Family Archivist Survival Kit

Like a time capsule... but without all the digging and burying.

• Sales are now closed. Clicking the PayPal button will give you a "sorry, your item sold out" message. FASKs will not be available again until 2013, in October for sure but possibly as soon as January. Don't want to miss that next chance? Follow us on Facebook or sign up for the free newsletter.
  

• Great news: FREE JOY THIS YEAR! Every 2012 FASK comes with Fabulous! Bonus! Gifts! but this year's bonus is much bigger than in the past. This year, along with the boxes folders and other tools in your FASK, you will also get over 12 hours of recorded classes and Q&A sessions that will teach you how to organize, arrange, preserve and scan your treasured family photographs. Details about what you'll learn from the 12 hours of content in my Joy class are available at joyoforganizingphotos.com (Yours free with purchase)

You're here because you really, really love your photos:

• You want the highest quality archival photo boxes for your treasured family photographs.


• But you have no idea how to choose the right kind, or even where to start.

First of all -- let me reassure you that you are not alone. I've met family archivists who are so confused about this step that they get stuck here and end up doing nothing. Heck, even *I* get overwhelmed, and I read archival supply catalogs for fun. (Yep, it's true.)

 

The Practical Archivist (and Photo Rescue Kit) at work.

Profile from this Madison Magazine article.

Hiya! I'm Sally J.  

I'm here to take the hassle out of how to safely store your most beloved and treasured photographs.

You can't buy my Family Archivist Survival Kit in any stores, or even in archival supply catalogs. This kit is the biggest one I've ever assembled. Not only does it include all the tools you need to safely examine, label and organize your photos, it also includes the most commonly needed envelope, folder and box sizes -- made only from the highest quality PAT-passed materials. Made right here in the U.S.

Basically, my Family Archivist Survival Kit includes everything you need to start creating a proper family archive - using the exact same tools I use for my own family collection. (Er, except yours is more attractive because all the boxes are black and I chose tan for my oversize boxes. Let's just say I made the fashion faux pas so you don't have to. Oh, and I also picked the wrong size big envelopes for my own stuff. Again, I make the mistakes so you don't have to.)

 AVAILABLE ONLY

UNTIL MIDNIGHT on

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2012  

These kits are available for a short time only each year. There's a simple reason for that: Picking, packing and then shipping out bulky boxes asks a lot of my family. It's an invasive hassle. We earn money doing it, but there are easier ways to make money.  So why do I bother? Well, it's actually pretty fun to do this kind of work with my kids. Not every day, but once a year? Delightful!

I'm also willing to go through the hassle because I know in my heart of hearts that it doesn't matter how many classes I teach or how many hours I consult with clients...having the right tools is where the rubber meets the road. Finding the right tools is difficult and confusing enough to bring even the best projects to a grinding halt. Heck, it's confusing for me sometimes and I read archival supply catalogs for fun.

 

2012 Family Archivist Survival Kit

 

 

This kit will make barriers disappear.

Barriers that have kept you from storing your most treasured family photos the way you should. A way that helps them survive for generations to come.

This year, not only do you get the archival boxes, envelopes, folders and hand tools you need -- you also get the information you need to do it properly. Over twelve hours of instruction via my recorded workshop, created just for family archivists like you. Very little jargon, lots of practical real-world advice. 

 

 

HOW IT WORKS:

1. You order a kit from me via PayPal with any major credit card using the Buy Now button below. Orders will close on November 5th or as soon as the last available kit is sold. (As of Sunday, November 4th, there are only 7 remaining).
   
   
2. Your boxes are mostly packed and ready to go......but there was one hiccup. One of the three tan boxes showed up with metal edges that didn't match the other two. Like, at all. It looks just fine on its own but as part of a set it's all wrong. The custom replacement boxes are scheduled to ship to me from the factory by November 15th. I expect the finished kits will leave Practical Archivist World Headquarters by December 1st. In time for Christmas and the last night of Chanukkah.
   
   
3. ONLINE BONUS MATERIAL: The good news is won't have to wait until the boxes arrive to get started. Access to the online bonus material -- including downloadable recordings my entire Joy of Organizing Photos workshop --is via an automated email process. As soon as you confirm your subscription to the FASK list, you will receive the login and passwords you need to get started. 

P.S. In case you're wondering how I got a catalog shot of the entire kit when the ones in my house don't have matching edges, I just happen to have a 11 year old daughter who is artistically talented. That's her digital alteration work you see in the photo above. Not bad for her first time using Photoshop Elements, eh? I'm not even going to show you my pitiful attempt. Seriously. On the other hand, I did learn how to rock a desaturated mask layer (as you will see below in the photos that are part black and white and part color. I owe that to Ree's excellent description of how to make a digital photo black & white then color back in only part of it. So score one for mom, too.

 

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT QUALITY

All Boxes, Envelopes & Folders Have Passed the PAT (Photographic Activity Test)

Your Family Archivist Survival Kit Includes: 

 Loose Photo Kit ($35)

Perfect for loose photos you've been storing in a shoebox, random drawer or bag. It's also a great place for all those single photos sent to you in letters that you have no idea what to do with. Also a perfect storage space for photos you rescued from The Chemical Sandwich of Doom. The envelopes include plenty of space to write notes, which is a great idea because seeing photos from the past always sparks memories. The shortest pencil is better than the longest memory.
 

This kit includes an attractive tan box (PAT passed) that can hold prints up to 5x7" upright. You also get 25 paper envelopes that can store multiple prints AND 25 paper sleeves that hold a single photograph each. Storage for up to 1,000 photos 5x7" and smaller. Prints must be 4x6" or smaller to fit in envelopes, sleeves hold up to 5x7"

Dimensions: Box is 5.5 x 7.5 x 12" Envelopes are 4.81 x 7.25" and sleeves are 5.5 x 7.38" Colors: Box is tan, metal edges are black, envelopes are eggshell and white. Qty: 1 box + 50 envelopes.

 

Documents & Ephemera Kit ($30)

This upright storage kit (PAT passed) fits neatly on a shelf. It's perfect for items sized around 8.5 x 11" such as 8 x 10 photographs, magazines, unfolded letters, office records, handbills, greeting cards, magazine clippings, menus and small posters. It comes with 25 folders to help support the upright materials plus keep them protected and organized. Folders have a full tab to allow maximum description (the more description on the folder, the less you need to handle the original items).

Dimensions: Box is 10.25 x 12.25 x 5". Folders fit documents 8 x 10" and smaller.  Colors: Box is tan, metal edges are black, folders are eggshell.  Qty: 1 box, 25 folders.

Oversize Kit ($45)

Flat storage is the best solution for oversize materials. I created this kit through trial and error with my own collection. Spacious enough to hold 11x15 prints, or an 8x10 print mounted on an 11 x 14" mat board. One of the long sides of the box is left unattached, making it easy to remove the bottom envelope without having to take out all the envelopes on top of it. We call it a drop front box in the biz. Tall enough to house a pile of items 3" high.

Comes with 25 PAT passed envelopes, also sized 11.5x15. I chose envelopes instead of folders to reduce the risk of loose items falling out. These envelopes have a foldable flap, but no glue -- which could seep through at some future point. These envelopes include lots of space for notes.

Dimensions: Box is 15 x 11.5 x 3". Envelopes are 15 x 11.5" Colors: Box is tan, metal edges are black, envelopes are eggshell.  Qty: 1 box, 25 oversize envelopes, no glue.

 Photo Rescue Kit ($25)

The first kit I ever designed, and I'm as proud as I've ever been to show it off. This is where you'll find all the hand-held tools you need to properly archive family photographs. A pair of white gloves, two hard-to-find marking pencils and the wonder tool known as a microspatula. That tool comes in real handy if you ever need to rescue photographs from those horrible sticky magnetic albums, also known as The Chemical Sandwich of Dooooom. All the details you could possibly want to know about my Photo Rescue Kit can be read by clicking here. 

Yes! I want all the tools and information I need to start a proper family archive.

Family Archivist Survival Kit

plus FREE JOY!

$135  (plus $30 S&H)

 

Fabulous!  Bonus!  Items!

Hard copies of all of the goodies listed above will ship with your kit, electronic PDF versions will be ready for download within minutes of your purchase.  Suh-weet!

Got Questions?

Call my voicemail: 608-616-0058. *Please leave me an email address for replying, if possible..

Or skip the phone altogether and click here to send me an email.

Who is The Practical Archivist...and how do I know she's qualified to give advice?

• An outline of my career to date can be found here: Sally Jacobs on LinkedIn. It's like an online CV.
• Here's my story about How I Became an Archivist. 
• An interview I did with Dear Myrtle about scanning and dumping public records.
• This interview with Lisa Cooke covers a lot of the basics of photo archiving.
• And, finally.... a fun and frivolous interview about one of my all-time favorite topics: FOOD. 
  

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Thanks for reading the whole thing!