We all love hearing stories from aunts, uncles and grandparents, but as family members get older, how can we preserve these memories for the future?
Local company offers a new solution: create a customized memoir
Enter Legacy Memoir, a new service started by Palo Alto-based Red Hill Publishing that aims to safeguard these treasured stories by turning them into hand-crafted books that will last forever.
example of a book designed by Legacy Memoir founder Sally Collings. Photo by Red Hill Publishing.
“Everyone has a unique story that they don’t want to lose,” explains Sally Collings of Red Hill Publishing. “Legacy Memoir is dedicated to capturing personal stories through beautifully designed books that can serve as a precious tribute to a person’s life.”
Legacy Memoir builds on a career of writing and book publishing
Sally Collings has spent her career helping others tell their stories, from her early days as an editor at HarperCollins to co-founding Red Hill Publishing, a book publishing enterprise that offers everything from ghost-writing to packaging books for press and printing. She most recently worked on a book called Family Spirit, which describes how 12 family businesses have evolved through multiple generations.
Books that tell the life stories of businesses, families and more
Books written and/or edited by Sally Collings of Red Hill Publishing
That’s why Sally is so excited about Legacy Memoir, which brings together her love of story telling with her expertise in book design, packaging and publication. While the concept is just getting out into the market, she is already working on several memoir projects, including:
- Chronicling the journey of a family-owned diamond business that has survived and thrived for four generations
- Creating a ‘memory box’ for a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary
Full service approach saves time and maintains control
Legacy Memoir offers a full service approach to the personal memoir process that includes conducting one on one interviews, drafting the text, creating the design, picking the paper and publishing the final product. While there are other web-based services (such as BookBaby), which allow people to write and publish their stories, Legacy Memoir takes the stress out of the process by doing all the work for the client.
Example of what a finished Legacy Memoir product might look like. Photo by Studio Ephemera.
“Web-based book publishing services can be very time intensive and difficult to use,” Sally said. “With Legacy Memoir, the client maintains control over the content but does not have to be involved in all the complex steps involved in creating the actual book.” Legacy Memoir also works with clients to include the many kinds of ‘ephemera’ that symbolize a person’s life journey, such as concert tickets, photos, recipes, etc.
Legacy Memoir’s offerings range from a hand-crafted ‘memory box,” to a fully crafted memoir that involves extensive interviews, writing, customized design and printing. Given the work involved in these projects, Legacy Memoir products are not inexpensive, but for the customer who wants to ensure his or her story is preserved for posterity, it’s a worthwhile investment.
A different kind of Palo Alto start up
Sally and her husband moved Red Hill Publishing and their two children to Palo Alto from Australia just three years ago, but she’s already a convert to the Bay Area and has no plans to return “Down Under” any time soon. She also appreciates the entrepreneurial spirit of Palo Alto for assisting Red Hill Publishing with the launch of Legacy Memoir.
“Legacy Memoir is not a high tech start up, but the environment in Palo Alto is so generous and helpful,” Sally said. “People have offered advice and ideas whenever I have needed support and we feel lucky to be part of such a creative community.”
