I was first introduced to the term New Antiquarian at a dinner party a few months ago. A professor sitting across from me was complaining that some of his students didnt want their assignments emailed to them anymore. They preferred to write their homework out by hand in pencil. This blew my mind, so I started asking around and, like the old adage goes, what you seek, ye shall find. I became bombarded with an entirely new and at the same time incredibly old way of life.
Longing for a return to simplicity
New Antiquarians have been around for generations, but the lifestyle has only recently been named. Take a person who only buys high-quality goods (hopefully made by hand), always ethically sourced and only if it is useful. Its harder to visually pin down a New Antiquarian, however, because fashion isnt the point.
The movement is not about how you look, instead its about how you act. But if you pressed me for a stereotype, though, Id say: find a person dressed in well-made hiking boots, a plaid shirt, moustache wax, a colonially shaped beard, and possibly smoking a pipe and you can be pretty sure you have spotted a New Antiquarian in his natural habitat.
The lifestyle recently needed defining for a very specific reason, and this is where I get to go urban anthropologist on your ass.
It emerged in direct response to The Hipster. Hipster did not used to be a dirty word. In fact, in the late 90s it was an important political movement.
Youth culture at the time was feeling hopeless and exhausted. They saw the hippies burn out, they saw the punk movement die, they realized that they could not make any sort of significant difference and in retaliation, The Hipster decided to quit.
Nihilism and irony came together to create a youth movement that cried, We cant do anything to help change the world, so lets stop caring about anything at all. This apathy was shown with their intent on being cool through music, the jobs they took (ever notice the rise in baristas in the early 2000s?) and their fashion sense. Half perms! Oversized sweaters with kittens on them! Cartoon glasses!
How much can you prove through your wardrobe that you arent trying?
This cynical lifestyle also included buying items for form rather than function. For example: Collecting working typewriters and making them into art or buying a broken instrument and leaning it in the corner of your room as a conversation starter.
Hipsters had a laissez-faire humour and if anyone ever called them on this behavior they could say Im just making a joke.
This attitude annoyed a lot of people. It brought back memories of high school where the fashion forward popular kids made the rest of us feel unworthy and ashamed of ourselves.
So Hipster then became a generic term for a young person who acts cooler than me and that triggered a wave of resentment and contempt.
Born out of sadness and loss, the Hipster culture became commodified quickly. Looking and acting cool became more important than the roots behind the movement and mainstream society capitalized on the craze.
Two companies that helped Hipsterdom prosper were Vice Magazine and American Apparel. Soon 12-year-olds started wearing skinny jeans and geek T-shirts. And when Tweens are sporting it, you know that a fad is nearing its last breath.
Cut to a few years ago when Hipsterdom was in its death throes, and Hipster crossed the line of political statement into obnoxious caricature of itself. An entire decade had gone by with this who gives a shit snobbery and a new generation of youth were getting tired of being seen as uncaring and meaningless.
The word that is most used to characterize the New Antiquarian is sincerity.
Caring is cool again
Wanting to be part of something that matters is valued and thoughtfulness is in style. Can you believe it?
What this means in tangible terms is that a New Antiquarian asks themselves a few simple questions before purchasing goods and services. These include, Where was it made? Who made it? How long will it last? Is it of the highest quality?
So instead of buying six shirts from Urban Outfitters from the sale pile, you buy one locally designed shirt for $200 that will last you four times as long.
Care is put into the creation of the product from the top down and functionality is of the utmost importance. Items are made in small batches with only the finest ingredients and the packaging is as thoughtful as the food inside.
A good example of a shop that caters to a New Antiquarian crowd is The Found and The Freed. This shop is run by two women who hunt through old barns, scout antique fairs and barter at estate auctions to find their gems. They tell me that half the selling feature is the story behind the item.
Who owned this before you and what was it used for? is the first question shop owners Lindsey Burke and Ainsley McIntyre always get asked. And they love thinking creatively about how to use old items in a new way.
One example was repurposing an old stretcher from the Second World War. It was water faded and stained green from iron deposits; they turned it into a beautiful and functional dining room table. And now, the centerpiece of the room has an amazing history they can talk about while the family gathers around it to eat.
Clint Moroz, who runs Space Lab (another New Antiquarian haunt) on Main Street says it perfectly:
Even though we are infinitely connected, we are so distant from each other and this movement is trying to bridge that gap.
Moroz is seeing his customers throwing away their cell phones and cancelling their Twitter and Facebook accounts. Privacy and face-to-face connections are expected and if you dont have time to call me in the real world then maybe we arent friends after all.
This is refreshing and yet reminiscent of the past. Are we going back in time?
Moroz is noticing a trend in people going back to the trades. A bachelors degree will no longer find you work and answering one hundred emails in a day is less than fulfilling. However, getting a job as a barber, or a cobbler or a plumber? These are careers that use your hands and your mind, where you can see proof of your accomplishments at the end of the day. These are professions that can get you a down payment on a house.
Hunter Mayer of Both Feet is a good example of this switch over into trades. He apprenticed with a cobbler and now works in the industry full time. He takes his time with his craft and knows what the hell hes talking about. Sometimes he gives deals just because he feels like it.
Timeless or trendy?
Of course there is always life span to movements and the New Antiquarians could go the way of the Hipster soon enough. When you see a new pocket watch for sale, made to look tarnished and old, that is the commodification of the trend. When you see factory-produced clothes overpriced because they have a home made appeal to them, that is the fad gone awry.
There is also the fact that high-quality items cost more money, so if we want to live in a sincere and thoughtful way, we will have to start buying less and spending more.
Walter Manning started Old Faithful, the original New Antiquarian shop in Vancouver, and it is the most successful presence on the scene. The store is a very classy curation of only the finest products. Manning comes from a lineage of general store owners. His grandfather and grandmother on both sides of his family ran general stores as did his great grandfathers, so he is keeping with tradition and putting a contemporary spin on it to make it his own.
Following the trend means we have to engage with every purchase we make by asking, Do I need this? Can I find it more locally sourced elsewhere? It may mean saying no to impulses. It would take discipline.
But it also means surrounding yourself in beauty and authenticity.
Being a New Antiquarian is enjoying the story of where your new purchase comes from as much as you love the item itself. Its feeling proud that you can make a difference because your money and where you spend it shapes the world. Now thats a movement I can get behind.
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Emelia Symington Fedy writes for the cheeky website TryingToBeGood.com. She also makes documentaries and tells stories on CBC Radio.
New Antiquarians of Vancouver Guide
Dustin Fishbook and staff | Barbers
This is an old school barber shop run by young men (pictured, right). They only do cuts for men by men and I dont think women are even welcome in the shop. Dont take it personally ladies, we have lots of hair stylists to go to. Its a haven for the fellows and they give a man the best traditional groom in town.
Belmont Barber Shop | 111 East Broadway | 604-568-6238 | TheBelmontBarberShop.com
Alexander McNaughton | Forager
The urban forager and underground chef ventures outside the city for flowers, mushrooms, berries and other delicacies and sells them to local restaurants and shops around Vancouver (Olla Flower Shop and Wildebeest).
Walter Manning | General store owner
Old Faithful Shop opened its doors in May of 2010 in the historic Gastown district of Vancouver an area where Vancouver laid its roots and flourished through a vibrant community trading their goods and services. The shop is a modern version of a general store that might have existed on these streets more than 100 years ago.
Old Faithful Shop | 320 W Cordova St. | 778-327-9376 | OldFaithfulShop.com
Hunter Mayer | Cobbler
The concept behind Both Feet on Main (pictured, left) was to raise shoe repair to a standard that reflects their customers expectations the vast majority of which are women.
Both Feet | 4410 Main St. | 604-872-1318 | BothFeet.ca
Clint Moroz | Purveyor of Antiquities
Clint is a bit of a Main Street icon. His shop has been on Main for a long time, way before New Antiquarian was a thing. He is a collector of the unique and finite. You will find 100-year-old spectacles, one of a kind pocket watches, jars full of brass knobs and old edison bulbs. Its a true collectors haven.
Space Lab | 1847 Main St. | 604-875-0450 | Space-Lab.tumblr.com
Lindsay Burke and Ainsley McIntyre | Shopkeeps
These are the only women I found in the game. They search for the furniture and art in barns, at antique fairs and at estate sales. They sometimes have a hard time selling certain pieces because they become so special to them personally. To them, where the item came from and the story behind it is just as important as the item itself.
The Found and the Freed | By appointment: 1879 Powell St. | [email protected]
Photo credits:
The Found and the Freed, Old Faithful, Belmont Barber Shop (Laura McGuire)
Hunter Mayer and Space Lab (Rob Newell)
