You're viewing a sample family archive — not a live vault.

Timeline

Newest moments first — scroll down through the decades toward Wei’s arrival in 1965.

2020s

Aug 20, 2026 · 8:00 AM · photo
Sophia with Isla and Maya after the picnic — tablet time on the couch.
Photo · Gatherings
Aug 2, 2026 · 8:00 AM · photo
Sunset on the shore — three generations, little ones in arms.
Photo · Celebrations
Jun 14, 2026 · 8:00 AM · photo
David with Isla and Leo in the backyard — golden hour, sticky hands.
Photo · Childhood
Jul 18, 2025 · 8:00 AM · photo
Maya discovering the toy camera — almost as serious as Yéye's old Leica.
Photo · Childhood
Jan 15, 2024 · 7:00 AM · story
Why We Keep This
Families scatter. Hard drives fail. Photo albums fade in attics. I started Heirloom because I watched my father's stories live in only a han…
Aug 20, 2022 · 8:00 AM · photo
Reunion 2022 — three generations under the same oak.
Photo · Gatherings
Feb 14, 2021 · 7:00 AM · video
Digitizing the Attic Tapes
Lucas walks through the process of transferring old family VHS tapes — and finds a clip of Wei he had never seen.

Nov 28, 2019 · 7:00 AM · video
Carmen's Kitchen Stories
Thanksgiving 2019. Carmen gathers Noah and Lucas to pass down a family tradition the way Rosa taught her.
Apr 2, 2018 · 8:00 AM · story
Last Conversations with Yéye
In the spring of 2018 I sat with Yéye every Thursday afternoon with a recorder and a notebook. He was seventy-eight and tired, but his stori…
Apr 2, 2018 · 8:00 AM · photo
Sophia recording Wei's stories on the porch, spring 2018.
Photo · Oral Histories
Apr 2, 2018 · 8:00 AM · video
Wei Remembers the Freighter
Excerpt from Sophia's 2018 oral-history sessions. Wei describes arriving in Brooklyn in 1965.
Jul 4, 2012 · 8:00 AM · photo
Cousins crowded for a portrait — peace signs and summer light.
Photo · Childhood
Mar 14, 2012 · 8:00 AM · photo
Aisha with Noah after his birthday — quiet, unposed, perfect.
Photo · Home

Aug 16, 2008 · 8:00 AM · story
The First Big Reunion Picnic
By 2008 the family had sprawled across three boroughs and two time zones. We decided on a picnic in Flushing Meadows — the same park where M…
Aug 16, 2008 · 8:00 AM · video
Reunion Picnic Highlights, 2008
Miguel's cut of the first big reunion — soccer, lawn chairs, and the group portrait take that finally worked.
May 10, 2004 · 8:00 AM · photo
Miguel's quiet frame from the Bronx years — a stranger who looked like family.
Photo · Miguel's Lens
Jun 1, 2003 · 8:00 AM · video
Sophia's Birthday Song
The whole table singing to Sophia on her fifth birthday. Aisha is on piano off-camera.

Nov 9, 1996 · 7:00 AM · story
The Proposal in the Library
Elena worked evenings at the Flushing branch. I designed community buildings for a living and kept inventing reasons to visit the reference…
Nov 9, 1996 · 7:00 AM · photo
David and Elena the night he proposed at the Flushing library.
Photo · Weddings & milestones
Sep 6, 1992 · 8:00 AM · photo
An easy evening at Carmen's table — three generations leaning in.
Photo · Gatherings
Oct 8, 1991 · 8:00 AM · video
Morning on Roosevelt Avenue, 1991
Home-video footage of Wei opening the shop before dawn. Carmen narrates from behind the camera.

Jul 22, 1985 · 8:00 AM · photo
Family on the malecón in San Juan, summer 1985.
Photo · Travel
Jul 20, 1985 · 8:00 AM · story
Summer in San Juan, 1985
The summer I turned twelve, Mom took Elena and me to San Juan for three weeks while Dad stayed with the shop. It was the first time I unders…

Nov 12, 1979 · 7:00 AM · photo
Carmen at home — the portrait Elena still keeps on her desk.
Photo · Family portraits
Mar 5, 1978 · 7:00 AM · photo
Wei in the garden behind the Flushing house, late afternoon light.
Photo · Family portraits
Mar 3, 1978 · 7:00 AM · story
The Shop on Roosevelt Avenue
I signed the lease on a narrow storefront on Roosevelt Avenue in February 1978. Carmen said I was crazy. Elena was eight and asked if she co…
Aug 22, 1970 · 8:00 AM · story
Wedding Day, Flushing Meadows
Mom and Dad were married on a humid August afternoon in Flushing. The reception was in the church basement — fold-out tables, paper flowers,…
Aug 22, 1970 · 8:00 AM · photo
Wei and Carmen on their wedding day, Flushing, August 1970.
Photo · Weddings & milestones

Jun 14, 1968 · 8:00 AM · story
The Dance at St. Mark's
I was twenty-three, finishing nursing school, and my cousin dragged me to a community dance at St. Mark's Church in the East Village. I almo…
Sep 12, 1965 · 8:00 AM · story
A Suitcase and a Promise
In September 1965, Wei Chen stepped off a freighter in Brooklyn with one suitcase, a letter of introduction to a shop in Queens, and a promi…