Soulfolio: The meaningful gift that lasts a lifetime
A soulfolio is a one-of-a-kind, meaningful keepsake gift created collaboratively that makes the important people in your life feel SEEN
So many of us deal with mental health issues and depression, struggle with low confidence, or question if we’re enough – me too! A soulfolio is a small thing, 2.75″ square, but it packs such an effective wellness punch that I’ve made it my personal mission to spark joy one person, one soulfolio, at a time.
Soulfolio co began 8 years ago when my husband gave me a gift that changed my life and sparked 8 years of work!
He wrote 1 word or phrase on small pieces of vellum to represent each year of my life and bound them together with a ribbon. I went through an entire range of emotions because I had never received anything like it! I felt SEEN. And I came back to it whenever I needed a boost. I knew we were meant to share this with the world.
If you’d like to see the Soulfolio co website, click here to check it out! We’re not currently accepting orders on the website, but please be our guest to click around.
What is a Soulfolio?
A Soulfolio is a paper gift you create collaboratively with friends and family on our custom website. Each folio is made up of 2.75” square “tiles” printed on synthetic paper and stacked on top of each other to tell a story of your unique relationships. Choose words and graphics from our gallery or design tiles by uploading your photos. Or create a continuous story on your tiles that reads more like a book. Add a QR code to an audio clip or a video. Buy tickets for your Bae and have the QR code take them to your secret destination! The possibilities are endless.
Finding meaningful gifts can be hard. Showing people how you feel about them can be harder. Soulfolio combines all the things we’re best at creating (feels, art, words) and offers them to the world in a lovely small package because everyone deserves to experience the rush of love and joy a Soulfolio brings. We put this Kickstarter campaign together because we can’t finish this without you. Please help us spark joy one Soulfolio at a time!
We all have "our" person
Our “lobster,” to use an old Friends reference. Our “In Case of Emergency” contact. The ONE you call or text for every little thing.
Now picture them in your mind. While you’re thinking about your person, what words pop up that describe them? Can you dig deeper? I bet you have your own vocabulary with your BFF, special slang known only between you. When was the last time you TOLD them how you felt? Or SHOWN them how vital they are in your daily life?
What if you could hop online and create something so meaningful they would want to see it Every. Single. Day. And that will last long enough for the next generation to look at in wonder. Have more than one BFF? Gather your squad and create a Soulfolio for each of you to commemorate your years of friendship, a special trip, or to mark any traditions you have as a friend group.
Back to the beginning
Since my husband’s groundbreaking gift, we’ve created other handmade versions of the gift for some milestone birthdays before deciding a specialty website would be the best way to put this gift in the hands of others. In the past year, we’ve tested Soulfolio with family and friends who all say the same thing – it’s fun to create together, the finished product is unique and beautiful, and they can’t wait to start a new folio! Plus, they like that it feels warmer and more engaging than sharing pics on your phone.
Watch above to see how the folios have progressed: the original Matt created; the printed words/ hand-illustrated paper version for my mom’s 75th birthday, the first online version for Matt’s birthday surprise; and a peek at a soulfolio with the Kickstarter-only butterfly charm!
Available in 2 stack sizes
Soulfolio is priced in 2 stack sizes: up to 50 tiles and up to 100 tiles. We recommend no fewer than 25 tiles in your stack or your finished product may feel skimpy. We don’t like to go over 100 tiles, or the experience can feel overwhelming. Sort of a Goldilocks situation. Of course, if your great-great aunt is turning 103, we’ve got you!
Here's how you walk through the process
Tips to think about before you create
A few of our favorite tile designs
Once all tiles have been created, you can rearrange them into any order you like and review them to make sure they tell the perfect story.
Choose a cover
Then, choose the design of the included cover and back cover that speaks to you. (This is just a sampling of our cover options!)
And the fastener that hold it all together
All of our fasteners are non-magnetic and can be opened, so you can rearrange your tiles any time you like.
Benefits for the giftee
Benefits for the gift-giver
But how EXACTLY does it work?
To start a project, you first decide who you’ll collaborate with and how many tiles you’d like to create. Our simple interface will walk you through the setup of your project.
Pro tip! Think who will be the best project manager. Choose a person who is super detailed and organized so they can keep your project on track. They are granted the superpower to add or delete extra tiles as a benefit.
Next step, invite your collaborators! Once they join the project and start creating, you can watch as completed tiles fill in our “All Tiles” project grid. It’s like a sneak peek at what everyone else is working on.
Calling all creators!
Watch the video above for a walk-through of the design interface. You can pick a tile from our gallery and start customizing: move the word around, change the word (on tiles marked “change my word!”), change the font and color, or upload photos layered with your unique words and messages.
Completed folios are shipped wherever you like in a clean white box free of conspicuous labeling. We don’t want to ruin the surprise!
Open the gift and get ready to film a short video or snap photos of the big moment! We’ll tag anyone who shares their unboxing story with us on our social accounts – providing a braggable moment for your awesome taste in gift-giving!
Back to the beginning
We knew right away that Soulfolio could have mass appeal, although It took a good few years to decide to take on this idea. Our marketing company was growing, and we didn’t have a lot of bandwidth. It wasn’t until I was accepted in the first Dayton, Ohio cohort of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) program that I realized I would have the space I needed. [Small business owners! 10KSB is a fantastic opportunity to dive deeply into your business and get a ton of help from the faculty and your peers. Check it out!]
10KSB kicked off virtually in May 2020, and a couple of gatherings in, we were asked about our Growth Opportunity. I hesitated for a few minutes before I declared my intentions. Did I really want to start a new business? Was I emotionally/ physically/ mentally ready with whatever it would take to launch? Hells yeah! The world needs more joy.
It became all I thought about. I poured all my ideas into my “official” 10KSB notebook and hundreds of google docs, thinking through supply chain issues, possible vendors, what kind of paper to use, and how to hold it together. Matt and I would talk for hours, dreaming about how to share Soulfolio with the world.
I wrapped up my 68-page Growth Plan, completed the 10KSB program in December 2020, and here we are! We’ve spent the last 2.5 years developing the website, tweaking the website, testing the website, tweaking the website, testing the website, tweaking the website, testing the website, tweaking the website, testing the website – you get the idea.
And now, with YOUR help, we’re SO excited about our first public launch. We can’t WAIT to see how YOU use Soulfolio to spark joy one person at a time.
