Treasured Memories in Need of Care this Christmas

Many gifts this Christmas will become treasured keepsakes through the powerful memories they will one day evoke – memories that will be shared with friends, children and grandchildren for generations. The perfect way to keep those keepsakes safe and in pristine condition for decades to come is to store them carefully. Ideally use storage boxes and materials that have been tested and proven to be of archival quality and acid free.

Family History, Baby, Wedding and Wedding Dress boxes from the Memories and Nostalgia Collection contain everything needed to help capture and preserve the memorable moments of a life time. Each themed storage box contains a range of smaller boxes and tissue papers, all manufactured from acid free materials, and a selection of sheets aimed to help in documenting the moment.

Keepsakes such as a photograph, a child’s first drawing, an old letter, book or note, often bring back happy memories – perhaps of a wedding or special holiday, a distant relative, childhood moments, school friends, a first job and many more. Occasionally, keepsakes hold sad memories, but all keepsakes have two things in common – they are irreplaceable and are priceless to their owner. Therefore, loosing or damaging a treasure keepsake is a traumatic experience.

The Memories and Nostalgia Collection is appealing for keepsake owners to take part in an online project to explain what their keepsakes mean to them. The ‘Keep Keepsakes Safe’ project aims to raise awareness of the need for information about safe storage and the potential for recovery should keepsakes become damaged. “Many keepsake owners are not aware of the services and advice available and tragically throw away irreplaceable items when they believe they have decayed too much over time or sustained physical damage,” explained managing director, David Waterman.

Each person submitting their keepsake memory will receive a selection of sheets to 'capture the moment' – these include Christmas, New Year, On That Day and Timeline in PDF format along with a 'Keeping Your Memories Alive' fact sheet.

Also, every week from October to December 2007, a random entry will be chosen as 'memory of the week' and the author will receive a Family History storage box made from acid free archival quality materials and a 'day you were born' chart. In addition, Memories and Nostalgia will donate £25 in the name of the weekly winner to research into Alzheimer’s disease. Entries can be made at www.memories-nostalgia.com/keepsakes.

“Memories are precious. Correctly stored and handled carefully, hand written letters, textiles, photographs and many more delicate items will fight off decay longer than if left in old shoe boxes, biscuit tins and plastic bags. By storing keepsakes away from damp areas, excessive light from windows, water pipes that could burst or where ground level flooding is possible, keepsakes will stay in the best condition possible,” David advised.

The Memories and Nostalgia Collection is manufactured by I Waterman Box Makers Ltd, who supplies leading Museums with archive grade acid free materials for long term storage. The company also holds the Royal Warrant of Appointment.

More Information
David Waterman, Director, Memories and Nostalgia, Tel. +44 (0)207 7902394
I Waterman (Box Makers) Ltd, Assembly Passage London E1 4UT
E-mail: info@memories-nostalgia.com Web: memories-nostalgia.com

High res image can be downloaded from: clickintopr.com/editors/articleDetail.asp?pjID=533

October 4, 2007

Note to Editors

Acid-Free — Why it Matters
If an acidic product comes into contact with paper, photos, textiles or other similar items, the acid can migrate, causing permanent damage and decay. This is why it is so very important to use good quality acid free and archival materials for the preservation of treasured memories. Storage in archival products slows the aging process and adds years of life to the item. It is better to prevent damage and deterioration, than try to repair it. For the storage of photo’s you additionally need to check that the materials used are photo-safe or have passed the PAT (Photo Activity Test).

Archival quality
This is a term used to indicate that materials have undergone laboratory analysis to determine and confirm that their acidic and conservation properties are within safe levels.

David Waterman, Director, Memories and Nostalgia, Tel. +44 (0)207 7902394
I Waterman (Box Makers) Ltd, Assembly Passage London E1 4UT
E-mail: info@memories-nostalgia.com Web: www.memories-nostalgia.com

Watermans, which has been making specialist packing materials since 1897, is now producing the same high-quality, acid-free products for non-professionals – the Memories and Nostalgia Collection.

This release was published on openPR.