MILWAUKEE — In the past decade or so, there's been a huge resurgence of old-school tech like vinyl records and Polaroid cameras. I'm one of those people who have been part of that. I have hundreds of records, and I’ve taken hundreds of Polaroid photos. And there's a Milwaukee company in the middle of it all. Retrospekt is selling and refurbishing thousands of these nostalgic items every year.
“There's a huge demand for things like refurbished iPods, early 2000s digital cameras, and CD players," Kori Fuerst, the co-owner of Retrospekt said.
Fuerst started Retrospekt with her husband Adam. They refurbish and sell everything from Polaroid cameras to VHS tapes to cassette players to Tomagatchis to GameBoys to iPods and more.
“I think there is just this craving. I call it second-hand nostalgia because a lot of our audience purchasing these things are younger. They're on the younger side, Gen Z typically, so they didn't grow up with these things, but they're very curious about the tech of the past," she said.
Beyond refurbishing vintage items, they also manufacture retro-inspired tech. They make modern replicas of Polaroid cameras and partner with global brands like Peanuts, Pepsi, Fendi, and Barbie. Retrospekt's business is split about 50/50 between the two categories.
“All these things offer a really satisfying ritualistic experience that I think a new generation is really craving," Fuerst said.
By flipping a vinyl record or loading film into a camera, you experience these items differently.
"It's tangible. You're holding something. The buttons themselves are very tactile," Fuerst said.
The desire for these types of nostalgic items is evidenced by the growth of the company. Retrospekt formally started in 2015. At first, the focus was just cameras. As business grew, so did the product line and the need for more space. They moved into a larger facility on the north end of the Riverwest Neighborhood in 2020. Now, they have a 40-employee company.
“That is mind-blowing to me as someone who just started it ourselves and hired our first employee from a pull-tab flyer we put up at MIAD 10 years ago," she said.
Especially considering they just fell into this. Kori Fuerst has a master’s degree in speech pathology. Adam Fuerst has a master’s in occupational therapy. They loved film photography, but finding Polaroid film was expensive ever since the company said it would stop producing the film around 2008. To find cheaper film, the couple would search thrift stores and estate sales for cameras that might have some film left in them. That left them with tons of cameras. They began selling them online to make extra cash while Project Impossible attempted to revive the Polaroid brand in the early 2010s. That turned out to be so fruitful that they eventually opened Retrospekt.
“I can't imagine anything else, but this is not what I imagined for my life. But it is, it’s really wonderful to be in this retro tech space that brings people a lot of joy," Fuerst said.
In the hyper-digital age of touch screens, streaming services, and smartphone cameras, this type of nostalgic media has an almost comforting feeling.
“It feels really good to be a part of something that has cultural relevance, which is sort of a funny thing to say considering the cultural moments these objects had were decades ago," Fuerst said.
Retrospekt is primarily an e-commerce company but it does have a small storefront at 811 E. Vienna Ave, Milwaukee. In addition to selling retro-tech, they also do repairs, buy cameras, and accept item donations.
Watch the retro revolution as Retrospekt sells thousands of Polaroid cameras, iPods, and other nostalgic tech items every year...
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