How we began ~

In 2003, we had a tragic loss in my family. My cousin, Ann Ray Rivera, 19 years old was lost in a horrific car accident on Thanksgiving Day. This amazing girl, this young woman, in the prime of her life was instantly gone. Overnight. It was and still remains a devastation to our family and close friends thereof. There isn't a day that goes by that I wish, and hope, and pray, that my own children out live me and live as long of a life as they possibly can.

City Year was something that Anna was heavily involved in. Anna Ray Rivera went to New York in 2003 as a founding City Year New York corps member after serving a year at City Year Boston. After losing Anna, City Year decided with her family, to honor her legacy with the Anna Rivera Spirit Award to recognize an exceptional corps member who uphold Anna's commitment to City Year and to community service, maintain a positive attitude, and serve with an open heart and an open mind. Currently, City Year continues to honor Anna by giving the Anna Rivera Spirit Award to someone that exhibits that same spirit. For more information about City Year, go to www.CityYear.org/NewYork.

Several years after Anna had passed; my Aunt Teri decided to take a risk. In an effort to preserve the memories of her daughter Anna, she decided to invest in the custom photo gift industry. I believe that anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one is forever grateful for any and all memories captured in photographs and the like.

Photos are an amazing thing. We all have complained in one way or another... Oh I look fat, or oh what a horrible picture of me, etc. etc. But ultimately, until you've lost a loved one, you don't realize how powerfully blessed you are to have your memories captured in the essence of a photograph. A snap shot. A still frame. A simple photo that when it was taken, it did not have the meaning that it does now. Now that your loved one is gone. Now, we look at that photo and piece together what we were thinking. What were they thinking? Where was it taken? Who took that photo? Or how vibrant and amazing they looked. We desperately strive to find something, some type of clarity, something new, and something that we didn't see before.

Photographs and the memories of Anna are what drove my Aunt Teri into this business and my desire to connect with my Aunt drew me to it. I've been blessed with many memories of babysitting Anna and her sister Sarah when they were little; however, as I got older, I moved to the south and had very little new memories to grab hold of. So, when my Aunt decided to take a risk and invest, shortly after that I began working with her and doing direct sales home parties. Within a very short time frame, I knew I wanted to do more with these photos. I wanted to design the custom photo gifts. I wanted to be the one to take that precious memory, turn it into something even more special and hand the customer my vision of that special gift.

Here we are now ~

I have been in the industry of custom photo keepsakes for over 5 years now I am extremely blessed to take a photo of someone's loved one and create something beautiful and unique that they can cherish for years to come. For some people, it's a fun process to take their pictures from a recent trip to Disney and place them on a set of coasters. For others, it's all they have left, their memories captured and the photographs of those memories. I am proud and honored to have the capability of preserving any and all of these photos. I am proud to take each and every image and create something that brings people joy, connections and even peace. I am honored and blessed to have the ability to take my creative energy and use it for something so meaningful and magical. Something so cherishable. I am a designer. I care about the photos I receive. I care about the customer. And I care about creating something special.

For information on donating to the Anna Ray Rivera Memorial Fund,

Please contact: Teri Wysor at: embroideryplace@gmail.com

Please contact Nicole Perry for more information and see our consultant page for details on
kits, materials, commissions and bonus structures.

We now have a team of Independent Consultants in the surrounding South Shore areas.
To host a home party, please contact a rep today!

Nicole Perry ~ Plymouth ~ 508-971-7885 ~ nickiperry@gmail.com

Suzy Wood  ~ Wareham ~ 508-789-1360 ~ keepsakesuzy@gmail.com

Amanda McCoy ~ Wareham ~ 508-728-1516 ~ memorymakermccoy@gmail.com

Kelly Meckes ~ Monroe, NH ~ 603-638-4744 ~ customcreationsbykel@gmail.com