Retro.....

Date of Issue : 12 January 2017

Within the area of design, retro means retur- ning to older styles. New products are made in a retro style, but the term also includes old products that become popular again. One good example of this is the string shelf that is depicted on the coil stamp.

Stamp Booklet

Before working on the stamp, I researched what had been written about the retro phenomenon. I noted in particular a quote by William Morris, from England, who was a designer and author during the second half of the 1800s.

Morris said that “the past is not dead, it is living in us, and will be alive in the future which we are now helping to make”. His point is that we do not live our lives today in isolation from the past, and this stamp series shines a spot- light on things we created before.

Maxi cards

The word “retro” has modern connotations, despite it being anchored in the past. We are not referring to the Middle Ages when we call something “retro”. But what products can be considered retro, and why? I think it refers to objects that in some way still speak to us today.

Contemporary objects

Many young families are passionate about retro, and my own family is no exception. Both string book shelves and classic porcelain from Gustavsberg can be found in our home. The sideboard with the red desk lamp that is depic- ted on the stamp belongs to us.

The home office is one of the environments that was included in my assignment for the stamps. Depicted from top to bottom are a hall with vintage clothing, a kitchen where the cabinet with sliding doors is filled with 1950s porcelain and this same porcelain set out on the table. The living room lamp, coffee table and TV furniture are period pieces.

TV furniture, yes. As you can see there is a flat-screen TV there. The presence of the flat-screen TV, bike helmet, stovetop, mobile telephone and laptop illustrates the dialogue between old and new that can be found in most modern homes. 

Source : WOPA