What is in "Dad's Drawers"?

Most people throw away the treasure they have at home passed through

generations. We scavenge our Dad's Drawers to help find great value in stuff you

never thought you need, so you get to brag about your inherited wealth -- or

even better, build closer connections with your family by acquiring common

language.

 

Why should we bother about old stuff?

In an era with fragmented and ever-changing information, many people

are caught in a cat-and-mouse chase of emerging trends. One either

keeps up or lags behind. An invisible wall then arises between the new

and the old, such as the "digital divide" that rendered many conventional 

tools and offline individuals obsolete. While change is only constant, 

so are the fundamental human needs that drive it. Therefore, through 

the lenses of vintage items in Dad’s Drawers, anyone may possess

the ability to understand, if not predict, the patterns of the world

and engage in the making of new ideas. The inequality brought by

previous “divides” would also be eliminated, with people of different

upbringing placed at the same starting line, fostering appreciation

towards the past while building new social connections.

What exactly will the project be about?

This project is inspired by my personal experience and various

newsletters issued by communication scholars. As a student journalist

and a fervent newsreader, I have heard no lack of criticisms towards the

traditional reportage of news outlets, accusing them of providing bits of

“data” but not organized “information”. Readers nowadays no longer

thirst for content, but insights – certain perspectives to make sense of

the society and not struck by confusion.

 

While it is impossible for someone to deliver an almighty mental model,

the experience of discovering old film cameras from my Dad’s Drawers,

and witnessing film photography becoming a hit years later, inspired

me the other way: jumping onto the bandwagon of older days can

actually help understand where our future is steering towards.

The most important part – these great bargains are not only valuable, but also

interesting enough to become a new hobby and a common topic that reconnects

generations across.

 

Therefore, Dad’s Drawers hopes to take readers and the community

members on a journey to rediscover the history of past items from their

family cabinets, like how I was struck by my Dad’s hidden gems, then

grow intellectually, socially, and personally from the experience of

exploring, reading, and exchanging ideas in our online community.

 

In the first phase, Dad's Drawers would start on the social media Instagram

to share insights and experiences of rediscovering home treasures from

different people. This would be done by literary research and interviews, and the

information would be delivered with multimedia designs, such as animation,

podcasts, short films and still photographs. With a more significant online presence,

the community will start engaging readers to share their stories in a roundtable manner,

such that minds alike can befriend one another and get inspired socially.

If possible, it would aim at expanding towards the global context to

facilitate transnational, cultural exchange.

And for instant inspiration and forelooking whim...

Start crawling into your old drawers, right now and right at your home!

(It does NOT necessarily be your dad's one.)