An image of Leah Meijer's grandmother and her red lipstick tube

STUFF STORIES

Secondhand Tales Told Firsthand

An object is but metal, glass, cotton, or wood- until it becomes the object passed down from our great grandmother, the object that we were gifted during a trying time in our life, or an object or article we thrifted for our very first home.

When we look at these objects now, we don't just see a 'brass deer figurine', we see a memory that takes us back in time to a person or special place. Our lives give these objects meaning and these objects are then reminders of the meaning in our lives. It's not just stuff, it's our story. Read below, Leah’s tale of her grandmother’s tube of red lipstick.

“Let’s play beauty shop”

Q&A with Leah Meijer

Artifact: What is your object?

Leah: A tube of red Estée Lauder lipstick.

Artifact: When, how and why did it come into your possession?

Leah: When my grandma Mary (my mom’s mom) passed away over 12 years ago this was one of the things that I wanted to keep of hers that was special to me. She was known for always wearing beautiful red lips.

Artifact: Why does this object have meaning for you? What do you think and feel when you see this object? What memories come to mind when you see this object?

Leah: “Do you want to play beauty shop?" ...I remember my grandma asking this to my sister and I growing up and this being one of our favorite "games" we would play when we visited her. They lived out in Canby, Oregon and had an 1980's style ranch home with an orchard and acreage. The bathroom where we would play this game had a large laminate top double sink and a large rectangle mirror. She would sit us up on the counter and then put lipstick and blush on us, maybe a bit of eyeshadow too. One of the reasons I enjoyed this so much was the delicate intimacy it allowed, the soft touch, gentle kindness, and pure female silliness that was shared during these moments. It was also fun because every time after we played beauty shop we would go show my grandpa our makeup and he would teasingly call us "a bunch of floosies". My grandma was an Estée Lauder woman through and through and always had many shades of red lipstick. I didn't realize it until recently but in most of her photos she is donning the perfect red lip. This tube of red lipstick that would otherwise look like a random used tube of makeup ready to toss out, is priceless for me.

Artifact: Do you plan to keep this object forever? What is your vision for the life of this object? What do you see in it's future?

Leah: I plan to keep this lipstick for my lifespan and wear it from time to time, even if just for myself.