I just got off the phone with fun Liz who did a beautiful book of her mom’s story last Christmas. (her mom is one of the enthusiastic young ladies in photo)

We were catching up and I told her about this genealogy conference I’ve decided to exhibit at (my first ever) and how I’m kind of nervous. I mean, what is a genealogy conference like? Who goes to these things? Will I meet people who like my work? And I picture sitting there all alone at my little table, ugh.

Fast forward 2 split seconds…fun Liz agrees to attend the show with me! One more split second and we’re scheming about booth design, which restaurants to eat at, and how we’ll get started on her Dad’s story while we’re there. FUN!

That makes my day. My month. And the best part? I’ll finally get to meet this fun Liz. Until now, we’ve been phone friends only.

I love my job.

p.s. In case you’re interested the conference is in Philly, September 3-6. And yes we’d love to see friendly faces there. Am pretty darn sure Liz and I will be among the youngest there, so am now recruiting my other clients!

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Am sitting here at NY Public Library for a final hour before heading home.

Something about a library just calms me. And, in today’s case, cools me. I’m hot and tired from lugging my heavy books all over town like a crazy book lady!

We had a fun trunk show last night and I met some great ladies I’ll get to make books for in the coming months. Very excited. For those in a shopping mood, here are some of the talented women selling their wares last night:

www.tracymatthewsdesigns.com

www.livandfig.com (am especially loving her personalized dogtags)

www.sobella.com

www.cakehousedesign.com

And of course, it was so great to see my lifelong friends while I was here. There is nothing quite like an old friendship.

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p.s. this photo is from a memoir in progress…couldn’t resist that cute little white ruffly swimsuit.

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Let me know!

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Am trying to start on a book right now and am having a bit of designer’s block.

So being inspired by all things vintage, I headed to my collection of my grandparent’s old books I inherited. (OK OK, technically no one wanted them and they were headed for Goodwill when I snatched them up. My Grama just shook her head asking, “Why on earth do you want these old books, Kimmy?!”)

For inspiration, of course.

So what do you think? Am I crazy for thinking this is a great little book cover? I love the simple title, centered with those stars and the triple lines wrapping around the spine.

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I love this book. Robin wanted to make a book for her brother-in-law’s 40th. But really she wanted to honor the amazing couple that he and her sister have been since the day they met.

She gave me some great photos, lyrics to a Jack Johnson song they love - “Better Together”, a great dedication - “From the moment you started dating you were better together.” and some priceless quotes from their two kids, ages 4 and 3.

And here’s what we made.

I am telling you, I think direct quotes from the mouths of kids are just about the cutest thing ever. I love how Robin even wrote down the “um, yeah” before “i love poppa”.

Precious.

Thank you, Robin! I’m excited to meet you next week!

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I’ll be back in Seattle next week.

- k -

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Have you ever tried to ask a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle about their memories of the past and come up empty? I definitely have. It usually goes something like this:

ME: “Can you tell me about So-And-So?”
THEM: “Well, what do you want to know?”
ME: “Um, anything…everything…whatever you can remember.” (figuring I don’t know what I don’t know, right?)
THEM: “So-And-So was a really great person.” (or something general like that)
ME: Disappointed, because I was hoping for more and I clearly did have an idea what I wanted to know.

If you can relate to this interaction - or simply want to avoid one like it! - read on. These are some tips I’ve learned while helping people collect memories for their family stories.

5 Tips to Collecting Memories:

1. It’s hard to get someone started talking. Be sensitive. Put yourself in their shoes. It’s a bit overwhelming at first to be asked something so sweeping like, “What do you remember about your mom?” You remember lots of things, but where do you start? What’s most important? What does this person really want to hear about? And very likely there are emotions wrapped up in the questions, too.

2. Start with specific questions geared toward fact-finding. Narrow the questions a bit, keep them aimed at fact-finding (not memories just yet) and get ready to ask a few in a row to get them talking. “Where did your mom grow up?” “Did your mom have siblings?” “Did your mom go to school?” “How did your mom meet your dad?” “Did your mom ever have a job outside the home?” “Did your mom have hobbies?” “Who were your mom’s closest friends?” You get the idea.

3. Gradually work in questions aimed at collecting memories, referencing any facts you just learned. “Do you remember your mom getting you ready for school?” “Do you remember any advice your mom gave you?” “What was it like to have a mom with a job outside the home?” “What was your favorite thing your mom cooked for you?” “Did your mom ever teach you any of her hobbies?” “Was your mom strict with you and your siblings?” “Do you remember any of her favorite outfits?”

4. Ask probing follow-up questions. You’ll find that each memory triggers another. Probe a bit further if you think there’s more to an answer. “Oh really, tell me why?” “What made you feel that way?” “Tell me more about that.” “Did you like that or not? And why?”

5. Use props. Sometimes it is very helpful to have a photograph, a book, a quilt, a piece of artwork - anything to trigger a memory or a story. Sometimes this could be a person too, like a sibling who may have shared memories. If someone is in their own home, this can be even easier - just look around and ask questions about their surroundings.

If you reach the point where sentences are starting with “I remember one time when….”, then congratulations! You have reached memory-collecting nirvana. At this point it might be harder to stop the conversation than it was to get it started!! (A good problem!)

Do you have any additional thoughts and tips from your own experiences collecting memories? I’d love to hear things that have worked well for you, things that haven’t worked at all, and any questions, of course!

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It’s a lesson he received on the inner workings of a business when he was 9 or 10 years old. It reminds me that not all things are as they appear!

“Grove and Catherine owned the City Electric and Fixture Company, located at 216 James Street. They did some contracting as well as sale of lighting fixtures. They would sell a fixture from a catalog. I then went out the back door and ran down second avenue about three blocks to get the fixture they had sold as if the sold fixture were in their inventory.”

Comedy!

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Julie and Lindsey over at Coveiter invited me to participate in their ‘Inspiring Interview’ series … and of course I said yes!

You can read my (sometimes rambling, I’ll warn you) interview here and their full interview series with other designers and bloggers here.

Thank you for including me, Julie and Lindsey - I feel honored!

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