a lot of stuff, and we need to know what it is, why it matters, and what we'll do it with it next. 

We appreciate the humor and truth behind this quote from Lauren Miller Rogen, "Everyone with a brain is at risk for dementia." Begin Artifcting today. Begin learning more about brain health today. Follow along with Artifcts (IG: TheArtiLife) and HFC (@WeAreHFC) for tips and events from Artifcts and HFC!

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

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International Brand Strategist Gina Buchalter Joins Artifcts Advisory Board

As Washington D.C. headquartered Artifcts celebrates its 3rd birthday, it also welcomes Gina Buchalter to its strategic advisory board. Gina's storied career reaches across popular consumer brands, such as Aura Frames and Fitbit, as well as the world renowned Paramount Pictures.

Gina's deep experience delivering consumer products through new channels and partners will help Artifcts to expand its own footprint within core consumer segments.

"Gina's creativity and ability to connect dots that no one else even sees is captivating and carries with it the revenue basis to help startups and 'grownups' alike to flourish. It's going to be a great year 4 with Gina rounding out our advisory board," enthused Artifcts co-founder Ellen Goodwin.

"I am honored to join Ellen and Heather and the rest of the Artifcts team. It's such important work to help people chronicle their things and memories into one great cohesive story. I'm excited to be part of that journey."

The Artifcts Strategic Advisory Board also includes:

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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MassChallenge Invites Artifcts Into Early-Stage Accelerator

We interrupt your normal Wednesday ARTIcles story to offer you greetings from Boston, Massachusetts. The Artifcts co-founders flew to Boston yesterday to take part in a multi-day launch of the MassChallenge Early-Stage Accelerator program, one of the world’s top accelerator programs. What’s that? Read on!

As a self-funded, patented startup poised to become a household name—because, let’s face it, who doesn’t have stuff or stories—the team at Artifcts wants to ensure that we’re delivering to you not just the best product to capture the stories, history, and value of all you collect, accumulate, and inherit in life, but that we do so always with an eye toward the best in tech, the best in how we operate (lean!), and more.

MassChallenge is a global network for innovators working to solve massive challenges. MassChallenge connects startups, experts, corporations, and communities to grow and transform businesses and does not take any equity from companies who participate. According to Mass Challenge, the early-stage accelerator has facilitated a remarkable $9B+ in funding for its cohorts.

Of the 1,300+ companies to apply, Artifcts was selected along with approximately 120 others to work together over the next 3 months with industry mentors and partners to challenge how we operate, means to improve, and of course how to grow. While you won’t see any immediate change at Artifcts as we work through the program, we hope that we’ll come out stronger than ever and with new ideas for how to better connect with you and help you to enjoy all that Artifcts offers.

Opening session of MassChallenge, Boston, July 9

 
 
Andrew Bialecki, CEO & Founder of Klaviyo, shares his startup journey during the opening event.

In the meantime, please, continue to Artifct. Share Artifcts with friends and family. We may not have the marketing budget of a goliath corporation, but we have amazing community members who want to see Artifcts succeed. We’re so grateful. And, if you have ideas of what you’d like to see next at Artifcts, or even suggestions for what we could do to make your experience better, let us know! We love and take feedback from our ARTI community to heart.

Wish us luck as we roll up our sleeves and dive into the MassChallenge world!

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Curious about what else we've been up to?

Explore some of Artifcts' other "As featured in" and awards through the years.

© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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