One year ago, from our hotel room balcony with the Pacific Coast Highway and Hermosa Beach in front of me, I wrote the words "Gerald and Joan" in a notebook. Jonathan and I were visiting our favorite place together for the first time since July 4th of the previous year. I had been in the South Bay area exactly one year before to help my mom pack Joan's house before the new owners took possession.

I didn't realize it at the time, but that moment -- the entire trip really -- was a turning point in our lives. Although Gerald and Joan was just a pipe dream -- simply an idea to create and style pretty things to supplement my current income -- it would soon alter our world.

Born under the California sun with the view of Palos Verdes and my great-grandmother's home in the distance, we have nurtured that dream at home in Tennessee this past year. Carrying the name of my grandma and Jonathan's grandfather, Gerald and Joan has united our own heritage.

What began as a vintage-inspired business has become a business of storytelling -- for families, friends, events, small businesses and nonprofits. The stories take a variety of forms, but they are there all the same. By preserving these stories, Gerald and Joan ensures that they'll exist tomorrow. Along the way, we keep alive the memories, treasures and traditions. We preserve history by design --- weaving it into a fabric that can only be described as heritage.

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