WORDS & PICTURES: Abi Prowse
Raise your hand if you’ve spent an inordinate amount of time over the past year looking through old photos – you know, from back when the world was normal. If your hand is raised, then I can guarantee that you’re not alone: as the world of travel shut down, our imaginations sped up, drifting back to previous adventures that left us spellbound, or to memories with friends that made our stomachs curdle with laughter. This idea of immortalising our most precious moments and allowing them to stand out from among the “clutter of our phone galleries”, is central to Project Memory Co.
Lovingly run and curated by Sammy and Aneri, Project Memory Co. does exactly what it says on the tin; at the forefront of their mission is the preservation and celebration of their customers’ memories. Uninspired by the frumpy, old-fashioned style favoured by so many traditional photo albums, this USA-based duo wanted to put a modern, aesthetically-favoured spin on scrapbooking and album creating – and it’s fair to say that they’ve succeeded.
Their Chronicle Photo Journal, which retails at only $31, is so much more than an average photo album. Even upon first sight, it is easy to appreciate the intricate detail which has gone into the design of this journal; soft linen in a delicate shade of stone-grey envelops this album, with the company’s elegant logo embossed in copper onto the spine and cover. Each journal comes accompanied by ten blank high-quality cards, which can be used to annotate your photographs throughout the album in whichever way best suits your story. The journal itself fits up to 120 4” x 6” images, with sturdy plastic sleeves making it easy to create and alter your album. The back cover has a large pocket for you to store extra pieces in, like tickets, flyers, or Polaroids; each Chronicle serves, therefore, as a sort of holdall for your memories, allowing you to sink easily back into that moment.
Take a look at our Photo Journals | Dans le Sud: Provence, France, Captured on Camera
When creating my own Chronicle, I wanted to preserve my own memories of the last trip I was able to take before the inevitable (and seemingly endless) lockdown rules were put back in place: a road trip around central Italy. As a child, I would spend hours sitting cross-legged on my bedroom floor, surrounded by scraps of paper, magazine cut-outs, and photographs, creating collages and scrapbooks; this was the sense of escapism I wanted to rediscover with my Project Memory Co. Chronicle. This experience, too, is something that the team have not overlooked. As you open your Chronicle – which is carefully and thoughtfully packaged in a nest of recyclable paper and card – you will also be provided with a card explaining how to use your Chronicle, which boasts a QR code linking to a specially-curated playlist for you to enjoy. You’ll also find two herbal teabags: a simple touch which, as a British expat with limited access to good tea, almost made me well up with joy.
For memories and storytelling should be treated as an experience. Unlike so many other companies, Project Memory Co. want you to treat the creation of your Chronicle as something to be savoured – much like travel itself. Linger over those memories which make your heart sing, and reminisce on that beachside cocktail that made you feel that everything was right with the world. This year more than ever, we have come to realise the value of our memories, and the power that they have to lift us up and transport us to another time or place. Celebrate this with Project Memory Co.
Products in this review were gifted.