What Is Retrospective Magazine?

Retrospective Magazine is publication with a mission. We are a modern taste with notes from the past; on a mission to save print magazines.

We here at Retrospective Magazine are a collective of creators who love the sound of albums on vinyl, films before CGI, houses with circle windows, and believe that creativity piqued somewhere right before film turned to color. Presumably because we were all told growing up that we were "old souls" born in an era we do not belong.

We Must Keep Magazines Alive

But the era is changing around us quicker than the print media industry can keep up. Not too long ago, I'm talking, Lana Del Rey, Tumblr, and Vine era of society, we used to be able to go to the grocery store, or wherever and strike up conversation with anyone about what was going on in the media. And anyone could nod along, because everyone knew what was going on in the world.

But today? We see a world much different.

Over the last few years, I have yet to experience, or hear through my invasively eavesdropping ears, a conversation where one person shares a piece of news and the other person does not say in response, "really? I didn't know that."

That's because, Leslie, you didn't hear about the new movie Monica is talking about with Ryan Gosling in it because your algorithm is centered around cat videos, laundry hacks, and DIY gardening posts. Whereas Monica's algorithm is drenched in celebrity gossip, RomCom clips, and tips from Baristas at Starbucks sharing secrete low-cal menu items.

See the difference?

In essence, we are all no longer seeing the same media. The same trends. The same innovations. The same news. And it is socially crippling us. It is stifling our ability to relate to one another and grow as a socially advanced society. It is weakening our sense of community. We have become so entrenched in our algorithms that we've become detached from the people in our real day-to-day lives.

That's Why Retrospective Magazine (and magazines in general) Are Essential

Retrospective Magazine, and other periodical magazines, give us the chance to experience communal ideas that are not served to us on a silver AI-generated platter.

Magazines are tangible. Warm. And smell succulently of fresh pressed ink. Need I mention the studies, like from the University of Colorado Boulder, that have proven the smell of paper releases a hormone that spikes serotonin in our brains. Which explains why walking into a Barnes and Noble feels like walking into a sort of book-bakery. This however, does not apply to libraries since dust is the kryptonite to this happy-paper-hormone and in return often evokes migraines instead.

The Decline of the Magazine Industry: A Call for Support

But beyond consumerism, magazines are also a dying industry. The print world needs our support now more than ever. The cost of paper-manufacturing has never been so high, leading printing mills across America to close their doors for good.

When I started working in the magazine industry as an Associate Editor only three years ago, there were over a hundred paper mills across the country. Now, there are just barely twenty. That is scary, and it is only going to get worse if we don't support local printed publications as much as we can.

Magazines Are Cheap And Make Great Aesthetics

Anytime you see a magazine at the check out counter of a grocery store or in a kiosk at the mall or airport, please, for the love of print, buy one.

You'll be shocked to see the cost is likely less than the coffee in your other hand. And, unlike a honey-almond flat white latte, a magazine doesn't need to be chucked in the waste bin right after consumption. There are numerous ways you can elongate the life of your magazine. From a coffee-table accent piece to prop in your next photoshoot, the possibilities are endless. And, again, your money, had gone to a great cause. Unlike the latte cup which has likely already made friends with other trash bin refugees by now.

Why You Need Retrospective Magazine

First of all, Retrospective Magazine need you. But, also, you do need Retrospective Magazine if you hate ads, love creativity, love anything retro or vintage, have spent too much time at the local thrift store at some point in your life, and are seeking a place that gets you. And trust me, if you're reading this and have made it this far, we get you.

We not only understand your thirst for new content that isn't just a clone of everything else on your newsfeed. We are an organic way to discover new creativity that enriches your mind and warms you with nostalgia from the past.

So, drop the needle on your record's favorite tune, snuggle up with your nearest cat (because us creative-folk tend to have more than one), and enjoy the content we know you'll love that isn't curated around aimless scrolls and likes on videos that bate you with cleaver tactics and marketing wizardry.

Give us a follow, share us with your friends, and hang-tight for that first print release (please). We're so grateful you're here and can't wait to grow as a collective that loves print. loves the past. And has a mission to propel both those loves into our future, together.