More than Memories

Somewhere in the back of one of your closets or in the basement, there might be some boxes of cassette tapes, slides, and more just waiting to be taken out and remembered. The problem is, we have made so much forward progress with technology, that we might not have a way to actually listen to or watch those tapes!

Wil Davenport is the man with an answer to that exact problem while also helping you invest in yourself, friends and family with his company More than Memories (MTM). Wil works to do three things— Preserve, Create and Communicate.

Preserve- MTM will digitize and enhance old media such as home movies, slides, printed photos and documents, 8 and 16mm film reels, cassettes, records, and more.

Create- MTM also makes video slideshows for all kinds of occasions including Memorials, Anniversaries, Birthdays, Church events, Retirements, Christmas, and Easter.

Communicate- MTM also interviews people to help them communicate their values, faith, and stories to those they care for and love.

PC; Texture Photo

Wil is a one-man team, and works hard to “give folks back a better treasure than they started with.” Wil has several sample videos on his webpage and Facebook page that show just how much time he puts in each and every memory.

He finds his work the most rewarding when he can help people share what’s most important to them, and spark meaningful conversation from videos and memories. He says: “Without a doubt, my favorite part of the job is getting to know new people. I love it!”

““Without a doubt, my favorite part of the job is getting to know new people. I love it!””

— Wil Davenport

Help You Dwell absolutely loves sending our client’s Wil’s way. So often we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to sorting through memorabilia. They are precious memories, but so often they remain in their box unwatched, under-appreciated and, frankly taking up space we need for other things!

Wil can bring all those memories to light, while also helping us keep them organized in a way we can actually get them out and appreciate them. (And the digital copy takes up much less space!)

“If you want to know what Wil Davenport strives to be known for, it can be summed up in three short phrases: integrity filled, a great encourager, and kind. The husband of Celeste Davenport and the father of Kaleb, Elise, and Nika, Wil seeks to serve and exceed the expectations of his customers. He is also an avid Duke basketball fan.” —More than Memories Webpage

What Wil does is more than memories, it’s about human connection and celebrating life every day! He loves helping you be the family hero who took the time to get those precious memories preserved and enhanced.

If More than Memories sounds like it might be just the thing you need, or a perfect gift for a loved one, Wil would love to hear from you! You can call More than Memories at (865) 414-3954 or reach him by email at MoreThanMemoriesTn@gmail.com.

organizing your smart phone photos

If your storage is limited...

Google Photos - This is a great option if you have a gmail account. It allows all of your photos and videos to be stored in the cloud with unlimited storage (up to 16 mp an 1080p HD). When connected to wifi, all you have to do is open the app to begin syncing up all of your recent photos to the cloud. Then, you are able to delete all photos off of your device to free up internal storage, yet you still have access via the Google Photos app. Another great feature is the ability to categorize photos into albums that you can share with others. One fun feature is the ability to search for what photo you are looking for by keyword. Learn more about how to use Google Photos here. 

Here are a few other options for creating organized photo storage on your phone.

If you have lots of storage available...

Your iPhone Photos app might be doing more for you than you realize. The Photos app has multiple default albums it creates for you, like: all photos, videos, favorites, selfies, screenshots, people, places, etc. You can also manually create albums and select which photos are included. The editing feature in Photos has also improved. More tips here. 

Taking your memories from your phone to your home...

Image via Artifact Uprising. 

Websites like Shutterfly and Snapfish often offer discounts and promotions for printed photo products. Artifact Uprising features high quality clean line designs for your photos. 

Digital Photo Organizing Idea

Today when I checked my photo software on my computer, I had 29,083 photos. The first problem here is that I need to get many of them off my computer & onto a hard drive so my computer doesn't go kaput on me, but that's a post for another day. The second deal here is,

"How in the world will I ever organize that many photos?!?"

Well, I'll be honest here, I don't plan to go back & organize all 29,083. Thankfully my software does organize them by date so that helps. Over the years, the digital photo world has made gift ideas, especially for grandparents, much easier. I can always go back, by date, & find just the photos I need for a calendar, a mug, a mouse pad, a photo book or a framed photo. Just to be able to do that has been great. But so many times I was just making gifts for other households & not my own. How was I to get these photos into books in my own house?

Many years ago, I took a scrapbooking class from a friend who talked about the importance of our handwriting in a photo book. Now the online books are great, don't get me wrong. They're quicker than making a scrapbook, colorful, & fairly easy to make. However, you don't get to write in them like you do scrapbook that you place photos in by hand.

About 8 years ago, when my oldest turned 5, I had an idea. (Of course, this is before Pinterest when I still had my own ideas.) I had my son make his own scrapbook of the his favorite photos from his first 5 years. I had him write captions in it, add stickers he liked at that age & just let go of any expectations I had for how it would look. It turned out great! At that point, I decided that I would encourage each of my kids to create their own book every 5 years. So far, we've gotten 4 books done & my middle child turns 10 in a couple weeks & we're already gathering photos on a file with her name on it to get printed to make the 5th book.

So, no there are not thousands of photos printed in dozens of books or frames. In fact, we've missed a bunch, but there are these treasures that will be with them forever. And my kids each have books that remind them who they are. They see their own handwriting at 5, 10 & eventually 15. They have looked at those books more than any other book in our house. They show them to their friends, laugh out loud, tell stories about the photos & enjoy them thoroughly. It wouldn't be the same if I had made them or had them done online.

This would also work for us big people too. Take the pressure off yourself of trying to organize all of them. The next time you're inspired, pick a year or three or five or maybe one event & start a file labeled "photos for book," start pulling in your favorites, get them printed & have at it. It doesn't have to be fancy with all the stickers & such, just your photos, your handwriting, your story. Trust me, that's the best one to tell.

Donations for Habitat for Humanity

It's been a couple of weeks since HYD's first ever pop-up market & we are still a little high from the experience.  Caroline & I were overwhelmed by the positive response from our shoppers as well as our vendors.  The community support from our Knoxville family was tremendous.

We are excited to say that with our 10% of profits from the sale, HYD & the vendors donated over $200 to Habitat for Humanity of Knoxville. 

HYD would also like to thank KBrew for providing their delicious coffee to our guests throughout the day.

Lastly, we wanted to show off some of the shots of the day that our dear friend, Katie Norrell took.  HYD was overjoyed to watch all the hugs, compliments & conversations throughout the day of the market.  We are looking forward to the next one, whenever it "pops-up!"

If you didn't make it out and are interested in purchasing any of these fine goods, let us know and we will get you in touch with the maker.

We had over 200 people come through our market and our vendors sold over $2,000 worth of goods. We had a blast seeing old friends and making new ones. If you took pictures at the market we would love to see them.