A fire and a shared passion for art at the origin of Objectory

Objectory secures and enhances your precious objects: simpleinventory, controlled sharing and protection against losses.

Objectory is the meeting ofpeople united behind a shared vision: restoring value and security to our mostprecious objects — and protecting the data of those objects, whether artisticor personal.

A passion for art

For many years, we have movedamong artists, galleries, experts, insurers, banks and collectors of valuableobjects. It was in thiscontext that we realised how rare it was to meet people who had acollection-management tool that genuinely satisfied them. We were struck by theingenuity of art lovers and saw, time and again, the makeshift side of thisamateur collecting (with Excel files, for example). Creativity rules!

At a time when technology has never been sopresent in our lives, it was surprising to see that the documentation ofvaluable objects remained rudimentary and poorly secured.

A chimney catches fire

In parallel, it was a fire — atthe home of one of us — that brought home what happens if you aren’t preparedfor a loss affecting your valuables. It’s also a conclusion reached afterdozens of interviews with people who have been victims of losses (such asthefts or fires): we are generally very poorly prepared to handle the stepsrequired after an accident. A clear list with the essential data of objects —such as their value (via an invoice) — is indeed often missing.

In this case, the fire thatseverely damaged the family home led to the loss of many memories (albums,objects, furniture, notebooks, drawings, etc.), including a few family trinketsto which there was an obvious sentimental attachment. Very soon after the loss,we were asked to draw up, in writing, an exhaustive list of all the belongingspresent in the house.

“A good inventory would have solved a lot of problems.”

As this house had been in thefamily for two generations (and large families at that), the task provedparticularly complex. Even with a good visual memory, it’s hard to remember allthe objects you see every day, let alone those tucked away in every cupboard,every drawer, every box, in the attic, in the cellar, and so on. Sometimes youalso forget that some have already been given away or sold. But we were able tocount on a quality broker who helped us put this list together, as well as onan estimate of the contents made by the expert appointed by the insurer.

But how do you describeprecisely a family painting inherited from your parents or grandparents? Such avaluation can never truly reflect the sentimental — or even real — value ofcertain objects.

“Our objects tell the story of our lives.”

Through this ordeal, we alsounderstood that our most precious objects are very often the ones that make usfeel “at home”. When you move house, or have to live in a temporary home, it’sour objects that allow us to feel at home, to connect to our history and ourloved ones. Our conviction was firm: we underestimate the importance objectshold in our family stories. But it’s often when we lose them that we becomefully aware of their value.

Objectory: a solution to anticipate a host of problems

Almost a year ago, in the summerof 2024, we began thinking about a simple and secure solution. After months ofsurveys, interviews, meetings with professionals and research, we startedlaying the foundations of a simple tool that would turn this chore into child’splay. A tool that not only makes it easy to document your most preciousbelongings, but also to share this information with whomever you wish.

Objectory is on its way, andthis is only the beginning of the adventure.

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