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How the death of a grandfather inspired records of loved ones

For Tina Purvis, the death of her grandfather was not only an occasion of grief and sadness, but it left unanswered questions about his life.

What kind of things did he do as a young man? Where did he travel? These were just two of the missing pieces.

Eventually, she realised there must be many, like her, who had lost a loved one and would welcome a defining record of an individual's journey through life.

'That was the moment,' says Ms Purvis. 'I realised there was no one single source I could access where my grandfather's life story, his childhood, his education, articles published about him or even the milestones in his life were recorded.'

Never one to refuse a challenge, this former round-the-world yachtswoman established Reflections, a firm that catalogues biographical information into a leather-bound record for posterity.

'I have been amazed at the response,' she says of the business she set up only a few months ago.

Arriving with her husband from London 18 months ago, Ms Purvis set about building the business from a home office.

'I realised that establishing Reflections would be a steep, and possibly very expensive, learning curve,' she says.

Building the office wasn't cheap as she had to install all the equipment necessary to run a small publishing house, ranging from furniture, computer, scanner and expensive desk top publishing software. She channeled remaining resources into sourcing high-quality leather albums for text, documents and photos.

Knowing what to charge for researching the biographical journals proved difficult because client requirements varied. Over time she settled on a pricing formula for a standard assignment starting at $35,000. The process usually begins with face-to-face interviews with friends and family.

'I sit with the client and I ask them a few pertinent, but gentle, questions,' she says. 'We then discuss the subject in greater detail, including any particular aspects of their life to be included, and study relevant photos and documents related to their life.'

With a professional background in publishing, Ms Purvis was well versed in planning and managing creative projects - enabling her to handle offbeat assignments. 'Other costs incurred relate to any research I may be asked to do on a subject and the time involved,' she says. 'For instance, this is an ideal retirement present for a company executive, but research spanning his career may be time-consuming and would also impact upon the final costing.'

Good fortune and a few word of mouth referrals delivered her first clients.

'People started telling others about my idea, and almost immediately I was contacted,' she says.

The bound biographies are produced in English or Chinese with the assistance of professional translators.

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