The Retro-Spector's photostream  

I'm a Freelance Graphic Designer and a Director of Think Tank Toronto. www.thinktanktoronto.ca/

Art and Design have always been an interest and passion in my life.

Local history, and history in general have also been a large part of my existense for some time now. It all started through an appreciation for the beautiful artwork done in those long ago times.

I serve as a volunteer member on the Board of Directors of the Scarborough Historical Society and various other Historical Committees. The former City of Scarborough was amalgamated into what is now the megacity of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

I'm currently serving a second four year term as an elected member of the Scarborough Community Preservation Panel, a group organized by the City of Toronto.

The SCPP members advise Toronto CIty Council on heritage sites that need attention.

At home I love to surround myself with items from pre-1940, but I also highly appreciate the style qualities of just about every era of the past. But, those eras will have to be for "reference only" in my filing cabinet - I can't have a house for every era I appreciate and I don't like to mix eras, unless it is reasonable. Eg: A house from the 1930s would in most cases still have a lot of Victorian furniture.

Art Deco and Victorian styling are two of the eras that I appreciate the most. The craftsmanship, elegance and style were certainly abundant during those times.

In the past few years collecting vintage radios has become an addiction that started with just one that I wanted to add to my overall collection of pre-1940 stuff.

Helping this addiction along, I became a member of the Ontario Vintage Radio Association on 2007:
www.ovra.ca/

Anything vintage and mechanized is quite interesting to me. Now that I'm learning to fix the tube type electronics it helps to have more than one type of radio to fix (well, at least that's how I rationalize my out of control addiction).

So, along with this radio obsession, I've developed others such as Gramophones, Phonographs, Vintage Recordings in 33, 78 and even cylinder recordings (approx 160 rpm).

And, of course, I've found others who share the addiction and in 2008 I joined the Canadian Antique Phonograph Society:
www.capsnews.org/

I've learned so many new "old" ideas and ideals through researching history - so much of our "hands-on" craftsmanship and ingenuity has long been forgotten, it really should be re-learned and cherished.