Karen Tompkins’ new business lets you record your life story for loved ones to treasure forever

Karen Tomkins. Picture by by Karen Redmond photography

Ciara Dwyer

June 19 2022 02:30 AM

Age: 40.

From: Waterford but lives in Wexford.

Thoughtful present: The Treasure Vox is a brilliant idea for a business. Broadcast journalist Karen Tomkins sits down with a person, often someone elderly, and interviews them for three hours. Then she edits it to come up with the audio version of their life. The family stories are preserved forever. And the storytelling is in that person’s voice, with all their familiar mannerisms and expressions. It’s a personal history.

Preserving memories: “I did it as a present for my grandmother when she turned 80. I didn’t know what to buy her. Then, when she died in 2014, it became the most precious treasure for us all. I saw the power it held. I still listen to her words of wisdom.”

Out of Covid: Karen — who is a mother of three and has an underlying health condition — decided to set up her own business. In 2021, The Treasure Vox was born on Zoom. Now she does it in person too. “I do a questionnaire beforehand and I also give the family the unedited tape. I absolutely love it and business is going shockingly well.”

Thanks for the memories: “It captures the essence of the person. In one case, I was asked to interview people to gather memories about someone who had died. It was very powerful.”

See thetreasurevox.ie