A story of innovation
When the public saw the release of Polaroid Land Camera Model 95 in 1948, it was as astounding as the launch of Apple’s iPhone in 2007. The camera was an immediate commercial success.
It was revolutionary.
1926 marked the start of polaroid fame as Edwin H. Land left Harvard after his freshman year to go after the work on light polarization. He created the first synthetic sheet polarizer two years later.
In 1937, Edwin formed the Polaroid Corporation. Their products consist of glasses, ski goggles, stereoscopic motion picture viewers, a redesigned desk lamp, fogfree and dark-adapter goggles for the Army and Navyand, later the three-dimensional photographs “Vectographs” though most of them never really risen to fame and profitability.
During World War II, the products were developed with a focus on the war.
By 1942, Polaroid has tripled its size thanks to wartime economy. And towards the end of the war, Polaroid’s sales reached $16 millions.
It was not good news.
As the war ended, military contracts declined and staff was made redundant. The situation continued to worsen after that.
Polaroid Corporation was in deep trouble. Edwin Land turned to instant photography as a saviour of the business. It was already in the research line and believed to have the potential of blowing up the whole photography industry. At the 1947 Optical Society of America meeting, Land has demonstrated how he produced a photo of himself instantly from peeling off a negative paper.
This photo was crowned front page in the New York Times and shook up the international press.
In 1948, the first camera was offered to the public, weighed five pounds and priced $89.75.
The new era began, Kodak no longer dominated the U.S photography market and in 1959, Polaroid Corp’s first international subsidiaries were formed in Frankfurt and Toronto
The company continues to enjoy being a worldwide success, especially after celebrating the launch of the SX-70 camera system in 1972.
This is what most people recognized as “Polaroid” which produces photos what uniquely have a fat while tab at the bottom of the frame.
The Fall and Continuation of the Entrepreneurial Spirit
It was a beautiful story of innovation but not as a business.
Polaroid has filed for bankruptcy twice since 2001 and been sold three times. The rise of digital photography hit it hard in the 90s. It was purchased by One Equity Partners and was transformed into a different company, introducing trendy products like tablets, digital cameras, vintage inspired accessories and the like.
The romance for the late Edwin Land and Polaroid Corporation has ended but the entrepreneurial spirit from the founder was carried on.
“Don’t undertake a project unless it’s manifestly important and nearly impossible.” – Edwin Land
In 2008, the founders of “The Impossible Projects” followed his words and bought the last factory manufacturing Polaroid’s instant films. The startup set out to save “200 million Polaroid instant cameras from becoming utterly useless”.
And they became successful!
The nostalgic notion of analog photography now promises the success of a fast growing company.
The Trend – All Things Vintage
Some decades ago, we used to imagine the future of flying cars, wearable glass gadgets and people dressing in metallic omnia-function clothing, something close to what an alien would wear (as if we would ever have the chance to meet them).
While technology has advanced and produced something close to the cars and gadgets, we see nostalgia in every other form of self-expression, such as art, beauty, music and fashion.
Old trends since then became the new hype.
Hipsters we call.
Like it or not, no one can deny the importance of how vintage has affected our lives. In fact, vintage has long been the trend for every generation, from my seventy-two year old father-in-law who is obsessed with antique furniture and bought two old houses built 200 years ago to my junior school mate dressing herself in full polka dot and grow her armpits to the elbow (no, the latter is a joke).
For fashion, vintage usually refers (but not limit) to clothing of the 1920s, or retro. Why makes it such a big fuss about the 1920s?
Let’s take a closer look.
1920s marks the end of the First World War, celebration of the rebellious Flappers and the blossom of artists in the urban scene. It was the symbol of freedom and creativity.
>> One of the prominent vintage-inspired blogs with a passion for the 40s.
Check out other blogs here: http://vintage-frills.com/2013/02/07/my-top-10-vintage-blogs/
The trend did not just stop at fashion. We see artists like Lana Del Rey promoting the retro, nostalgic music and the image of women from the 60s. Amy Winehouse reminded us how sexy and liberating jazz and reggae used to be.
Polaroid photo prints
Although it is not something to celebrate as the advancement of technology, vintage trend gives us – the new generation a new breeze of the time we did not get the chance to experience.
The mystery and sepia-colored beauty are what so appealing about it.
Vintage influences the way we express ourselves, it also changes how we capture the memories. Polaroid photos then made a come back largely because of this.
Isn’t it beautiful?
The frame, the washed out color, the cute little prints fits perfectly in your palm make the image even sweeter.
Like old memory. Pretty and untouchable.
We love them. PhotoLove was founded for this passion of little polaroid prints that we can save our memories, give out as gifts or add a bit of retro to our home decoration.
Even though it does not give you the feeling of satisfaction when a photo is printed out instantly after you take it, PhotoLove tries to deliver the experience of love and memory when you receive a vintage paper box carrying all the precious moments, to you or to your loved one.
We understand in the era of digital technology abundance, where you can take a picture from your smartphone in 2 seconds, then forget about it almost as fast, and because you can take hundreds of pictures for free right after that. Precious moments are easily taken for granted.
That’s why we want to help the analog photography movement and celebrate the physical polaroid photo prints with you.
So check our Packages page and enjoy the experience now.
References
http://www.bu.edu/prc/forms/polatimeline.pdf
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Polaroid_Corp.aspx
http://www.polaroidland.net/the-book/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelhennessey/2012/07/30/vintage-fashion-unzipping-the-mystery/
http://www.polaroid.com/history
https://www.the-impossible-project.com/about/
Picture credits
Polaroid.com
CC Wiki
PhotoLovePrints