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theheirloomist · 11 hours

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There are a few things you should know about @joanie_eclaire: she’s athletic, she’s competitive, and faith is her fuel.

In 2021, she discovered a competition she had never faced before— one with herself.

Inspired by the passing of her best friend, she entered @29029, a 36 hour challenge held in the mountains of Utah where athletes repeatedly summit a mountain enough times to equal having climbed Mt. Everest.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I had the inner drive, commitment, and courage in spite of my age,” Joanie said. She was 61.

Climbing a mountain 13 times in 36 hours began with 7months of training. Even so, she stepped onto the course, overwhelmed. That’s when her faith and spirituality joined her on the trail.

29029 is not just a physical challenge— it’s a head game. And Joanie noticed very quickly that she began to lean on her thoughts as her body wore down.

She thought about her parents a lot, who instilled the importance of perseverance through the unknown. Her father landed on Omaha Beach during WWII at the age of 19, reminding Joanie she had it in her to face down the unknown.

But her best friend Karen was top of mind. A year earlier, she died of breast cancer. When Joanie had to hike in the dark for parts of the competition, which was terrifying, she channeled Karen.

“She would probably smile, crack a joke, and start climbing. Karen wasn’t afraid of the dark,” Joanie said.

The other force at play for Joanie was her husband. Each time Joanie summited, he was waiting. And even though she almost didn’t finish due to exhaustion, Jim was waiting on the red carpet finish line when Joanie walked across it.

Shad done it. Through physical depletion and head games, she had climbed her way to the infamous red hat—the competition’s coveted and tangible symbol of a deeply spiritual achievement.

“The red hat was for me, but it was also for them.”

Joanie sent us her competition gear and we turned it into one big tribute to mountain she climbed 13 times and the people who helped.

Congratulations, Joanie, on this wild accomplishment.

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal #perosnalizedart #modernart #photography

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theheirloomist · 5 days

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@bjohnson2’s husband, Brian, spent most of his days in proximity to his trademark black rimmed glasses. If they weren’t on his face, Betsy said, they were always close. And there were LOTS of them.

“There wasn't a day that they weren't hanging from his shirt or on top of his head,” Betsy said. “He had glasses ALL around the house.”

Brian passed away a year and half ago.

"He was loved by so many and has left many holes in people’shearts,” Betsy said. “But we are finding happiness in all the wonderful memories.” And the glasses are helping— all 30 pairs of them.

For Brian’s celebration of life, Betsy collected his glasses from around the house and gave them away to friends and family to wear in his memory.

“I get pictures from people wearing them and it makes me so happy,” she said.

Last summer, we worked with Betsy’s sister, Elle, to surprise her with some art…the glasses, naturally. The pair we got to work with was well loved and well worn— just the way we like our heirlooms.

“It has a permanent place on our mantel so we can see his glasses everyday,” Betsy said of her photograph. “When I see it, it symbolizes his style, humor, intelligence and hard work.”

@ellebrunoreal and Betsy, thank you for letting us honor Brian."

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal #personalizedart #custommade #handmade #modernart #photography

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theheirloomist · 7 days

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Jilian Oxler’s father, Army Sergeant James R. Oxler, proudly served in Vietnam with the Army’s 101st First Airborne Division. He loved the Army, but perhaps telling of his experience in Vietnam, he was adamant about never going back.

For decades after serving, after marrying the love of his life and starting a family, James kept his field boots from the war tucked away in closets or on a dusty garage shelf. He was busy with three kids back then— teaching them to play chess and cards and to appreciate a well-timed joke was his only mission.

But Jilian remembers the boots emerging from time to time. And that is when her father would dispense short but spirited stories about his time in the Army.

“We all loved listening to him, he was a great storyteller,” Jilian said. Eventually even the grandkids got in on it.

“His eight grandchildren knew “Papa” as a reliable source of hard bear hugs & the absolute best stories that kept them fascinated and giggling. Love just poured from him.”

The Oxler family lost their Sergeant last March after what Jilian describes as a fierce battle of another kind— lung cancer. Simply put, she said, “We all miss him terribly. He made everything better.”

This is when his boots stepped in to offer a connection. We photographed them Heirloomist style—all the wear and tear was highlighted, the vantage point was tall and proud. All was in celebration of a life fully lived. The result? (Kiddo for scale!)

“Every time I look at that photograph, I can almost hear his voice, see his proud smile, and feel his love enveloping me,” Jilian said. “Man, he was special.”

*please pass the tissues because this is the part that gets me right in my Heirloomist heart:

“It’s also a way for us to share his story - a real piece of my dad - with friends and family who visit.” Mission accomplished.

@jilianoxler the minute I met you, tears in your eyes, I knew your story was special. Thank you for sharing your Kansas State rocky road Elvis & family loving father with all of us. We salute you, Army Sergeant James R. Oxler.

Also thank you @natmay3 and @oxfam11. We hope you love your art.

#theheirloomist#celebrateyourstory#personalizedart

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theheirloomist · 9 days

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From their time spent as a young family living in Chicago, The Bertschs have fond memories of adventure and togetherness. And also, pancakes.

Their neighborhood diner, The Golden Apple, provided the backdrop.

“Our family has such special memories at this diner. My son is obsessed with the balloons,” Lucy said. “And my husband is even more obsessed with the pancakes.”

Kid friendly service and a sense of community made the Bertsch family regulars at the 24/7 institution.

When the Bertchs relocated to Washington D.C, they were intent on bringing some Windy City with them.

“When leaving Chicago, we knew we wanted to fill our new home with memories from our time there,” Lucy said. So she secured a few uninflated balloons from the diner and sent them our way.

The print now hangs in their D.C. kitchen. “The perfect addition to Saturday morning pancakes.”

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal #personalizedart #personalizeddecor #custommade #handmade #modernart #photography #family

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theheirloomist · 13 days

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Proud to find The Heirloomist: 100 Treasures and the Stories They Tell featured in Garden & Gun Magazine along with some of our most beloved book contributors. Thank you editors! #iwroteabook #theheirloomist #CelebrateYourStory

Read now: https://gardenandgun.com/articles/the-heirloomist-captures-the-art-of-the-keepsake

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theheirloomist · 13 days

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Many thanks to the Oprah Daily editors and team for this fantastic feature about our first book, The Heirloomist 100 Treasures and the Stories They Tell.

#iwroteabook

#theheirloomist

#CelebrateYourStory

Read now: https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a60503792/how-this-styrofoam-cup-held-together-a-family

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theheirloomist · 16 days

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It took 100 trusting humans, 2 years, one legendary publishing company, and my entire heart.

But This. Is. It.

The Heirloomist: 100 Treasure and the Stories They Tell is now available anywhere books are sold.

Every single page of this book is a snack for your soul. You’re going to cry. You’re going to laugh. And you’ll probably say JUST WOW out loud a few times—because that is how The Heirloomist rolls. We celebrate all of it.

I’m unendingly grateful to our contributors who opened up and shared their stories, to my publisher, editors, designers, marketers, publicists, and friends and family. You made this slice of magic a reality.

Welcome to the world, little lady. We know you’re going to do epic things!

Please let us know you got your book! Share, tag, or reach out. #showusyourheirloom #theheirloomist #iwroteabook #chroniclebooks #makeitpersonal #celebrateyourstory #personalizedart #modernart #photography

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theheirloomist · 17 days

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The birth of @christyturlington’s first child included life threatening complications. The health care she received ensured a better outcome- and Christy never forgot it.

“I had every resource I needed to get my daughter and me safely through,” Christy says of her health scare. “It mainly got me thinking, ‘What about the women who don’t have access to quality, respectful maternity care?’”

That is when Christy gave birth to another something special, @everymothercounts, a nonprofit orga-

nization dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe and equitable for every mother, everywhere.

Chapter 19 of our soon-to-launch book, 100 Treasures and the Stories They Tell, is the story of a sculpture Christy saw in a window one day that inspired her to step into her power as a mother. And then the sculpture disappeared. The story ends with a classic Heirloomist twist so we hope you will buy the book and enjoy.

It’s easy to hear Christy’s name and associate it with “supermodel” and you should. Her impact on fashion and photography is nothing less than iconic. But it was really special to get to know the advocate, Christy Turlington. At the time my book was written, EMC had invested more than $30 million in community-led maternal health programs across ten countries.

You read that right. Christy Turlington is far more than a pretty face.

Christy, thank you for taking the time to make Chapter 19 a love note to equality, awareness, and most of all, the importance of supporting others who need it.

Friends, please visit everymothercounts.org and consider a donation if you can. I am not just endorsing the organization because I adore Christy. I endorse this organization because EVERY MOTHER COUNTS.

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theheirloomist · 18 days

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@tianasantore was getting ready for school on the morning of September 11, 2001 when her father popped into the bathroom before work.

“See you later,” he said.

John Santore, a New York City firefighter with Engine 24 Ladder 5 Battalion 2, Greenwich Village, was called with his brothers to the World Trade Center later that morning and never returned to their firehouse.

Tiana was thirteen.

Five years after her father’s death, Tiana found a chest full of old toys in the family’s basement. At the bottom, untouched for years, was a Magna Doodle still displaying a note from her father.

“Dear Tiana, I love you. -Daddy”

Tiana’s full story is Chapter 4 of our soon-to-launch book, 100 Treasures and the Stories They Tell. This father-daughter bond now exists on a plane higher than I could ever write about. But she let me. And when the book was finally written and ready for her, Tianna straight up dialed the light brighter and invited me to her father’s firehouse.

What I found at Engine 24 Ladder 5 Battalion 2 was a family—one that considers Tianna one of their own. We stood around with the trucks and the book, telling stories about John and enjoying a sunny quiet New York morning. Everyone was wearing untied shoes…a reminder they were prepared for things to change at any moment.

John Santore’s name, picture, and heirloom-worthy belongings hang everywhere on the walls of the firehouse he served for 20 years. #neverforget

There is a place in my heart that will always stay broken for what we all endured on 9/11 but getting to know Tiana’s resilience told my heart it was ok to heal a little bit.

How beautiful that the one who was hurt the most was the one to wield the light.

Tiana, thank you for finding me at just the right moment. It has been the most humbling opportunity to tell your story.

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theheirloomist · 20 days

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I completely lost my mind a few months ago when New York Times Bestselling author and beloved food writer Jenny Rosenstrach made an Instagram post about her matchbook collection.

The collection was extensive, and a love note to a time and place in New York City that only exists in our hearts now. I nothing less than fan-girled my way into getting her to let me photograph them.

Not only did Jenny graciously oblige, she showed up. She was awe.some. And she had stories! This brought a special spirit to the piece.

I made a point to bring out the textures and evidence of time on each matchbook— to show them in all their glory, dimensional, with big restaurant energy.

The result is a tribute to shared meals, culinary adventures, young love, and the early sprouts of what is now @dinnerandalovestory.

Jenny writes about our collaboration and my book in her newsletter, Dinner and a Love Story, this week over on Substack and I am so proud to be included. (There’s an epic meatball recipe waiting for you too.)

https://dinneralovestory.substack.com/subscribe

“My photographed collection is doing exactly what art should be doing,” Jenny wrote. “It’s transformed something everyday into something beautiful and most important, it’s made me unspeakably happy.”

Mission accomplished. Jenny, you entertained a total stranger obsessing over your matchbooks with grace, presence, and epic red nails. Thank you.

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal #dinnerandalovestory #personalizedart #custommade #handmade #modernart #photography

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theheirloomist · 22 days

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This picture gets me right in my DNA.

@nikirussfederman is the granddaughter…of one of the daughters…of @russanddaughters.

She is also a fourth generation owner of the family’s iconic business.

In our soon to launch book, 100 Treasures and The Stories They Tell, we got to work with Niki to explore how it all started and how it’s going—as told through the lens of her grandmother Anne’s coffee mug.

You read that right. And we can’t wait for you to read the book. Because Niki’s chapter is full of generational reverence and wisdom, and also a few heartwarming plot twists.

Pictured here is Niki at Russ & Daughters Cafe, the modern day outpost of the family’s brand, reading her chapter of The Heirloomist’s book while her grandmother floats above— that’s Anne behind the counter in the black and white photograph.

Anne passed away in 2018 but her spirit is very much present in everything Niki does. Grandma’s have a way of sticking around like that. We couldn’t be more proud to share this story with you all very soon!

Niki, it was an honor.

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theheirloomist · 22 days

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theheirloomist · 1 month

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One particular memory Dawnda Daniel has of her father in his Stetson hat is sipping coffee with him as the Texas sun rose, then saddling up to drive cattle. She was nine.

We photographed this hat years ago after he passed away and though it emanated with love back then, how could we ever know the many layers of memories it told.

And that is the pure joy of getting to work with @countrylivingmagazine and my monthly Colum, Everyday Heirlooms. There’s always more to the story.

We got to revisit the story of the Stetson hat for this month issue and I highly suggest you mosey out to get a copy for yourself. There’s a toothpick still stuck in the band, and this is just the start of the many stories the hat tells and lessons it holds.

Thank you, editors and Team Country Living for getting this incredible story out into the universe.

@bekind2everyone, we knew this hat was special the minute we saw it and continues to share it’s magic. Thank you for trusting us with your father’s memories all these years.

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #artwithheart #personalizedart #makeitpersonal #custommade #modernart #photography

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theheirloomist · 1 month

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Corey Wheeler Forrest can recall a time when she showed up for her kids carpools or cheer practices with fish scales in her hair and tiny splats of fish blood on her face.

She hails from multiple generations of commercial fishermen. Until Corey, it was boys only. Then her father gave her a job with the crew mending fishing nets one summer.

“They only had 2 men (who were in their 70s at the time) working on the nets and no one learning the skill behind them,” she wrote. “It didn't take long for me to be recruited on the boat, and once I experienced that, there was no turning back.

For years, Corey learned the waters and trap fishing industry from the wise elders around her and worked so hard, she earned the honor of becoming a bona fide fisherwoman. Next up: mother.

“I wasn’t sure how I was going to balance motherhood with fishing, but parting from either did not seem to be an option,” she wrote. For Corey, “work life balance” was never really an option.

So she just brought the kids to work.

“I used every baby carrier they made at the time - the front carrier, slings, and wraps, for when they were tiny and the Northeast wind blew. I would wrap a thick blanket around us and wear an oil jacket for extra warmth and protection."

Sometimes, when her back or should hers couldn’t take it anymore, an Uncle would wear one of the kids while sorting fish. Her son’s first words were “beep beep beep,” the sound of a fork lift hauling fish. The kids, like herself, grew up around the docks.

These days, the kids are grown and off to college but Corey is still rising at 4am to do what she was always meant to do. We recently asked if she’d let us photograph her “office uniform” and a week later, her trademark bright orange rubber waders showed up at the photo studio, still caked in sea grass. It was important, she said, to also include her sewing needle, knife, and fid, since these tools are integral to life on the boat and keeping the family nets viable.

What also showed up was a denim @jcrew button down— ripped and worn to pieces but still very much intact. I felt a wave of adoration for Corey wash over me. She was living out her family’s legacy in her own modern way. This was Heirloomist magic.

"It’s not all calm seas and picturesque sunrises; it’s exhausting yet rewarding, and its far from glamorous, but I wouldn’t change a thing,” Corey wrote. Please follow @fishandforrest for her story is vast, inspiring, and still being written.

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal #personalizedart

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theheirloomist · 2 months

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For those lucky enough to know, @crp517 is the kind of guy who, if he likes you, will kick you out of the friend zone right away and promote you straight to family. He is a gatherer of good humans, a gracious host, good friend, and the glue that keeps people celebrating.

And here’s proof that he’s really, really good at it…thousands of wine corks, collected over 12 years, during gatherings at his home in the Hamptons. Each cork, ceremoniously deposited into vintage glass jugs for safe keeping, tells the extent of the home’s festive energy.

The corks are part display, Charlie is a visual person. But to him, the corks also symbolize the joy of home and togetherness-- through good times and hard.

As it always does, time marches on and things change. We made this photograph for Charlie to remind him of his home, and so that his corks could go wherever he goes—in style. But one thing never changes for Charlie. If you were there for any one of these corks being popped, you are family.

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal #personalizedart #personalizeddecor #interiordesign #friendsarefamily #custommade #handmade #modernart #photography

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theheirloomist · 2 months

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The USA Women’s Hockey Team brought gold medals home from the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea.

In a fierce game against Canada, Monique Lamoureux scored the game-tying goal. Her teammate, Jocelyne, then won the game in a dramatic sudden-death-shoot-out. Jocelyn and Monique have been teammates since birth— they’re twins. And guess what. Their matching gold medals are just the beginning of their winning attributes.

✅Moms ✅Six time world champions ✅Three time Olympians ✅Gender Equity advocates in USA Hockey ✅Leaders of The Lamoureux Foundation

We’re so proud to include these powerhouses in our forthcoming book, 100 Treasures and the Stories They Tell. You’ll have to wait until launch day, April 30, to read the whole story but I promise it will be DOUBLE worth the wait. 🏒🏒

We also got to road trip to North Dakota to photograph the hardware, pictured. The ground was frozen and the hearts were warm. @jocelyneusa17 and @moniquelam7, it was a total honor.

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theheirloomist · 2 months

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@thatgirlgatestudio spent a good chunk of her early adulthood as the steward of this fan. It was one of those family objects that just somehow made its way into her world. She was happy to have it so she never questioned its previous life.

One day she learned it had belonged to someone she adored and was extremely close with—her late step grandfather, George.

Get your pens and paper out, friends, it time to take notes.

An idea washed over Katie. The fan filled her heart with joy and connection. What if she could give that feeling to someone else?

Katie sent the fan to our photo studio be photographed and we happily made her this print. Once finished, we were instructed to send the fan to an address in Charleston, SC. We were not aware at the time of the gesture we were a part of.

In Charleston, @lauriemeyerart was there to receive. Laurie was adopted as a kid and never knew her biological family until she was an adult. Her father, George, passed away before she got to meet him.

“The fan is now where it should be,” Katie wrote.

“It symbolizes a connection to a man I never knew, but my father nonetheless,” Laurie told us.

Now, both ladies have the joy, connection, and technically, the fan! This was a gift for everyone involved. Katie, your heart has superpowers and we will never get over the level of kindness you brought to this project.

#theheirloomist#makeitpersonal#celebrateyourstory#honor#family#custommade#handmade#personalizeddecor#artwithhistory#decorwithhistory#personalizedart#modernart#photography

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