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HI, I’M CHELSEY

A LITTLE OF MY STORY

It all started at ABC News and a daytime talkshow.

My name is Chelsey; and live in the fabulous borough of Manhattan. I moved here in 2015 and started my career as a TV producer. Although I loved the creativity behind TV (and still do!), I also loved decorating. In fact, I loved it so much that I would spend any time outside of work redecorating or designing my friend’s homes (If you’re here because of genealogy content, hold on, I’ll get to it).

Chelsey Brown is the founder of City Chic Decor, a guide to stylish rental and budget-friendly decor, and is globally recognized for her work in genealogy returning lost heirlooms back to family members and descendants. Chelsey recognized the significant lack of content around rental decor and created her blog to reduce the stigma around rental decorating. City Chic Decor has grown exponentially since its 2017 launch, now with over 100,000 subscribers and a book entitled, Rental Style, published by Skyhorse Publishing in May 2020. Chelsey’s second book, Shut the Front Door published by Gibbs Smith, will be released in 2023. While thrifting for her blog, Chelsey discovers lost heirlooms and has now returned hundreds of heirlooms to families worldwide without compensation or reimbursement. Chelsey's third book, Make Yourself at Home (2025), will show readers how to incoporate heirlooms and antiques into their spaces while also sharing her most precious artifact returns.

i'm so glad you're here

A little backstory of how I became an Heirloom Hunter & Designer

You might think decorating and genealogy don't go together, but for me, they're a perfect match. Whenever I'd stroll through flea markets and spot boxes full of old photos, letters, and stuff like that, it would tug at my heart. I just knew these things belonged with the families they came from. So, in 2021, I decided to start giving them back. I also had a knack for making videos, so I began sharing these heartwarming reunions on TikTok.

A few months down the road, I somehow became known worldwide as the "heirloom hunter." It turns out I'm the only one doing this on such a huge scale.

Oh, and by the way, I never ask families to pay for shipping or anything like that. I do it all for free.

Now, you might be wondering about the Time Capsule Journal. Well, here's the deal: every family I've returned heirlooms to had one thing in common. They all had someone they loved pass away, and they regretted not asking more questions about their family history. I wanted to teach the younger generation that it's super important to ask those questions before it's too late. You see, family heirlooms are irreplaceable, even in our digital world.