There are some nights that stay with you long after they are over. The Time Travelers Ball was one of those nights for us, and even now, it is difficult to put into words exactly what made it feel so extraordinary.

When Abbey and I first dreamed up the Ball, Heirloom Abbey hadn’t even launched its website yet. We were thinking about what a launch party could look like, but neither of us wanted something gimmicky or sales-driven. We wanted to invite people into our world and give them an experience that felt connected to everything we love about history, jewelry, fashion, and storytelling. Eventually, we looked at each other and thought, why don’t we just throw the kind of event we’ve both been dying to go to? From there, the idea for the Time Traveler’s Ball was born.

We wanted people to walk through the doors of the Stimson-Green Mansion and feel as though they had stepped outside of ordinary life for a few hours. We wanted them to dress up, meet strangers, listen to live music, admire beautiful things, and simply experience something a little more unplugged and connected. We weren’t sure how many people would want the same thing, so when tickets sold out in less than twenty minutes, we knew we had stumbled onto something. Afterward, hearing from so many people who had tried to get tickets but couldn’t made that feeling even stronger.

The mansion could not have been a more perfect setting. It felt warm, cozy, electric, and full of light and love, with original details everywhere you looked: the hand-painted burlap ceilings in the foyer, the arched doorway that mirrored our Heirloom Abbey logo, the neoclassical details in the jewelry parlor, and the billiards room tucked away inside the house. It felt like being invited to an elegant house party in the early 1900s, if only we could know exactly what one of those evenings felt like.

Having Tamara Friedman from Musique du Jour play the grand piano made the atmosphere even more immersive. Hearing live music reverberate through the walls of an old mansion was completely different from simply having music playing in the background. It made the house feel alive and transported us somewhere else entirely.

An evening like this also doesn’t come together through one person’s vision alone. Kaspars helped coordinate the event and catering, Madison helped us run the Heirloom Abbey jewelry table, and photographers Katie Flaherty and Maddy Crouch documented the evening. As hosts, there were so many moments we were too busy greeting guests, running the jewelry table, or keeping everything moving to witness ourselves. Having Katie and Maddy there meant those moments didn’t disappear. Their photographs captured not only the costumes and details, but the expressions, laughter, and connections that filled the mansion.

Sydney and Victoria from Roam Booth created a photo booth in the jewelry parlor with custom-printed cards designed especially for the Ball. Shane, the Typewriter Poet, created a custom poem for our VIP bags and spent the evening writing poems on the spot from his 1920s typewriter. Sarah, our silhouette artist, created hand-cut Victorian-style silhouettes for guests to take home, while Jamie offered tarot readings for individuals and couples throughout the evening. Each of these details gave guests something to discover and participate in, making the evening feel less like a party with entertainment and more like a little world with its own traditions and discoveries. We are incredibly grateful to every person who helped us build that world.

Abbey and I certainly committed to the theme ourselves. I wore an 18th-century-inspired gold brocade ball gown with paniers and a doubled strand of creamy white pearls, while Abbey wore a 17th-century Cavalier-inspired dress. We both wore coordinating taille d’épargne drop earrings. We weren’t sure how far our guests would take the dress code, so seeing people arrive in their own historical interpretations was thrilling. Alysa and Kyle particularly stopped us in our tracks, arriving in elaborate 18th-century-inspired costumes, complete with a white wig and little heart-shaped beauty marks inspired by the mouches of the period.

But beyond the costumes, it was the jewelry that made the evening especially meaningful to us. Guests arrived wearing their own family heirlooms. Kelsey showed us a cameo pendant from her grandmother, and Randi showed us an Art Deco dinner ring she had inherited. Seeing these pieces being worn and loved in the present day was incredibly touching. They had already lived one or many lives, and now they were being given another chapter.

We saw the same thing happen with pieces from Heirloom Abbey. We loved telling people the histories behind the jewelry and watching their eyes light up. I remember telling Randi about the Ostby & Barton ring she was holding and explaining its connection to Engelhart Ostby, who perished aboard the Titanic, and his daughter Helen, who later became a co-owner of the family business. Suddenly, the ring was more than a beautiful object. It was connected to a family, a company, and a very specific moment in history.

One of our favorite examples of a piece finding a new life was a dapper gentleman named Peter, who purchased a sterling silver and marcasite Art Deco collar necklace originally made as a ladies’ piece. He adopted it completely into his own style, and it looked fantastic on him. It was such a perfect reminder that antique jewelry doesn’t have to remain confined to its original purpose. Its next chapter can be whatever its new owner makes of it.

One of the moments that made everything feel especially real was overhearing guests talking about the jewelry in the hallway. They were discussing pieces they connected with, what might become an heirloom for them, and why certain objects meant something. Then someone cheekily said, “Heirloom Abbey.” Hearing people naturally talking about the mission we had hoped to communicate was incredibly meaningful.

The diamond stud giveaway was another special moment. Seeing everyone gathered in the Great Room, dressed from different eras and cheering as Cosette was announced as the winner, felt like such a beautiful expression of gratitude. What made it even sweeter was that Cosette had already made friends throughout the night. By the end of the evening, she had become part of the family and even went out for burgers and drinks at Linda’s with Abbey’s family afterward. That kind of connection was something we never could have planned.

If we could freeze one moment from the night, it would be the moment Abbey and I shared in the hallway, almost with tears in our eyes, realizing, We really did this. People were having fun. People were grateful. People wanted us to do it again. We hugged, then went our separate ways to continue hosting, but for those few seconds we were able to stop and actually take in what we had created.

Later, we stepped onto the front porch with Bret, Daniel, and Abbey’s brothers and finally had another moment to process everything. We talked about how crazy it was, how successful the night had been, and how we were absolutely going to have to do it again. Looking back into the mansion and seeing strangers becoming friends, people feeling at home, and this incredible energy filling the rooms, we realized that we had created something much bigger than a party.

The Ball taught us that Heirloom Abbey is much more than a jewelry company. It is about cultivating relationships and connections that transcend time, preserving history through jewelry and craftsmanship, and creating experiences that bring people genuine joy. That night, the jewelry became more than something to purchase. It became a tangible piece of history that someone could choose, love, preserve, and eventually pass forward.

As the evening came to an end, it didn’t really feel like goodbye. It felt like, see you next time. The Time Travelers Ball will become an annual tradition, and we’re already dreaming about more ways to gather our community throughout the year. Whether it’s another Ball, a smaller intimate gathering, or something we’ve yet to imagine, we know now that we don’t want this to be the only time we create a world like this together.

To everyone who time traveled with us, our gratitude goes far beyond what words can express. This was one of the greatest nights of our lives, and the feeling, connection, and energy that came from it was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. Thank you for dressing up, bringing your stories and heirlooms, meeting strangers, making friends, and stepping into the world of Heirloom Abbey with us.

We can’t wait to see you again.

Until next time,

Josie & Abbey
Heirloom Abbey