As my kids get older, I’m painfully aware of how fleeting this chapter of life is, and these books are what slow time down. These books allow me to savour every moment.
Enter the concept of a family yearbook. The Guld family hires us every year, and has since their kids were little, to chronicle everything from first steps, science fairs and lazy summer days to taking companies public, grieving the passing of grandparents and going on adventures around the world. Several times a year, our writer interviews Barry and Traudi, and their two kids, to capture their memories as the year is unfolding.
We then sift through all their digital photos and memorabilia to curate the best 600+ images to accompany the story. The result is a visual feast with each year’s book taking on a different look and feel. The family treasures their library as an honest, funny and tender freeze-frame of the kids’ take on the world at each age. For Barry and Traudi, the books are a rare opportunity to step outside of the fast pace of life to reflect on big and small changes throughout the year.
We love hearing how often the kids pull the books off the shelf and flip through them, reminiscing and re-connecting with faces and places from the past. The Gulds often reflect on how as milestones approach, like high school graduations, the books call them back to that first day at school.
We hand-bind each family yearbook in our bespoke in-house bindery. We love pushing the creative envelope with these books. One year we commissioned a comic strip based on a story their son told us and we made an insert for the book. Another year we tucked copies of their letters to Santa at the back of the book.