Wednesday 20 June 2018

MEMORIES: A Journey through my Childhood and Creating a Keepsake Box with Hartnack & Co.

MEMORIES: A Journey through my Childhood and Creating a Keepsake Box with Hartnack & Co.
Looking back through old photographs and keepsakes is one of my favourite things to do when I go back to my family home. My parents have boxes of photo albums that are filled with snapshots of my childhood, which are not only funny to look through but also comforting. Though I can't remember a lot of what happened all those years ago; it is really special taking the time to discuss childhood memories with my family and help keep them alive. Also, now that Isabella is that bit older she loves seeing what I was like as a baby, even if every baby out there is referred to as 'Poppy'.


Sharing a piece of my childhood with my children...

One memory from my childhood is sitting in the middle of the kitchen whilst my Dad cut my fringe. My hair has always grown quickly, so this used to be quite a regular occurrence and yet he never did master that straight cut.


As I love looking through my childhood photos so much I have always wanted to have something similar for Isabella and Poppy. Times have changed since I was a baby and with almost all photos being taken digitally it can mean that the children of today don't have physical photos or keepsakes to look at. But there is something really nostalgic and special about gathering together and looking through all those important memories. Hartnack & Company really capture this with their beautifully handmade photo albums, keepsake boxes and portfolios. The focus of this husband and wife partnership is creating one-off pieces, allowing you to design something that is completely personal to you. Back in 2013, when their daughter had lost yet another really important certificate, the idea came to them to create a beautiful bespoke place for her to keep her precious certificates, awards and memories. I really love the story behind where and how Hartnack & Company came about because it's these family run businesses that produce some of the most unique and highest quality pieces. 
Their product range now includes screw post binders, ring binders, leather portfolios and albums, clamshell boxes, as well as bespoke keepsake boxes and albums. You can create aa photo album using the same material as in your baby's nursery or design a keepsake box to compliment their bedroom colour scheme; the options are truly endless. Below you can see some of the stunning pieces you can have made according to your personalisation requests:  
Babies scrapbook album in specially supplied fabric material for the cover
Leather Album Drawer Box Keepsake Memory Box
wedding album photos mounted into screw post album
When it comes to what these items look like that is completely down to you, the customer. You can personalise the inner/outer fabric, lettering size/font/design/colour/finish, artwork and wording; everything you'd need to create something completely bespoke for yourself or a loved one. Designing my daughters a keepsake box for all of their memories, special items and photographs is an absolute dream of mine. I can just imagine Isabella and Poppy gathering around with their grandchildren one day, getting out the keepsake box and reminiscing about all of their childhood memories. It makes me well up just thinking about it, so to give them something so precious from such a young age means they'll have all of their most treasured possessions safe and together forever. 
When it came to choosing how Isabella and Poppy's Keepsake Box was going to look I found the guides on their websites very informative, which made the design process easier. I'm known for being seriously indecisive, so having the expertise of the people who work at Hartnack & Co. at the end of an email was very reassuring. They kindly recommended different hardwearing material options and colours that compliment each other, which was just what my indecisive mind needed. Nothing was too much effort; the customer service throughout the design and ordering process was absolutely outstanding. After a lot of deliberation I settled on Pearl Buckram for the outside of the keepsake box, which is a hard wearing cloth with an acrylic coating. Due to its water resistant properties it is an ideal material for the outer sections of a Hartnack & Co. piece. Inside I went for Blossom Bookcloth, which is not only the most beautiful colour but also compliments the dusky pink hot foil lettering. 
Deciding what to have personalised on the box was another deliberation, yet again I was given all the time I needed to get that wording just right. We sent ideas backwards and forwards, with the font and spacing changing quite a few times, but I finally settled on 'Isabella 03.04.2015 & Poppy 14.06.2017'. I am beyond happy with how it all turned out and I'm sure you'd agree it is such a stunning handmade keepsake box that both girls can treasure forever. The attention to detail and quality assurance at every step of the design and crafting process are exquisite, which really shows in the finished product. It is also perhaps surprisingly spacious inside, as it has an extra layer which is perfect for keeping the smaller treasured items safe, like hospital bands from when they were born. 
I will be eternally grateful to the lovely people at Hartnack & Co. for creating such a stunning bespoke keepsake box for Isabella and Poppy; it truly means the world. They have something to share with their children, grandchildren and maybe in hundreds of years family members will be looking through this box at what their great-great-great-great-grandmother used to look like. A piece of history in the making. 
What's your favourite childhood memory?

Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)

Helen x

*Thank you so much to Harnack & Co. for collaborating with me on this post. Your support means the world. As always, all opinions are my own and 100% honest.

I'm linking this blog post up with CoolMumClub and ablogginggoodtime.
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13 comments

  1. This is so lovely! I have made one of these for my daughter as I want her to have something to look back over and cherish all in one place when she is older too.

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  2. I love keepsake boxes, I am making one for my son as he grows up so he can have something nice to look back on early childhood memories.

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  3. Popping back over from #coolmumclub thanks so much for sharing this with us all! x

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  4. Oh I love this! I really want to make one for my children, what a sweet little box!

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  5. Keepsake boxes are my favourite, I know my parents have books similar to this with things like first lock of hair etc. I also do memory books from events and things I do to and have been doing them for a decade now x

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  6. I love personalised keepsakes like this. This box looks adorable and a great way to capture a collective range of memories x

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  7. I love personalised keepsake boxes. I got a wooden one made for our son and I can't wait to look through it with him when it comes out of storage next year!

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  8. Oh this is so beautiful!! I need something like this for my boys, I have photo albums but I really like the idea of a memory box. It looks a great size and I love the text on the lid, it’s all so perfect xx

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  9. This is so lovely - I love looking back at old photo's and memorabilia from when the kids were little

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  10. This is so pretty and such a lovely keepsake to keep. I love looking back at old memories and these is such a beautiful box to keep them in

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  11. I know from experience how it feels to be sharing memories from both mine and my mums childhood with each other! I think it is beneficial for both parties and it's just a really nice way to spend a sunny afternoon in summer, or a dark night in winter!
    Stelle Xx
    Velvetteddyblogs.wordpress.com

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  12. How beautiful! I have a memory box for both of my boys. It's really nice that they can have something like this to look back on in years to come. :) x

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  13. Aww, this is lovely. Perfect for keeping all the special memories together in. My Daughter loves her baby photos but have got some of them bent and ripped.

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