Our story
We built Heirloom because
we waited too long ourselves.
After losing a parent, we realised something devastating: we had thousands of photographs, but almost nothing in their words. No letters. No written memories. No record of what they actually thought, felt, or wanted us to know.
We asked friends. The same story, everywhere. “I wish I’d asked more questions.” “I wish they’d written it down.” “I wish I’d told them what they meant to me.”
Heirloom exists because the gap between loving someone and telling them is usually filled with silence. And silence, eventually, becomes permanent.
We’re not trying to disrupt death or digitise grief. We’re just trying to close the gap — to give people a structure, a reason, and a beautiful destination for the words they already carry inside them.
The prompts were developed in collaboration with writers and grief counsellors. They’re not therapy. They’re not homework. They’re invitations to say the things that matter most — one letter at a time.
What we believe
Words outlast everything
Photographs fade. Voices are forgotten. But the written word endures. A letter in someone’s handwriting is the closest thing to their presence we can preserve.
Imperfect is enough
You don’t need to be a poet. You need to be honest. Eleven minutes of imperfect truth is worth more than a lifetime of polished silence.
Privacy is sacred
Your most intimate words deserve the strongest protection we can give them. AES-256 encryption. Row-level security. We will never read your letters.
The time is now
Later is the most dangerous word in the English language when it comes to the people you love. Heirloom exists to turn later into today.
76%
Wish they’d written letters
92%
Regret words left unsaid
11 min
Average time per letter
NPS 72
From beta testers