Germany is a modern country with all the trappings of a tech-savvy population like smartphones and social media-addicted youth. But even in times like these people still like to hold on to old things like typewriting machines, letters and Polaroid cameras. "Every trend has a counter movement," says trend scout Karin Frick. "Just like when globalization triggered an antagonistic love for things regional."
Many urban Germans are discovering their yen for gardening, cooking and handicrafts. The retro-trend is also providing a lucrative form of income to some people. The Schreibstatt agency has 61 people on its books who specialize in hand-written letters. Thorsten Petzold founded the company. A Berlin businessman, he admits to having a terrible "doctor-style" scrawl himself.
The agency's workers have beautiful writing that's perfect for creating letters, invitations, table cards and thank-you letters. One letter hand written on high-quality paper costs about 20 dollars. An invitation costs 5. Wedding planners are among Schreibstatt's customers. Most of the people on the agency's books are women earning extra money from home. Writing takes time and patience, especially when the high art of calligraphy comes into play.
Petzold says the secret to his company is that letters have become something of a novelty in the age of email. Every letter is an original. If you prefer letters with the uneven typewritten look, the German version of the online marketplace Dawanda has hundreds of items listed under the category "typewriter". Old machines are sold in the "Vintage" section. Antique shops are another great place to get your hands on a typewriter for writing that novel you've had maturing inside you for years. The advantage of using a typewriter over an internet-connected laptop is that you won't procrastinate by going online.
Actor Johnny Depp has a 70-year-old model, according to an interview he conducted recently for Cinema magazine. "When I'm travelling, I always have my acoustic guitar and a typewriter from the 1940s in my luggage. I use that for all my writing." Polaroid cameras are also undergoing a comeback. In 2008, the world's last remaining Polaroid film factory at Enschede in the Netherlands was saved from closure by a group of enthusiasts who launched The Impossible Project.
Photographer Oliver Blohm says today's Polaroid films are made with different chemicals than before and take longer to develop. Blohm gives courses in Polaroid picture taking and how to use the technology experimentally. "The colours you see in Polaroid pictures are quite unique," he says. Blohm says he loves the unpredictable nature of the Polaroid and the "room for the unexpected" it offers.
Occasionally one corner of the image is missing if the colours have shifted. Blohm believes many people are bored with digital image technology. "You just have to feel happy with what you like best." Just eight Polaroid pictures cost about 25 dollars. When you're aware of the cost, you take a different attitude to taking pictures and you're more careful about what you shoot. It's not unknown either for the technologies of yesterday and today to come together. Blohm has an app that allows him to attach his smartphone to a small mobile Polaroid laboratory. After taking a picture with the phone, the image is transferred to the pocket lab, which then prints a photo. You could call it Polaroid 2.0.
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