Preserve your family memories; turn them into one-of-a-kind art

We all want to preserve our memories, especially those of our ancestors. It seems the older I get, the more important it is for me to honor my ancestors by preserving their stories and achievements so that my child and my child's child can remember them. No one wants to be forgotten. No one wants to think their time on this earth meant nothing. So I feel it is my duty to preserve what I can of my family's history. Sounds corny now, but believe me, this is a feeling that gets increasingly stronger the older I get.

All that said, it isn't always easy preserving the past when you're missing pieces of it. That was my problem. Here's the story in a nutshell:

My grandfather owned a bakery in Oak Park, Ill., called Dangels' Pastry Shop. It was a pretty healthy business as evidenced by the number of employees shown here in front of the shop.

Here's a photo from inside the bakery.

Aside from these two photos, both of which are lacking, dates. I don't know much. I do, however, have a couple of antiques from the shop. Both are antique check writers.

Not surprisingly, my dad followed in my grandfather's footsteps and worked in the bakery business, only he specialized in cake decorating and worked for years as a cake decorator with Dressel's Bakeries in Chicago among others. Additionally, he had his own business on the side where he designed and manufactured cake decorations for sale to bakeries. For a short time, he had a shop front in Evergreen Park, Ill. where he provided wedding cakes. His business was called Dangel's Decorating Specialties.

I don't have anything from this business, not even a photo. When setting up my office, I wanted something of his; something that would be a testament to all his hard work and be a constant reminder for me and my family of what my dad accomplished.

The answer came to me in Second Chance Art & Accessories. Amy and Derek Manning, owners of the Minooka, Ill.-based business create one-of-a-kind pieces of artwork from antiques and salvage. They sell many stock items, but they also create custom pieces on commission.

The pieces they sell, include pub and wine cellar artwork, vintage kitchen, bath and laundry accessories as well as vintage coat racks, all of which look like they came out of an old hotel, jazz club or tavern. So, I thought...why couldn't they create something that looked like it came out of my grandfather's bakery and use the name of my dad's business, Dangel's Decorating Specialties?

I contacted them and we reviewed my idea. I wanted a piece that looked like it came off the wall from behind the bakery counter. Something that would say the name of the business and look like would have been hanging above the cookies, cakes and bread behind the counter.

Amy knew exactly what I wanted. Derek, being a skilled carpenter, created a shelf-like mantle to my design specifications from old barnwood. I opted for an antique white finish over stain to keep the look lighter and more feminine...more like a bakery. They added a railing from an old brass bed, below the mantle, so that I could use it to hang jewelry that I make. 

The hardest part was finalizing the typeface for the name of the business. My father's letterhead had the business name in a casual, simple script. Amy replicated the look exactly as I wanted, painted it onto a mirror that she aged to look antique, and then painted the drop shadow on the letters in "Dangel's" in gold as an accent.

I framed the original photos and have them displayed along with one of the check writers. In addition, I have colored glass and beads in three apothecary jars on the shelves to echo the bakery theme.

Amy and Derek of Second Chance Art & Accessories do great work and I couldn't be happier with the end result, which is the perfect way to honor my dad. I'm reminded of his creativity and artistry every day when I come to work now. You can see examples of Amy and Derek's work at their website, Second Chance Art & Accessories and they also attend many fine art fairs. Click here for a schedule. Their pieces are also for sale at a number of retail shops nationwide. For a complete list of retailers, click here.

Click here to see my review of their work along with some particulars on their business. I'll be preparing a blog entry soon on their work with fun stories about how they find the pieces for their artwork and how they transform so-called trash into treasure.