Sonya's Personal Story

I created Seriatim more than 15 years ago when I felt ready to channel all of my passion for easing people through life transitions and protecting the things that they own into a business. I believe I have a gift to give, one that has been nurtured over the years through my previous jobs and family experiences. Instead of applying for a job, I started Seriatim—a professional organizing company that practices daily compassion for clients’ life stories and brings harmony into their lives.

I grew up moving consistently on account of my father's employment with the US Air Force. My family landed for some time in San Francisco and as I began settling into a childhood routine, my dad got a job opportunity that transferred us to New York City. My mom and I followed as the trailing child and spouse. We moved into temporary housing in New York while our new apartment underwent renovation. Shortly after our move into the renovated home, my dad became terminally ill and passed away. I was only 13 years old.

My family is made up of people, whose professional lives involve the physical space in which people live, thrive and heal. I have one aunt in architecture and interior design and another in geriatric nursing. My uncle is a commercial real estate broker and my mom is a residential real estate broker. My childhood memories are filled with unpacking the family in new homes, caring for my father and others, and working with my aunt and mother as a helper in hotel installations. My aunt would make me a drawing, say "the room needs to look like this," then leave me with boxes full of materials to execute the vision. My weekends were spent in my aunt’s office, cleaning out the fabric swatch books, sorting and organizing the space. My summers were spent with my other aunt in geriatric care, visiting the elderly in their homes and witnessing the care involved both in improving quality of life and maintaining integrity through the process of dying. With my uncle I shadowed the process of touring commercial spaces and managing moves.

But the events surrounding the move to New York as a child were the real catalysts for my eventual creation of Seriatim—the stress surrounding the physical move, facing temporary housing and the logistics of a renovation, dealing with the emotional consequences of a family member's job transfer, becoming a caregiver for a parent, and the loss of a parent at a young age. It was a lot for us to do alone, without a support network in the city. I have consistently seen people go through these life changes alone and I wanted to create a business that provided support to people facing similar life changes. I created Seriatim so that people would never have to take these life steps alone.

As an adult, I married and instantly became a stepparent to two boys, and eventually had a daughter of my own. I’m a mom, a stepmom, a wife and a daughter; all the while balancing work and caregiving to aging loved ones. It is the story of so many who are multi-tasking and living a layered professional and personal life. Through the ever-changing landscape of my life, I have grown to, like most, treasure the items that were my father's, his parents’, my mother's and now my children’s-objects that carry stories that I want to pass through the generations of the Weisshappel-Christy family. As such, a big branch of my business has been the development of a digital inventory-a running log of everything that my clients own with an accompanying photo, description and value. It is important to protect the objects that help craft our lives.

As an only child, I consider my crew an important part of my family. They are a group of compassionate, skilled and patient professionals whose positive presence leaves clients feeling calm and prepared for the next phase of life. I feel honored to be associated with such a fantastic crew and am consistently grateful for the opportunity to bring harmony into my clients' lives.