1981

'I was given my Winnie the Pooh book, for my sixth birthday, by my granda. It is my most treasured possession. My favourite thing about it, which always makes me laugh, is the handwritten inscription,

'To Karen, at age 6, from Grandad. Happy Birthday 23/1/1981' 

I was born on the 28th!'

The 60's and 70's

I am steadily gathering a collection of photos of my parents from the 60's and 70's. I am hoarding their memories and trying to decipher the mystery of who these people were before we all came screaming into their lives and changed everything.  Photographs looked better in the 70's, this one was taken in London, it is the top of the Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace.

The 1970's

My mother's necklace is an enamel butterfly, from Italy- most likely Florence, her brother gave it to her sometime in the late 70's, the precise details like many things lost to time. She gave it to me the summer her father was dying. It is the only piece of jewellery I have worn that men have stopped me in the street to compliment.

2008

'I really loved Hackney and East London. I was living there with my friend Bec who bought me the pin along with a matching T shirt. At the time everyone in London had taken to wearing the iconic 'I heart New York' tees and this was my tongue-in-cheek response. Hackney was rough, gritty, dirty but full of the best people and it holds a special place in my heart. London gives you a freedom to become whoever you want to be, a freedom that you don't find so easily elsewhere. The pin reminds me of my years in london and all it gave me'

Alison- hair stylist

1980

This soap must be at least 25 years old, we have had it so long the details are rubbed away at the edges and covered in fluff just like the soap itself. Originally it must have belonged to our older sister until a game of 'steal and keep' began. Months might go by until it appeared victoriously, briefly- and then it would be gone again. And somehow I had it in my sock drawer for years and years. Then I gave it to little sister who has kept it now for 7 years, 9 months and a couple of days.

1985

Kalbarri, summer 1985. I remember being stuck in the car for hours and hours, driving down long empty stretches of road, waiting for the ocean to come into sight. Dad kept saying 'just over this hill' we would gasp and lean forward and there would only be more road with another hill. I remember the mix tapes we listened to, the long bright hot days, the sting of chlorine, pelicans, trampolines, mini golf and the tacky souvenir stores we would visit. 

I desperately wanted a pet rabbit, this was as close as I could get.

1992

'It was my very first watch. I don't really remember what exact date I got it, but I think it was for my first day at school. I stopped wearing it when I turned 12 or 13, because I was at that age that thinks it is too cool for a kids watch.

I really love my flik flak watch and I started wearing it again during my final year at school before I did my abitur'

- Jenni, post grad Fashion student. 

1969

My dad gave this to my mum for her 16th birthday. It was November 1969,  'Sugar, Sugar' by the Archies was number one. My mum was a self described 'faux hippie' and my dad was a square who never wore jeans, always a jacket and tie. Her name is engraved on the front, his on the back. It was the first gift he ever gave her.