Today we’d like to introduce you to Judi Hoggatt.
Hi Judi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
After retiring from a career as an Occupational Therapist, I found myself drawn to helping people in a different way. Saving memories is important to me, and I think to many other people also. So, I started to help people to organize their photos. I started with Photobooks by Judi. I taught a digital storybooking class at community college for 10 years. . For those who did not want to do their own books, I created custom photo books.
As I worked with clients videos and photos, I realized many people, including myself, did not have a safe, permanent place to keep their digital memories. My search brought me to Forever. Since I had already been scanning client’s photos with commercial grade scanners through my company Picture2Pixels, it felt like a natural step to help families get their memories digitized and then save them permanently. The reason I continue to do this is when a client sees a photo or video they have not seen in years, their face lights up as they remember when…. and now they know that future generations will know that story also.
Living in the Gulf Coast area, our photos and videos are vulnerable to weather related disasters. I encourage client’s to “insure their photos are protected”.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Covid changed our world! In 2020 I stopped teaching Digital Storybooking at the College. I decided to organize my own photos while I was not “working”. I started with great enthusiasm. The first part was great, but then I ran into photos that could go into more than one box. What to do? I made a separate stack for those and thought I would deal with them separately. However, that stack became bigger than the other stacks, so I got frustrated and quit. Later that year, I learned about Forever and I was ready to get re-started saving those memories in a permanent way that was organized. My family is delighted as they know they will not have boxes and boxes of photos to go through. They have also enjoyed seeing those funny old home videos.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Picture2Pixels helps people to get their photos organized so they can find, share and enjoy them. I digitize all types of photos here at my office. I inspect each picture to see if it would benefit from brightening. Any type of video or film is digitized at Forever’s office. Together, Picture2Pixels and Forever help clients to Save (Digitize), Organize and then preserve their photos and videos. You pay for Cloud Storage ONCE and it is yours for the rest of your life PLUS 100 years. It is the only company that specializes in permanent storage. Facebook, Google, DropBox and others allow you to store your photos, but their goal is NOT preservation. Once you are no longer paying, posting or using the service, pictures on those sites are no longer safe. Think of what happens when you change a credit card that pays for storage…..all your pictures can be deleted. At Forever, this is not the case. Your pictures and videos are safe and secure and only you (or your designee) can delete them. Others that you invite can download the pictures.
Once the pictures are safely stored, we also offer photo print items such as cups, blankets, notebooks and calendars. These make one of a kind gifts.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I see Picture2Pixels decreasing in digitization, as more and more old photos are already digitized. I see Picture2Pixels increasing in organization and digital photo books. The older generation is seeing the clock ticking and they want to have their pictures organized. There are family stories that NEED re-telling to future generations. Since Forever allows you to enter information about the picture (you can even dictate it), now is the time to get that generation talking and explaining who, what, where, when and most importantly, why that picture is important..
As families decrease the saving of paper products, including photos, many can “hear ” their grandmother’s voice telling them to NOT GET RID of THOSE PICTURES, EVER! But, who wants to continue moving that box of paper pictures? Picture2Pixels and Forever is an option that is priceless regarding saving those stories.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://picture2pixels.com
- Facebook: Picture2Pixels
Image Credits
Forever
