TheHeirloomist @theheirloomist - Tumblr Blog

Girl Dad energy incoming!

JJ Flotken spent his childhood faithfully devoted to a teddy bear given to him by his grandparents when he was born. He stood by the bear so loyally in fact that instead of casting it aside as the years went on, the family kept it— and symbolically re-gifted it to his first born daughter.

Eighteen years later, reports JJ’s wife Angela, “Beary” remains a treasured sidekick.

“Our daughter has had dozens of stuffed animals over the years and none ever came close to this one,” Angela said.

As his birthday approached, Angela wanted to surprise JJ with some art for his office from his girls— and The Heirloomist.

We got to photograph the bear along with a very stylish contribution from JJ’s younger daughter—a button down Oxford with the words “ BEST DAD” hand embroidered across the back. (She taught herself fashion design during the pandemic.)

“It wasn’t perfect, which made it perfect,” Angela said.

JJ has the prints in his office for now— a reminder that he is endlessly loved by all his girls. And if Angela has her way, there may be an expansion in the works.

“I love the idea of continuing to add to this over time - building a wall filled with things that truly matter. “

Love a good father-daughter love story, @thebetterhave thank you for trusting us with your treasures!

Happy belated birthday, JJ and Happy almost Father’s Day!

From our client Whitney who owes me a case of Kleenex because I can’t stop crying:

“My Dad’s happy place has always been on the trail. Even family vacations when I was a kid revolved around bucket list hikes or one he wanted to share with us. But he is older now and can’t walk on his own anymore.

These are his beloved hiking boots. The rubber soles have been replaced countless times. He never gave up on his trusty boots, he would just fix them and get back out there. This is my dad, personified.

He’s really feeling his age these days but for his 80th birthday, our family wanted to give him a gift that would remind him of who he is in his soul—and adventurer. So we had a “wild” idea. The Heirloomist took it and ran…

My Dad always insisted that his cobbler use screws—not just glue—when resoling his boots so that when he was out in the woods, he was always prepared to keep exploring. When thinking about an Heirloomist portrait of his boots, we wanted to highlight their character for sure but also the their symbolic soles, especially the brass screws. It was a weird ask. But we wanted all the little details to take him on an adventure every time he looked at them….if even in his mind.”

What’s the first thing I do when working with an heirloom? I look for clues. I go on a visual treasure hunt for dents, scratches or strange details—anything that might reveal the spirit of the object in front of me.

Recipe cards are one of my favorite things to photograph because they typically have a lot of wonderful timestamps— handwriting or food stains from the generations of use and love.

This particular recipe card has none of that. It’s meticulously typed and perfectly preserved under plastic and lives in a binder. But the magic jumps right off the paper if you look closely.

“Remember I warned that you could become too joyful. Let the other guy drive home.” The rum punch recipe charmingly states. The person who typed it clearly had a wicked sense of humor, a way with words, and liked to have just the right amount of fun when entertaining.

This recipe card gave me FEELS.

It sat, unread, in a family recipe binder for probably 50 years. It belongs to my grandmother. And it makes total sense now—she was reserved and proper but once you got through the gates, she was a force of a character and fun.

Turning my camera lens to the recipe and exploring all it’s charm was like getting to experience my grandmother again. Even for just a fleeting moment, I remembered she is always close.

How could a tiny piece of paper do that? This is The Heirloomist’s superpower. Our belongings can be portals to the heart. We’re here to get to the heart of the matter with you. By making spirited, deeply personal modern art.

Do you have a special keepsake to celebrate? Let us release the photographic fireworks. Fill out a contact form at theheirloomist.com. We always reply within 24 hours.

Our Heirloomist photo studio recently received a pair of tattered but totally sparkly pink rhinestone boots, small enough to hold in the palm of your hand.

We needed to know the story.

Mom @shannonsmeyer dropped some serious wisdom.

“There’s something about watching your child grow that rearranges you from the inside out. I waited a long time to become a mom but being one has made me more present and more protective of the small, ordinary moments that I now know are anything but ordinary,” Shannon said. “And maybe that’s why something as simple as a pair of pink rhinestone boots can hold so much meaning.”

The boots in question belong to Shannon’s four year old daughter Reese who has made them part of her everyday fashion attire—school, playground, and even the grocery store.

“No hesitation. No second-guessing. Just pride in what she loves. And I am so deeply proud of that,” Shannon said.

In the spirit of taking nothing for granted, we worked with Shannon to transform the tiny boots into art. Shannon wanted the boots captured in all their glory— and RIGHT NOW. Because Shannon gets it…right now is always the time to celebrate.

“Right now, the boots represent a childhood untouched by outside influence—a time where her choices are guided only by joy,” Shannon said. “Looking ahead, they represent my greatest hope for her: that she will always have the courage to wear whatever version of “pink rhinestone boots” speaks to her heart, no matter what the world says. We spend so much of our lives shaped by expectations, opinions, and pressures. But motherhood has quietly pulled me out of that. It’s given me clarity about what actually matters,” she said.

“It has reminded me that the truest, most beautiful version of ourselves is the one that exists before the world starts to weigh in.”

Can someone bring me a case of Kleenex?

Shannon, we absolutely loved celebrating your little lady and with a mom like you we just know she’ll grow up to be a force. Thank you for trusting us with the Sparkly Boots!

This is a love story where receipts were kept. Boarding passes, restaurant tabs, and ticket stubs all tell the adventure of a young couple forming a life together.

But one perfectly preserved pink slip of paper—a high school era computer generated compatibility test— says everything about how it started.

@LindseyGilleyInteriors commissioned us to make a photograph symbolizing how it’s going.

The couple is married now with roots firmly planted in an elegant Houston home. Using receipts from the couple’s special moments together, we worked with the LGI Team to make this larger-than-life collage style photograph for the entryway to the home’s primary suite.

The star of the show, the compatibility test, where boy ranked first among girl’s 1400 other teenage classmate matches, anchors the heart of the image.

Now, in the midst of busy lives and all that adulting hurls their way, the couple is reminded daily of the special life they built. And if they need a reminder, they need only look to their receipts for proof.

Proud to be a part of this project, Lesley and Team! Thank you for including us. #makeitpersonal

Every patch, stain, and tiny scar on this bright orange vest connects to a moment. It’s owner of nearly 20 years, @nattygarb, will tell you the vest has endured the loss of a loved one, three dogs, and a risky but successful expansion of his family’s 142 year old hardware business.

That this vest even still exists says all you need to know about the human who wears it. Rough patches don’t faze him. When Nat knows a good thing, he sticks with it.

That’s a good thing for New York City’s beloved West Village hardware store @garbershardware1884. Along with his cousin, Nat is the fifth generation steward of the family business and recently expanded the flagship location to a second in Chelsea.

It’s also a good thing for consumers who believe in the power of walking into a local store and making a purchase that will stay in the community.

“If you live or work in a community that you care about, you should actually LIVE there, you know? Get out, meet your neighbors, shop local,” Nat said.

Nat admits a world dominated by online shopping is huge challenge for business. But he keeps showing up and keeping it real and it’s working. On any given day, his dogs greet a steady stream of customers while Nat himself holds court behind the counter hashing out strategies with customers for whatever they need to fix.

As for the vest, all the hard work and dedication is showing. Nat is up to five patches. The zippers have been replaced twice. And Nat reports the tailor who works downstairs from his apartment yells at him often to get a new vest already. (For sure he has earned one @marmot!)

But a loyal and industrious guy would be just as happy committing himself to the thing that already works. And a community is better for it.

Nat, thank you for keeping the welcoming family vibe alive in New York City. And thank you for allowing me, a random person off the street, to “take your vest around the corner for an hour”.

Friends, this is a reminder that real people are the backbones of our communities. I promise your world will feel bigger and more connected when you buy from a local store instead of clicking add to cart.

To say golf is a Becker family affair actually means four generations and counting.

“My husband Tim comes from a long line of golfers,” reports Marie Becker. Both his father AND grandfather taught him to play at a very young age.

When Tim’s father recently passed away, his mother gifted him some absolute treasures from his family’s generations on the greens.

-Scorecards from his father’s collection of special rounds with special people? Check.

-Grandfather’s hand-typed note cards carried around in his golf bag listing time-tested golf tips? Check.

-Well loved golf balls and tees pulled from pockets of said golf bag? Check and check.

-A news paper clipping about Tim’s hole in one at a local course?

“My husband’s grandpa and dad never got a hole in one,” Marie said “But my husband got one, and as a proud father, he kept the clipping in his office.” (Pass the tissues, please.)

In celebration of the Becker golfers, we worked with Marie to photograph all the family treasures in one place. (It’s no coincidence that the composition resembles the shape of a putting green cup—the Beckers brought the heirlooms, The Heirloomist brought the art.)

What we didn’t know at the time is that there are three more Becker men ready to carry on the tradition.

“My husband has passed the love for the sport on to our three boys,” Marie told us.

Marie, this was an incredible idea.Thank you for trusting us with the family heirlooms and high fives to you for getting all those handsome guys in one picture!

Medical research is demanding. Even outside the lab, roadblocks such as socioeconomic inequality can challenge the most brilliant breakthroughs. Now add politics and the scientific community has an uphill battle to contend with when working for the greater good of the human journey.

But Dr. Ann Cohen, a Neuroscientist and Alzheimers researcher, has no intention of hanging up her white coat. In fact she’s doubling down and playing it forward.

Dr. Cohen had the good fortune as young researcher of being mentored by Dr. William Klunk, the very scientist who co-discovered a way to detect Alzheimers in a living brain. (Before the discovery, Alzheimers could only be formally detected in an autopsy.) The compound, known as “PiB” or Pittsburg Compound V, allowed researchers to see proteins involved in Alzheimers in a living person. It revolutionized Alzheimer's research and treatment.

Dr. Klunk was also infamous for something else—acknowledging others in his field who contributed to impactful research by gifting what some considered the ultimate status symbol— a baseball cap sporting the PiB compound logo.

Dr. Cohen earned one of those hat’s. It’s been hanging proudly in her office for 16 years.

Dr. Klunk retired a few years ago but recently, with his blessing, Dr. Cohen decided to carry his tradition forward. She started gifting PiB hats, now with a cool modern look, to young scientists at the University of Pittsburgh.

We got to photograph one of the new hats—and symbolically balanced it atop her original—as a respectful nod to the foundations and path forward these researchers have paved.

The print hangs at the entry way of Dr. Cohen’s office, a tribute to all who have worked and are working to make sure not just us, but our children, have a fighting chance against Alzheimers.

Dr. Cohen, and team, thank you for your fierce grace and for all you do behind the scenes. #becausescience

Grandmas are one of our favorite subjects here at The Heirloomist but a stylin’ grandma known for her extensive clip on earring collection? Instant VIP!

Ann Mielke remembers her grandmother Mary Jean Carter sweetly in many ways…she was the life of any gathering and always had a grandchild bouncing on her lap. But perhaps most memorable was Grandma Carter’s legendary knack for always pairing her outfits with colorful clip on earrings. In fact, Grandma Carter can be found in most family pictures wearing her beloved accessory.

Although Mary Jean has passed, Ann recently rediscovered some of her earrings remained. So Ann pulled a pro level Heirloomist move. She asked her mom to borrow the earrings and proceeded to scour decades of family photos to pull a vision together.

You know how this ends, right?

Behold the nearly 3ft tall photograph of Grandma Carter’s extensive remaining vintage 80’s clip on earring collection. At center is Ann’s vision in real life— a few select pairs of earrings composed over photographs of her grandma wearing the exact pair.

Our favorite part of this project is that Ann asked to showcase even the broken or damaged earrings. And the reason says a lot about Mary Jean’s love for her family.

“She let all her grandkids play with the earrings,” Ann said of her grandma. “If there were ever any “off limits” earrings we never knew. We always had so much fun.”

Ann gifted her mom, pictured, a print of the earrings as an all out celebration—broken, bent, or elegantly polished, it didn’t matter. The earrings tell the story of a woman who brought the sparkle and joy to her entire family.

Thank you for your endless coordination, organization, and collaboration, @backtothegypsy. How blessed you are to have had this stylish and colorful human in your world.

#theheirloomist #makeitpersonal #personalizedart #makeitcount

The owner of this art is not on social media and we respect that! But his story belongs here on The Heirloomist wall of fame so he graciously obliged our ask.

Jackson never got to meet his grandfather but they share a bond none the less— his grandfather played Harvard football in the 1940’s before serving as a Marine in WWII. Seven decades later, Jackson followed in his footsteps— right on to the Harvard football team.

Jackson’s uncle recently gifted him his grandfather’s letterman sweater— an absolute treasure but far too fragile to display. So it sat.

That was, until Jackson’s creative girlfriend @samanthaafp smuggled BOTH Jackson’s Harvard letterman sweater AND his grandfather’s sweater out of the house and hand-delivered them to our photo studio. We got to make matching photographs for Jackson’s birthday, a tribute to the journey of one family, two men, and the many important plays they both made in life.

“I loved how similar both the sweaters looked and how little had changed,” Samantha said. “I felt like this was a cool way to honor both stories together.”

Indeed this was a genius use of Heirloomist magic on many levels. Thank you Samantha and Jackson and fam for letting us share your story! #theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal #personalizedart

Make the memories now because when you are gone, you just might end up being someone’s beloved tradition. Don’t believe me? Here’s some heartwarming proof.

When Susie Lazerow was nine years old her parents divorced. Never an easy thing but there was a silver lining— she got to spend long summer weekends with her father at the beach. They started a tradition there together, documenting their good times in the same photo booth year after year. The photo strips were fun souvenirs for a kid and Susie kept them all. She was just 23 when her father died, instantly turning those photo strips into treasures.

In 2006, with her father’s spirit undoubtedly close, Susie started the tradition with her own family. Her first child was only a few months old but it didn’t stop her and her husband from heading to the beach— and the photo booth. This continued for nearly 20 years. So long in fact, Susie told us, the booth stopped spitting out black and white strips and started offering color. Full well knowing the value of these family moments, Susie kept every strip. They reminded her of her father and also the joy of what she had created in current day.

We got to make this larger-than-life (and chronologically ordered!) photograph of the strips for her family’s home, converting some of the more recent color strips back to black and white as a stylish nod to the good old days of togetherness and growing up.

“It was so fun to put them all next to each other and see how the kids transformed year after year,” Susie said. “It feels like the first pics were taken yesterday, then I look back and see all the changes over the years and realize how much time has passed.”

Susie, getting to make art out of all those tiny smiles and years of growth was an honor! Proud to be a part of your home. #theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitcount #makeitpersonal

FOUND: a note from grandma tucked into a box of earrings she gave me on my 21st birthday. I never knew this note existed until now.

Finding her handwritten life advice, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HEIRLOOMIST’S LIFE ADVICE PROJECT, was an undeniable lighting bolt of her love sent from afar. (And admittedly caused a pretty messy happy cry.)

This is why I do what I do, friends.

The Heirloomist is designed to preserve and celebrate and honor— because there’s magic to discover back where we come from and life is richer when we carry it with us here in this lifetime.

On that note, have you heard about our Life Advice Project? We’re calling on our entire Heirloomist community to crowd source words of wisdom from the loved ones in their lives.

The Life Advice Project is a celebration of the insight only our older generation has earned the right to dish. It’s also a joyful study of handwriting, a disappearing art in a world gone digital. (In few weeks, we’re bringing the Life Advice Project to a senior living community and I am beside myself with excitement.)

There are two ways YOU can participate.

-Have your wise one write their life advice on a postcard, index card, or Post-It note and mail it to

The Heirloomist

PO Box 20025

234 10th Ave.

New York, NY 10011

-OR-

If you already have a special note from your wise one email us from theheirloomist.com/contact. *If your note is chosen to be photographed, it will be returned at no cost.

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal #makeitcount

The chance of something happening to one of these bunnies is likely,” said Caroline Stafford, speaking the truth like an expert-level mom. Her son takes his bunnies everywhere and has been obsessed with them since he was a baby.

Well she was right. Something did happen.

After photographing the bunnies, we found out her son Callahan, pictured, has given away one of his bunnies to his middle brother and has plans to distribute his other beloved lovie to his baby brother when he is old enough.

Three bunnies. Three brothers. Idea engineered by a tiny human with huge heart.

Gigantic joyous glamour shot of bunnies created by mom and The Heirloomist.

“A forever reminder of my boys while they are still young,” Caroline said.

Thank you for trusting us with the VIBs, Caroline! Give Callahan a high five from us for his kindness.

It was date night for Anna and Kyler Jones when they got a call no parent wants. They would spend the next three days in a hospital room watching their perfectly healthy son Weston slip away. He was just shy of his 2nd birthday.

“Since that day, we’ve searched for ways to hold onto the pieces of him that made our lives so bright,” Anna said.

“Wessy Boy” as the family lovingly referred to him, was known as a mischievous, joyful little soul who filled every room with personality. But it was his legendary style and swagger that perhaps left the biggest mark. It was fitting then, that celebrating him fashionably felt right to Anna.

We got to make a series of photographs celebrating two of Weston’s most iconic looks. The prints now hang side by side in his little sister’s playroom.

“Born into grief, Josie is now the carrier of light,” Anna said of her daughter. “Now she grows up seeing pieces of her big brother every single day, reminders that he is still part of our story, still part of our family, and still walking this journey with us.”

Anna and Kyler are keeping Weston’s light on for their greater community, too. As founders of Wessy’s Wonder Foundation (wessyboy.com), they raise funds for other families navigating child loss. Last year, their golf tournament raised 60k. In one day. It’s part of the healing, Anna notes. So is talking about it.

“Speaking openly about grief and child loss has been a huge part of my healing,” she said. **Amen to that.

@annnnaelsie, Kyler, Josie, and Weston, you’ve showed us how much love a heart is capable of, even when broken. “Love doesn’t end when a life does,” Anna said.

#theheirloomist #makeitpersonal #wessyboy #honor

A grandmother had her grandson’s first birthday t-shirt photographed to forever immortalize the pure joy of him being covered in cupcake frosting.

That’s it. That’s the post. #celebrateyourstory #personalizedart #theheirloomist

A few years ago, a grandmother in the Chicago area had no shortage of blessings in her life: six grandchildren and counting, a family summer home, and time to spend in it.

There was just one problem. There was a lot of crying.

So the family invented a hilariously sweet tactic to keep the peace in the house—crying charts.

“Written by my 6 grandchildren at the time to stop each other from crying and fighting when we were all together at our summer home,” Grandma told us.

The charts allowed the kids to track who was crying and who made that person cry and included helpful reminders such as ”Have a lot of love in your heart,” “Try to have a happy day,” and the Heirloomist’s personal favorite…”Think about why you are crying and then stop.”

As the summers go by and the grandkid count ticks up, grandma thought it would be a fun time to have the cry charts photographed and turned into a larger-than-life print for the house. (This idea caused zero crying at Heirloomist HQ.)

The result is a truly precious moment in time preserved but we’d also like to think it’s message from Grandma to the generations; always honor family values in the home.

#theheirloomist #celebrateyourstory #makeitpersonal

The lessons run deep when you learn from a horse.

Mary Wernke’s daughter Ellen was barely six years old when they knew she had an innate reverence for horses. It wasn’t just the riding the part she was drawn to. It was everything Mary told us. The care, the community, the barn. All of it. And even at a young age, it was clear Ellen understood the biggest responsibility of riding—that the horse’s health and well being always came first.

“Just caring for a horse alone teaches responsibility, patience, discipline and empathy,” Mary said.

By age 12, Ellen, had ridden her way to being a dedicated—and decorated— competitive equestrian. So Mary went out and did what moms do for their 12 year old riders—she bought her her first pair of tall boots.

“She was over the moon proud of them,” Mary fondly remembers. They marked a milestone of growth on so many levels for both mother and daughter.

These days, Ellen's tattered boots and scraped up helmet perfectly symbolize the polished and wise young lady she has become. So we got to work with Mary to surprise her with this Heirloomist photograph honoring the trials and triumphs her boots stand for.

“For us, to see the joy in her eyes and her smile when competing, then also the tears when she doesn’t do well, tells us we know the is learning so much” Mary said. “It’s all about the journey.”

"In this sport, you can never stop learning.” Ellen added.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

TheHeirloomist