Personal History Awareness Month - May 2015

Society and culture have changed dramatically over the past few generations, mostly due to limited inter-generational contact. Many people only hear snippets of their heritage during family reunions or at holiday time. Children rarely hold interest in knowing the depths of ancestor's lives until they themselves are much older, and therein lies the difficulty. How to capture these stories before the holders of the stories are gone?

Photos are great, but tell no tale on their own. The stories behind the photos need to be saved, or else one ends up with a box of faces / places and no facts. That's why the genealogical business exists today. To help those without a continuous stream of family history to uncover what can be gleaned from scattered archival records. So, what can be done?

The future of our own history starts now - it's up to each one of us to save it. In making our motion-biographies at TimeStories, we typically sit with the eldest member of a family and guide them through recalling their family lineage, their own upbringing, their marriage, kids, work, favorites, fears, loves, beliefs and values. All they need is a good night's rest and a willingness to remember. No other preparation aside from exhuming those photos from the backs of closets and myriad photo albums. In a few hours, our one-on-one filmed sessions capture all the facets of a life and its reminiscences. Back in our studio we scan those family photos, (and can add home movies and relevant archival imagery from the internet) and edit it all together creating a motion biography to be enjoyed now and for descendants to come. 

Some clients come to us with tales of parents long gone or tales shared amongst the family, looking for a way to put them in one place for all time - what we call a DocuMemory. For others, we take valued images and weave them into elegant printed photo story albums with narrative captions that can be given to relatives and children to know the stories behind these photos. The stories saved now are the heirlooms of the future.

3 Generations

We are proud of our ability to provide "time-capsules" of lives lived. But this business turned out to be more than just a way to preserve heritage. After delivering over 45 feature-length filmed biography movies and dozens of photo storybooks we discovered numerous additional benefits experienced by our clients. The process of being asked to summarize one's experiences, feelings and beliefs, of reviewing photos and revealing the tales within, and then to see them presented back in a concise manner is a tremendous validation of one's life. 

Even the simplest of life stories, told with earnestness and edited for conciseness, conveys a sense of accomplishment and personal value. Just surviving the rigors of daily life, having witnessed and participated in the changing times of fashion, music, art, politics, trends and technology over the years provides a retrospection that may be overlooked otherwise. This knowledge can also be an immense aid for younger family members struggling to determine their way forward in conjunction with their familial and cultural lineage and their place in the world.

So, take the time to reach into the future by make a present of the past. Allow us to help you help your descendants know from whence they came! We love what we do...

New (re-)Launch - TimeStories.com

We are proud to announce the launch of TimeStories.com


HeirloomBiography has evolved to serve a larger audience. The old name will fade away while the new name carries on the same tradition - "Saving lives one story at a time". (Borrowed from the APH)


All of our previous work will still be viewable, but along with our motion Biographies we have now expanded into chronicling the fledgling lives of children, with our Kidographies. We've added personal movie Tributes to honor and document the lives of loved ones. We still produce Corporate Histories designed to carry the brand into the future while giving a nod to the past, and have added Story Albums - narrative photo albums printed on hand-stitched, bound, archival pages. These exquisite coffee-table books are for keeping stories aligned with their images.


The idea behind these books was the impetus that started our business.


When my parents died, I inherited hundreds of photographs of Europe and China where my parents were born and raised. None were titled or named. Aside from finding these photos mildly curious and not just a little "neat", I put them in the closet for "when I was older". When my son turned four, he asked me "who's the lady with the big smile" in all the photos around the house? It was my mother - his grandmother - who died the year he was born. I pulled a few pictures out of a box to show him and was struck by how little I could tell him. 


As a first-born American, those far away countries in those photos told nothing to me. Where were they taken? Who was in them? Were they relatives? Friends? Why did they take that particular shot? A wave of guilt came over me as I recalled countless stories offered at numerous dinners while growing up. At each mention of "the old days", I drifted off - more concerned about my interests or my social activities. What did I care about those far off and ancient lives??? I was an American growing up with music, tv and toys galore! My future lay ahead - not behind me.....


Back to the box in the closet. With each photo pulled out I "umm-ed" and "ahh-ed" to my son - not knowing what to say. What few I could find of my mother (she was the photographer of most) I put aside to create a montage of her. I narrated the eulogy I wrote for her funeral and animated the pictures to create Remembering Renee, a tribute to her life for my son to watch.

That was the start of our heritage business back in 2006. Since then, we have expanded to a group of like-minded individuals who all share the same beliefs - "that our stories today affect those yet to be, that true value comes from family and friends, and so much detail is forsaken in the rush of modern living."

I wish I could bring my parents back for a long weekend and ask them all about those stories they told that I ignored. I would have them explain why they did what they did, when they did it, and how they felt about the tough decisions in their lives. Because everything they did or didn't do led to my existence - and ultimately to my sons'. It would've been nice to know the stories and not just have the images that went with them.


The following quote is from Philip T. Sudo and sums up our our philosophy perfectly:

Remember who made you
and those before you
and those before them.

All those ancestors are within you,

stretching back to Creation.

Years hence,

Whom will you be within?

So, take the time to capture the stories of times past and present. Preserve the visions of your children as they embark on their journey of life. Honor loved ones with a tribute of times shared. Do it today, for today's TimeStories are handed down as tomorrow's treasures.


Time Stories - always moving.

Gone but not forgotten

This has been another momentous year in heritage and legacy preservation for Heirloom Biography. We have completed 6 new biographies, 3 tributes, 2 kidographies and 1 corporate heritage. Working with families who "get" the value of story chronicling - who are generous and kind in archiving their loved ones' life story, makes our work so rewarding.

We have just about completed our rebranding under our new name "TimeStories". Look for the launch in early 2011 as TimeStories.com. We wanted to make it clear that "every age has a story to tell", not just seniors!

Several families we have worked with over the years have since lost the elder person whose story we saved. We have attended a few wakes and funerals, yet none were consumed with loss. There was a joy for the person and their life, perhaps because they knew time couldn't be stopped, but also, perhaps, because they knew they could always remember them by watching the biography we made. A few families played sections of the bios at the receptions afterwards making it seem less harsh and just a little strange. Strange that the mortal body had moved on but the spirit and idiosyncrasies remained all around. Laughing at the comments of their dearly departed reminded me of the New Orleans custom of Jazz Funerals and "second lining". Some even played the deceased's favorite music, and dancing was not uncommon.

I pass on another link to a touching video that speaks to this phenomena of remembering the awkward and (too?) personal as well as the presentable parts of a person. We are composite wholes of many traits, characteristics and habits that define us as who we really are. One cannot separate the weird or unpleasant from the charming. This video touches on just those "imperfections".

As Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts..."

Make the effort to save what took years to develop - a unique, irreplaceable personality - with all the good and bad rolled into one. They ultimately define where you came from and, more importantly, why you came here.

Cheers!

The wisdom of older ages

The end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 has taught us many things at Heirloom Biography about the values of heritage preservation and who holds them.

We have always assumed that the children of aging parents were the ones who were most desirous of a clear heritage knowledge - that the aging elders already knew their own story and were less motivated to try and save it. We were surprised, then, when a few seniors approached us to create remembrance videos & books to give as gifts to their families.

One client wanted us to take her

photo album that she started

at age 9, and "fix" it for her child & grandkids. It was well beyond repair, so we disassembled it, scanned all the photos, color-restored them

and created a printed album similar to the original from which multiple copies could be made.

The book was printed on a large format paper and bound into a 60 page book that came out stunning. Although the client doesn't understand how "we made the photos appear in one book while the originals are still in her old album", she has commented that this was the best investment she has made "all during her senior years". Two more copies have been made for her daughter & grandkids. We are now making another book showcasing her mother's handmade stitched samplers that will be donated to the local historical society after her passing. This client is 90 years old and sees well into the future of her heritage!

In another example, we were approached by a man turning 100 who told us that he "had made it" (to 100) and wanted to celebrate his story with his great- great grandkids who visited him but knew nothing of his life. We proceeded to interview him and made a 20 minute video to show at his retirement home birthday party attended by 5 generations of family.

Folks are still emailing us about how amazed they are that "gramps" had so much of a story and his secrets to a long life.

All we did was ask!

So, we here are constantly and wonderfully surprised by who cherishes their history and for what reasons. Never underestimate any age, for every age has a story to tell.

Life is full of misery, loneliness & suffering - and it's all over too soon.

- Woody Allen

The Surge of Spring!

Well, it's been quite a dynamic Winter in the biography business. We have completed a few more bios chronicling more life stories, and a couple of new "Tell Me A Story" children's videos.

Mary was a favorite in the last year. She was so sweet and accommodating, her story was a joy to work on. Hard to believe she is 90 years old! The joyous spirit never ages.

We also added the husband and wife team of Betty & Richard. 

Both lived such amazing and world-travelled lifestyles.

It is exceptional that they were able to make the move from China to the U.S. during such difficult times and be as successful as they were considering all the obstacles they encountered along the way. 

One more biography was commissioned for Ken to honor his long list of accolades and achievements throughout careers - from a youthful & enterprising magazine peddler during the depression, on to researcher for Kodak, and then patent examiner & powerful

corporate attorney. 

His family story is of a marvelous and often difficult journey - yet his true talents shone through and he is enormously loved by his four children. Thanks, Ted!  

Stay tuned for more to come!

Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards.

-Soren Kierkegaard