"Retrocycling"...What Goes Around, Comes Around

Antique dealers were the original recyclers. When the trend after the Great Depression was to sweep out the old, a reminder of the hard years, and replace with new furnishings, there were those who had the foresight to know that the old needed to be preserved. The craftsmanship and attention to detail would never again be replicated. Unfortunately our fast-paced lifestyles don’t allow us the luxury of time that previous generations enjoyed, nor the joy of enjoying the luxurious items crafted by these skilled artisans. These beautiful items wound up on shelves in antique malls and were sadly referred to as ‘dust collectors.’

As the antique collector market shrank due to an aging demographic, economic downturn, and a more transient society, the decorator market took up the slack, and now accounts for the majority of sales in antique shops. The hottest trend in collecting is the re-purposing of antiques and vintage collectibles for more utilitarian uses. This writer coined the phrase "Retrocycling" for the recycling, reinventing, refashioning, or repurposing of antiques and retro items for purposes other than originally intended. This trend has become so dominant that an entire page of their website is devoted to ‘retro-cycled’ ideas from their dealers, customers, and spotted on the Internet on such sites as Pinterest.

Just a few ‘retrocycled’ items... An early 1900s oak, free-standing potty chair with removable slop jar, was ‘re-purposed’ as a redneck cooler to ice down beer. Vintage brooches are being scarfed up by brides to ‘refashion’ into a vintage bridal bouquet as a lasting memento of their most memorable day. Especially popular, retro 1950s television and entertainment console cabinets for new flat screen TVs or bars.

Antique dealers abhor the idea of defacing a vintage item in good condition for the purpose of a trend, and the Antiques Roadshow is adamant about not altering the state of antiques as it results in its value plummeting. But when an item has been damaged and unable to be restored to its original condition, any creative idea that will keep it from being relegated to a landfill, is the environmentally-conscious thing to do. So whether you recycle, reinvent, refashion, or repurpose an antique not in good condition, it’s all good.