My proudest accomplishment this past year was the completion of my grandparent’s book, after 5 years of on/off progress.  It felt full circle to me to finally finish that book for my grandmother.  I started my business inspired by my family, in particular my grandfather who loved reminding us we came from good stock, so completing a book about their story felt wonderful.  And while my grandfather is no longer with us, my grandmother proudly shares her book with visitors and rereads it from time to time.

My next proudest accomplishment is about to be born!  We are expecting baby #3 literally any moment, and we are so excited.  Which leads me to my big news.  I have decided, after much thought and a trial period last summer, to begin life as a full-time mama.  For a long time I was scared to make this move…I love my work and having “my own thing” outside of mamahood.  But more recently I’ve felt overwhelmed and well, a bit scatter-brained.  Our kids are very close in age – 3.5, 2, and (almost!) newborn – and I guess you could say my mama hiatus is my sanity move.  I think I may come undone completely if I try to keep up my work schedule, too!  I’m not sure how long my hiatus will last, but I do know I need to take a break for a while.

If you have a project that is not time-sensitive and you’d like me to consider it post-hiatus, please get in touch!  If you have a project that requires photo scanning and bookmaking, please consider my colleague Molly at Seattle Photo Organizing.  If you are looking for wedding books, I don’t really have a great suggestion for you, but will let you know if I come across another resource I’d recommend.

Thank you for your support all these years, and for putting up with my silence these past months, too!

With gratitude and love,

kim

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[wedding photos by Brenda Brooks]

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Four years ago I was introduced to an amazing man who became a client and friend. A year ago today he passed away, and I realize I never shared this project we did together. So it seems fitting to share it today.

Here is the published version of The Colonel, a children’s story written and illustrated – but never officially published – by Bob’s father. Bob wanted to finally put it together for his grandchildren to enjoy. It is a lovely story.

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Another beautiful wedding shot by the amazing and talented Brenda Brooks!

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Big life milestones like birthdays are a perfect time to reflect and honor someone. And of course, we think books are the perfect way to do it! We call these our Milestone Books – they celebrate a special life milestone.

Here are some of our favorite ideas for a really special 60th birthday book. Or a 40th, 50th, 70th, 80th, 90th…you name it. But my very first book was for my mom’s 60th, so I have a special love for 60th birthday books.

Here are our top 5 ideas for a 60th birthday book:

1. Chapters of your Life – Our favorite approach; this is such a great way to tell someone’s life story with photos. We create a table of contents based on the chapters of someone’s life. For example – childhood, school years, dating + marriage, family life, career, friendships, travel. The photos are then organized into the different chapters, and often we’ll add a short bio at the beginning.

2. List of 60 – This is perfect for incorporating lots of contributors into the book (kids, grandkids, friends, family, etc). Make a collective list of 60 – 60 Reasons We Love You, 60 Funny Stories About You, 60 Life Lessons, or come up with your own list. Then add 30-40 great photos.

3. Thoughts From Friends + Family – Ask friends and family to write a note to the person you’re honoring. It’s always so touching to read what others have to say about you. Organize the notes into a logical order (i.e., spouse and kids first) then add some photos. With this approach, we always prefer formatting the text ourselves (instead of using any handwritten notes) so it’s visually consistent. We also have our proofreader review the text for spelling and formatting consistency.

4. Encyclopedia - We’re working on a 30th birthday book right now with this theme. It’s a light-hearted approach and I think it’s working so well. It’s the complete guide to So-And-So, from A to Z. Pick a word for each letter of the alphabet and add a short, witty description or story. (i.e.: I is for Italy – Adores all things Italian.) We’re using a combination of custom illustrations and photographs.

5. Interview Them – This is a great approach when it becomes more important to capture someone’s memories to share with younger generations. Put together a list of questions or use one of our lists (here is our life story interview and family history interview). Then ask the person to write their answers, or schedule an in-person interview. Add photos. (I’m sounding like a recipe!)

Let me know if you have other great ideas to share! And of course, let me know if you’d like to make a 60th (or other) birthday book for someone you love.

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This was such a cool project. Casey’s parents approached us to make a book about her life for her 30th birthday. After talking with her parents, we quickly discovered what an incredible force Casey is…and immediately felt the pressure to make her book just as extraordinary! The design concept was an A-Z encyclopedia of her life with words, photos, and illustrations for each letter describing a different part of her. It was a very lighthearted approach, and we love how it came together!

[illustrations by Kevan Atteberry]

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I just love these two books together. Gary and Lark each made a book for each other on their 60th birthdays. We designed them to be unique yet fit together, just like the couple.

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Here is a sweet moleskine my friend made for her husband’s 40th’s birthday. We organized it into 4 parts – husband, father, doctor, photographer. And of course, we added some original artwork by their almost-two and cute-as-a-button daughter.

(names are fuzzed out by request!)

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We were so excited when Janine from UPPERCASE magazine contacted us and asked us if they could do a piece on us for their 10th issue. We just got our copy in the mail and feel honored to be on the pages of such a rockin’ magazine! Thanks UPPERCASE!

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