How To Preserve Family Heirlooms In a Digital Era: An Interview with Artifcts

How do you preserve family heirlooms for generations to come? From saving memories while decluttering to preserving the value behind your things, Artifcts gives you a digital way to organize stuff and capture the meaning behind objects. Join us as we talk with the founder, Heather Nickerson, about how Artifcts can help you preserve your memories and further your family history goals.   

Legacy Tree:  What is the origin story of Artifcts? You come from a CIA and security background. What is the connection between your former career and your current work at Artifcts? 

Artifcts|Heather:  

There's little connection other than the whole foundation of privacy and security. Growing up at the CIA, I was an analyst traveling overseas and a briefer during the Obama administration. I also served two years on the White House Executive Order Task Force.   

I saw a lot and learned a lot about how to protect our nation's information. I grew to understand the need for privacy and security. And then, I was headhunted out of the agency after being there for about ten years. A private security firm came and made me an offer I could not refuse to assist private companies and families protect their security and privacy. I did that for nearly a decade as well.   

During that time, my mother passed away, and I was a senior executive trying to run and grow the security company while also having to deal with a 6,000-square-foot home full of her stuff.   

Seven months later, I was still trying to figure out what to do with all of the stuff. I kept asking myself, “What should I do with it? What would she have wanted me to do with it?”   

And then sometimes, “Why does she even have this?”  

I had all these questions and no answers. Seven months in, I was crying on the floor of my mother's closet over this crystal vase because I knew it was a Tiffany's crystal vase. I knew there was monetary value. My mother never used it, yet she kept it on her bedside table. It must have meant something to her. I had no clue how she got it, who gave it to her, what it meant. My family was essentially useless. My aunts said, “We never knew she had that.”  

Was it a prized possession she wanted me to keep in the family, or was it some crazy gift from Great Aunt Mildred? Would she be horrified that I kept it because she didn't really like Aunt Mildred? I just didn't know.  

I had this moment where I thought, if I'm going through this, there had to be so many other people who are also experiencing this because, at the end of the day, our stuff outlasts us, and someone must deal with it.   

After having that kind of literal breakdown in her closet, I started researching and thought there's got to be an easier way to do this.   

And I spent years, literally years, looking for a solution. I found a ton of answers if I wanted to make a photo book or if I wanted to make a memory book or a storybook, but no one was dealing with the stuff.  

That's why we made Artifcts.

My co-founder Ellen Goodwin and I incorporated Artifcts in December 2020 and haven't looked back since.   

Legacy Tree: Do you find that people are drawn to using Artifcts because of a similar situation to yours, or are there various reasons why someone might decide they need Artifcts?

Artifcts | Heather:

When we first started the company, we thought it would be for families either estate planning, dealing with end-of-life planning, or someone who's lost a loved one, and they must deal with the estate afterwards.   

But over time, we have found many other reasons why people join Artifcts.   

We currently have members aged 16 to 97, which has blown us away. We have members who are new parents, and they're overwhelmed by the kid stuff and all those precious first memories tied to an item: the first onesie, the hospital bracelet, the first baby bonnet.   

We have parents of multiple kids across ages who bring home kid art from school and tell us, “I don't want to take a picture and get another book. I am done with the clutter. I love artifcts. I can take the photo, have my child record a short video or audio, get that sweet kid's voice, put it all together, make the artifct, and have nothing else cluttering my house. I can get rid of the kid art and not feel guilty about it. And I now have the memory captured safely and securely.”   

We have folks on the other end of the spectrum downsizing. Close to half of our members Artifct items they have no intention of keeping. They're either downsizing, or they're donating, or sometimes they're even selling items, but they Artifct because they want to keep the memory. They may not have space for the family table, but it was part of all those holiday meals, so they Artifct it with the family photos at Thanksgiving or Mother's Day. They add in their stories, the kids and grandkids all get to add in their bit, save it, and then the table goes. That was probably one of the biggest surprises to me: the Artifcting of stuff you're not going to keep.  

Legacy Tree:  What is it about Artifcts that has caught the attention of genealogists? 

Artifcts | Heather:

Many genealogists are the family keepers, and they're overwhelmed by stuff. With Artifcts, they can keep the memory and then let go of some of the stuff and not feel like they are dishonoring their family or not keeping the memory alive.   

We also have heard from genealogists near and far that it's created an intergenerational connection because we are a tech platform. We have a fun app, and our youngest members love it. It's got all the buttons and widgets you'd expect. It's also very practical; many grandparent and grandchild pairs now use Artifct together. Many of our users have said they couldn't get their grandchild to pay attention to their stories, but once they get the app, the kids are off and running.   

It enables togetherness and story-sharing. It's memory sharing, but it's an activity you get to do together, which is also why we were voted and recognized as one of the top genealogy tech tools of 2023 by Family Tree Magazine, which was a complete surprise to us.   

Legacy Tree: Are there ways that using Artifcts can help with genealogy research? 

Artifcts | Heather:

When you make an Artifct, it's always private unless or until you decide to share. You can privately share with friends and family, or you can also make the listing public. You can search and link to other public Artifcts when it is marked public. Using this feature does allow you to link an Artifct to a person or another Artifct the same way you might link a person with a tree in a family tree software.  

You can invite your family to your circle, and then you can all share different Artifcts, and they're all linked to you through the circle. For example, last year I made a Thanksgiving circle with the friends and family that joined us for Thanksgiving. I Artifcted all the recipes and I Artifcted Grandma's China we used for dinner. We Artifcted everything and invited all our guests to the circle so they could add their Artifcts—photos from the day or things they brought. We had one of our friends bring their traditional family Chilean empanadas and they Artifcted that.

So again, everyone that was there had access to all the Artifcts and all the recipes. It was enjoyable and a great way to preserve family memories.   

Legacy Tree: What has been the best part of Artifcts as it relates to family history?

Artifcts | Heather:

What's been humbling to us is how many people have said, “I've told the stories hundreds of times, I've made the book, I've printed the book, I've gifted the book. But it wasn't until we had this that the next generation got it.”   

It's the ability to bridge generations and the fact that you can bond over this and do it together.  

I wish I had had this back when my mom was alive because I think so much more of her history and story would've been saved for my daughter. But it makes me happy to know that other families have this tool. They're taking the time and having fun, and that's really cool. It's not just a technological tool; it's also an experience. And families are redefining that experience, which is heartwarming for us.  

Legacy Tree: Does Artficts have a way to record the value of items?  

Artifcts | Heather:

People sometimes do Artifcts because they don't know the value and are very curious. As a paid member, you can get free valuations for your Artifcts with our partner Heritage Auctions. A button at the bottom of your Artifct allows you to request a free valuation. Your artifact information is sent to Heritage, and they typically send you back a valuation within two to three business weeks. That way, if you need an appraisal for tax or estate planning purposes, the valuation can give you a sense of its estimated worth. The valuation is beneficial to families to figure out what to do with the item and decide if an appraisal is needed.  

Legacy Tree: What are the different ways to get started at Artifcts?

Artifcts | Heather:

The beauty of Artifcts is you can artifct wherever and whenever it makes sense to you on your terms. You can try us completely free. Your first five artifacts are always free at artifcts.com or on our app. Create your first one or two artifacts for free and see what you think. I would then recommend going over to our YouTube channel. It can help inspire you and help you learn how to artifact.  

We then have a paid membership for $89 a year that includes unlimited artifcts, and you have three additional accounts to give away. Many families will buy this option to artifct together as a family.   

We have virtual and in-person concierge services if you want more hands-on help. Virtual concierge sessions are 90 minutes, and we help you set up your account and privacy settings. We help you add family and friends to share with, and then we also help you create your first typically 2, 3, 4, or even five artifacts. It depends on how long of a story or how much you want to share, but we get you started and up and running in that virtual session.   

We also offer an in-person concierge to help clients who have a lot of stuff and are overwhelmed. We have half-day and full-day in-person sessions available nationwide. The people who come in to assist have security backgrounds and are trained to ask good questions, listen, and take excellent notes. They type up the Artifct for you. They'll help you take the photos. This network has helped us expand our services and work with clients who may need extra handholding or that extra support to get started.  

Legacy Tree: Do you have any final thoughts to share with our genealogy community?

Artifcts | Heather:

Don't think of Artifcts as something you do once you've lost a loved one. You are alive today. Do it today. Capture the videos, capture the audio, capture the stories. Get Grandma to tell her story in her voice, words, and mannerisms. That's so important. 

If you'd like help with your genealogy research, contact Legacy Tree Genealogists for a free quote and explore hiring a professional genealogist. 

Reach out to Artifcts if you have stuff you'd like to preserve while doing your genealogy research.