Retirement
A moment, made forever.
A retirement, made into one piece by the people they worked with.
What this one is actually like.
Retirement is the one occasion where the group is a workplace rather than a family — a department, a shift, a faculty, a squad. That group has a roster, so nobody has to remember who to ask.
The convention already exists. The card goes round, someone collects for a present, somebody gives a speech. Nobody needs persuading that a collective present is appropriate here, which is not true of most occasions.
The people with the best material are usually not the closest current colleagues. They are the ones who were there in the first few years, and half of them have already left the organisation.
The card goes round and comes back with thirty signatures and no stories on it. Thirty years of working life, and the record of it is a list of first names.
One link. Everyone adds their piece.
Send one link to the group you are already in. People add photos, notes, a voice message from the car — no accounts, nothing to download. You approve what goes in. We compose it into a single work, print it on archival stock, and send it to the person the occasion is about.
Running one of these.
- How long to give people
- Three weeks. A workplace group is slower than a family group — people read it at work and mean to do it at home.
- How many usually contribute
- Workplace groups run large: twenty to forty is normal for a long tenure, and it is the occasion most likely to need the unlimited tier.
- What to ask them for
- The first day, the worst week, the thing they always said. People who worked together have specific material and reach for platitudes anyway — asking for a year and a place stops that.
Three pieces.
Each one sets how many people can add to it, and the largest size you can order. Choose any size up to that — the price is for the piece, not the inches.
Classic
12 × 12 in
Select Classic- Archival inks
- Gallery-grade paper
- Voice notes not included
- Living Memory
Heirloom
20 × 28 in
Select Heirloom- Custom art tweaks
- Certificate of authenticity
- Voice notes
- Living Memory