The Legacy Continues

At first, I thought Blame MaryAnn™ was about looking back.

I thought I was preserving a piece of family history.

I was honoring my grandmother, Antoinette Ricci, whose fashion illustrations began in 1937 and remained tucked away in a drawer for decades. Every now and then, we'd open that drawer, spread the sketches across the bed, and admire them together. Back then, her audience was small, just the family she loved so dearly, but we treasured every piece.

I was honoring my mother, MaryAnn, a lifelong Bronx girl who followed my father's IBM career around the world but somehow managed to take the Bronx with her everywhere she went.

Shortly after moving to North Carolina, a Southern woman politely asked, "Ma'am, you're not from the South, are you?"

My mother smiled and replied, "Oh, I'm from the South... the South Bronx."

And just like that, everyone knew exactly what they were dealing with.

The neighborhood had been warned.

That was MaryAnn.

Equal parts charm, sarcasm, honesty, and mischief. She never watered herself down to make anyone else comfortable and thank goodness for that. She said what she meant, laughed loudly, loved fiercely, and always left people with a story to tell.

The attitude behind Blame MaryAnn™ didn't come from a marketing plan.

It came from her.

My beautiful mom, MaryAnn.

The one we blame for the stories.

The one we love for the memories.

The one we miss every single day.

Blame MaryAnn™ became my way of bringing them together.

Grandma's art.

Mom's attitude.

My vision.

For a long time, I thought that was the whole story.

Then I realized something.

I wasn't just preserving the past.

I was standing in the middle of a story that was still being written.

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A Gift That Means More Than Words

 © 2025 Andrew Kappes.

Mother's Embrace. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission.

As parents, we collect so many treasures over the years.

Drawings taped to the refrigerator. 

Clay ashtrays.

Painted rocks.

Handmade cards.

Little gifts proudly wrapped by tiny hands.

We save them because they remind us of precious moments we will never get back.

But every once in a while, something comes along that touches you differently.

For me, one of those gifts is a piece of artwork my son created called A Mother's Love.

As far back as I can remember, he's been creating.

Dressing up in costumes and treating my mother's jewelry box like a treasure chest of sparkle.

Drawing on scraps of paper.

Filling sketchbooks.

Seeing the world through the eyes of an artist.

Long before he was studying photography and fashion, he was simply a little boy who loved to create.

When I look at Mother's Embrace, I don't just see artwork hanging on my wall.

I see years of growth.

Years of hard work.

Years of passion.

Most of all, I see my son.

And I'm reminded that creativity doesn't belong to just one generation.

It finds its way forward.

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A Connection I Never Saw Coming

Sometimes life connects the dots in ways you never expect.

Nearly ninety years ago, as a 16-year-old girl, my grandmother was sketching fashion illustrations with pencil and paper.

Today, her great-grandson is studying fashion and visual storytelling through photography and art.

Their work is completely different.

Different times.

Different tools.

Different experiences.

But when I step back and look at the bigger picture, I see something familiar.

The same curiosity.

The same imagination.

The same desire to create something meaningful.

The same willingness to put a piece of yourself into your work and share it with the world.

The same confidence to be exactly who you are and not give a second thought to what anyone else thinks.

As a granddaughter and a mother, that connection is hard to put into words.

It's one of those things you feel more than you can explain.

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Legacy Doesn't Have to Look the Same

Of course, creativity doesn't always show up on a canvas.

My oldest son, who was the first grandchild to completely steal both MaryAnn's and Antoinette's hearts, followed a different path.

Today, he's pursuing a degree in Business Management, but if you ask me, one of his greatest talents can be found in the kitchen.

He loves to cook.

And he does it well.

In a good Italian family, food is where so many memories begin. It's how we celebrate, comfort, connect, and show love.

While his brother creates with a camera and a sketchbook, he creates meals from scratch, bringing people together around the table.

That's an art form of its own.

His talents may not hang on a wall or fill a sketchbook, but they're just as important.

He's driven.

Thoughtful.

Responsible.

The kind of person who sees what needs to be done and gets it done.

Watching both of my sons grow into young men has taught me something important.

A legacy isn't about everyone being the same.

It's about each person bringing their own gifts to the story.

One son creates through art and imagery.

One son creates through food, leadership, and bringing people together.

Different talents.

Different paths.

The same family legacy.

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Looking Ahead

The older I get, the more I realize that what we leave behind isn't just artwork, businesses, family recipes, or the keepsakes tucked away in drawers.

What we really leave behind are the things we pass on without even realizing it.

A love of creating.

A strong work ethic.

A sense of humor.

The confidence to be yourself, even when you don't quite fit in.

When I started Blame MaryAnn™, I thought I was honoring the women who came before me.

And I was.

But somewhere along the way, it became something more.

I've been a writer for as long as I can remember. Both my mother and grandmother encouraged me to write a book someday. They believed in my voice long before I did and reminded me more than once that I had a story to tell.

Recently, I began reading through so many journals I've kept over the years, some dating back to the early 1990s. Page after page, I found stories I had forgotten, dreams I had tucked away, and pieces of myself waiting to be rediscovered.

Those journals reminded me that I've been telling stories my entire life.

They also reminded me of a dream I never quite let go of.

The funny thing is that I don't think either of them realized I was writing that book all along.

It just didn't come in the form either of us expected.

Blame MaryAnn™ became my book.

Every card.

Every story.

Every memory.

Every laugh.

Every piece of family history brought back to life.

A granddaughter's tribute.

A daughter's love letter.

A mother's legacy in the making.

And now, as I watch my two sons build futures that belong entirely to them, I realize the story is still being written.

Different dreams.

Different talents.

Different paths.

The same family story.

And I feel incredibly grateful to be right here in the middle of it all.

The Legacy

Grandma gave us the art.

Mom gave us the attitude.

I turned it into a business.

My sons are creating lives all their own.

Different talents.

Different dreams.

Different chapters.

The same family story.

I'd like to think Antoinette would be amazed.

I'd like to think MaryAnn would be proud.

Though knowing my mother, she'd probably tell me to stop being so sentimental and get back to work.

The legacy continues.

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Featured artwork:

Mother's Embrace

@2025 Andrew Kappes

whose creative journey continues through his studies in

photography and fashion.