We recently connected with Alison Levin and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alison, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

Throughout my life, I have been enamored with history, architecture, photos, and time periods of the past. I grew up in a state rich in history, majored in Design & Historic Preservation, and worked for several historical societies. But, it wasn’t until my grandparents passed away, and I inherited their photos and documents that I realized how unique these items are to our entire family. Going through thousands of images and items became an honor and gave insight to my family’s legacy versus a laborious task. Post-corporate career and during the pandemic, I suspected that if I had so many precious one-of-a-kind images than others must too. In the digital age, we forget about the boxes languishing in need or preservation. That is the inspiration for starting an archiving business – to tell every family’s stories.

Alison, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Growing up in Virginia, I was surrounded by immense history going back to the 1600s. My interest in all things historic peaked as I studied history in school and visited sites like George Washington’s Mount Vernon, Williamsburg, and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. I became fascinated with how people lived through these times, their styles of dress, their transportation, and their livelihoods as well as the architecture of the eras. All of this led to me studying Interior Design & Historic Preservation at James Madison University who is, of course, the Father of the US Constitution.

I interned documenting and researching historic buildings at Historic Staunton Foundation, close to JMU. When I moved to Colorado in the 1990s, I ran the historic walking tour program at Historic Boulder in Boulder, CO for three years. Managing their archives, doing research and photography, and training docents kept the seven historic districts running and added to the tour quality. In Gilpin County Historical Society in Central City, CO, I accomplished similar work while honing the archiving skills I utilize today.

During this time, all of my grandparents passed away, and I inherited thousands of photos, documents, letters, cards, postcards, and film reels. I became the de-facto family curator during an analog time. So, I set out to preserve everything as best I could in acid-free containers which would resist the aging process that occurs naturally from chemical fading and breakdown as well as the conditions they’re stored in such as humidity, weather fluctuations, and sunlight. They remained there until the digital age enabled other means of preservation and restoration.

While most of my career has been spent in corporate sales and marketing, it wasn’t until right before Covid that I began downsizing my parent’s home for many years. I realized that everything I had been preserving for the last two decades could now be digitized, so I set out on a journey of digitization. Leveraging my archiving experience, I created a process to catalog and restore our family memories. This led to the realization that there must be so many people who are going through this same experience, and I could help others preserve their family legacy and be able to tell their stories of the past, securing them for their generations to come.

Thus, Ambrosia Archiving was created during the pandemic, and I haven’t looked back since. We strive to showcase family history through the feelings images and documents evoke.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Ambrosia Archiving provides a meaningful and sentimental service so families can celebrate their heritage. It’s an honor to be so trusted as to step into a client’s family history and showcase memories that are priceless.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When my mother became ill with dementia, it changed my whole outlook on life, business, and career. My world stopped, and I had to process this long journey of saying goodbye to my best friend. I left my corporate job and cared for her over many years. Along this way, I knew time was running short, and I had to get as many stories from her as possible. Nurturing an oral history of her life, experiences, our family tree, and many stories became my full-time job.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ambrosiaarchiving.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ambrosiaarchiving
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ambrosiaarchiving
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ambrosiaarchiving/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ambrosia-archiving-denver