Ben and I had been married for 50 years. They arranged a big surprise during the wedding party. Old photos, personal stories, congratulations, but also background stories about the origins of our family. We discovered that evening that our brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren had made a magazine. Later it hit us even more how special this was. Not only for us. Also for the other family members and the next generation. The grandchildren will remember what blossomed from their grandparents' marriage. I still cherish the magazine and browse through it regularly with a sense of gratitude.
-Trix

As a goodbye to Tilburg and as a memory of our fine and beautiful home, I created this journal. Completely inspired by the magazine 'Eigen Huis & Interieur'. I was the photographer, copywriter and creator of the magazine. As I was working on it, new ideas for original pages kept coming up. I had great fun creating the texts because I took inspiration from professional magazines. A lot of those texts also applied directly to my magazine.

• Esther

My mother was a real Amsterdam city girl. In the sixties, she worked as a seamstress at the Gerzon fashion house, which was known as a luxury ladies' fashion shop in The Hague. In the time that she was pregnant with me, she also did some big fashion shows abroad. In 1962, she married my father in the Sions church in Amsterdam where she appeared at the altar in a fantastic dress. In the meantime, my father passed away a number of years ago. My mother and I have always been very close, but the loss of my father brought us even closer together.

• Elles

The reactions were very positive. My mother reacted with emotion to all the personal stories and photos over the years. I am very grateful that I was able to do this for her and also to do it together with my daughter. When I started this magazine a few months ago, I did not expect to find so many memories. For example, my mother lived through the severe hunger winter of 1944 and the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. Shocking events that today are described as world history.

• A loving daughter

This voluntary work is tailor-made for me. The AHN put me in touch with Mrs Gosen, a spirited and outspoken lady in her eighties who could use some support after the death of her husband. Fortunately we got along well. Gradually I gained her trust and she told me her life story which I wrote down in a life book. When that was finished I continued to visit her regularly and out of that came a 'stuff magazine' again. I visited Mrs Gosen a number of times and each time we spent an hour talking about certain things. Of each object I took one or more photographs and wrote down the story.

• Linda