Genre: Information/Explanation

AUTHORS Michael Massimi & Daniela Rosner ABSTRACT Technology increasingly plays a role in the way that we prepare for , celebrate , and reflect upon major life events . Modern digital artefacts , such as Facebook messages and digital photos , now stand alongside traditional artefacts , such as guest books and heirloom jewellery , as cherished mementos of these occasions . Considering how these physical artefacts are crafted provides a useful lens for understanding the evolving relationship among digital tools , the artefacts they produce , and the major life events where these artefacts are used and imbued with meaning . In this paper , we present themes from an interview study conducted with crafters who created items for major life events including weddings , household moves , and births . Our findings outline properties of the crafting process and of the crafted items . Across all occasions , crafters saw major life events as opportunities to learn new skills and use special materials to create personalized artefacts that codified and extended interpersonal relationships . This occurred in parallel with a creative , thoughtful process to make crafts that were appropriate for each occasion and meaningful enough to be kept and treasured for years to come . We reflect on the properties of these crafters' processes and artefacts , and suggest implications for the role of digital tools and assets in relation to major life events . In particular , digital ways to reveal an artefact's provenance and relationship to an event may be useful for augmenting its symbolic meaning and its ability to represent interpersonal relationships .