TESTIMONIALS

"For much of my life I have had an interest in the history of my family. Fortunately relatives on both sides had carefully collected and saved photographs, documents and records going back several generations and had given me important information about my ancestors. For some years I had pondered how to pass this information on to my children and grandchildren in a meaningful way. A book of some kind seemed most appropriate. My wife, while sympathetic with the idea, knew little about her own family. After she passed away I determined to move forward with the project. At that point I happened to meet Tom Hostage of Bespoke History, another one of the many timely coincidences that have blessed my life.

Thanks to Tom and his team at Bespoke History my simple undefined undertaking grew into a much greater, and ultimately, far more satisfying endeavor. Even better, it was a lot easier and more enjoyable than I thought possible. At the outset a plan was developed to catalog the existing material and to identify areas where new research was needed, particularly on my wife’s family. Bespoke History added new chapters and perspectives to my family history and basically constructed most of the story of my wife’s family. The principal product of this effort was, in fact, a book. However, it is not a dry recitation of family trees and biographies along with a few pages of photos, but a dazzling presentation of our ancestry and our lives. It is loaded with pictures, stories, pertinent interviews conducted by Bespoke and some general history to put the family in historical context, all of which are found on every page. All those who have seen the book remark on the brilliant design and layout of the pages in addition to the expert storytelling. The book is so well done that many of my friends have insisted on keeping a copy and reading the entire volume. While the book is the highlight, Bespoke also provided complete records of the entire project, including interview transcripts, research notes with citations and a CD of all the photos that were scanned which will make future research far less complicated.