Return Of the Low-Fi
Unless you’ve been grunting inside a cave for the last 12 months or so, you’ve probably noticed a lot of old fashioned ideas slowly creeping back into our lives. Yes we are all living a digital age… But absolutely everything is digital now! Gen Z doesn’t know life without the internet…Ah bless… And even our fridges tell us what food stuffs we’re low on.
I don’t know about you, but with all the nonstop ‘i’ talk, I’ve been enjoying the exact flip – Strip it right back to that old fashioned goodness I say! A friend recently gave me an old Sony record player (you know the classic one with walnut wooden veneer sides) as a house warming present. So I went looking for an old amp and some speakers to set it off – as much as the guy in the store wanted me to buy these Yamaha speakers ‘because they sound far more superior’ sorry Jim, no sale!! – I just love the sound of that nostalgic crackle and the warmth that comes from vinyl, you can listen to that clean sound anywhere – funnily enough my almost new Bose system is still sitting in an unpacked box.
…Anyway my point is that a few interesting businesses are popping up that celebrate the luxury of low-fi and some even take it a step further and hero the tradition of true craftsmanship, an art that seems to be extinct these days. For example here’s a brand called Dodocase (ah, see what they’re doing here with the brand name!…) who make great cases and covers for iPad’s (and other gadgets) using original book binding techniques, to make your iPad feel more like a hard backed book or Moleskin, rather than a computer. They’re also keeping these old trades in business through the process – It’s a really good story http://www.dodocase.com/blogs/about.
I’ve always been a sucker for a hand made product, you do tend to pay a bit more but the quality shines through and they really are built to last – It’s also good to know it keeps the classic values (and businesses) of the artisan alive at the same time.
2 responses to:
Hi Paul,
For the last few years mum has complained that she doesn’t see photos anymore because they all appear on facebook.
So for her 80th, we gave mum a printed out book of a history of family photos. It sits on her coffee table and all her friends get to oogle at us.
Pipx
Cheers, Pip.
Nice work Pip, I think it’s hard to replace something tactile – particularly when it’s something personal, like photos or a letter. I think your book will get oogles aplenty:)
Cheers,
Paul