Erica Figliolia is an explorer with a love for shared experiences, community, and meaningful connection. What began as collecting matchbooks, shells, rocks, and other small treasures evolved into a creative practice that celebrates our journey through storytelling and acknowledges the beauty of everyday moments. Erica uses these items to capture memories as a way to be fully engaged with her environments — grounding herself in place through the act of noticing, collecting, and creating. Through art, writing and workshops she transforms personal mementos into pieces that honor who we are.
Collecting matchbooks started as a hobby but became a way for Erica to remember meaningful moments and the people and places that shaped her. What began as art made from her own collection in her New York City apartment grew into Behind the Matches, a practice that celebrates the tiny treasures of life. Today, Erica creates from both her own and clients’ collections, using objects like matchbooks, shells, postcards, and stones to tell stories and honor the communities and experiences that shape us. We collect stories through the objects we keep — a matchbook from a favorite bar, a rock from a quiet beach, a shell from a trip that changed us. These tiny treasures become markers of our journeys, reminders of who we were and what shaped us along the way.
To learn more about the Behind the Matches, please visit @BehindtheMatches.
In this hands-on workshop led by Erica from Behind the Matches, participants are invited to slow down, reflect, and create their own Tiny Treasure Box — a small vessel for memory and meaning. Using found objects and simple materials, you’ll craft a personal keepsake that honors the little things you’ve carried through time: bottle caps, ticket stubs, sea glass, postcards, or whatever else tells your story.
If you don't have your treasures yet, I invite you to pull out your box of memories, take a walk before the workshop, or search through your drawers. Can you notice what catches your eye? A piece of paper, a small stone, a forgotten trinket. Each item, however ordinary, holds the potential to remind us of presence and transformation.
All materials will be provided, but you’re encouraged to bring any small items you’d like to include. Together, we’ll explore how memory, travel, and time shape the artifacts of our lives — and how, through making, we can honor the beauty in what we’ve gathered.