Slowdown
Go offline and get real
A
fter years of increasingly rapid-fire communications —
remember when asking a question meant calling
someone on the phone, or heading to a library? — it
feels like recently, we’ve all been trying to find ways
to slow down. No one’s ditching their smartphone for
a carrier pigeon, but the trend of “slow food” evolved into interest
in slower, well, everything. The result: An upcropping of throwback,
hands-on businesses that focus on giving customers an in-person
experience based on discovery, nostalgia and tactile pleasure.
Baltimore’s certainly not immune to the trend. In fact, the city’s already
home to a host of subcultural concepts: Take, for example, The Book
Thing in Waverly, a book “store” devoted to giving out volumes of
books, totally free. Charles Village recently gained Beyond Video,
a crowdsourced, volunteer-run and membership-based collection
of VHS tapes, DVDs and Blu-Rays created by the Baltimore Video
Collective and funded on Kickstarter. The concept has resonated with
locals who miss community-based services like video stores.
“We all spend so much time online, and browsing online can feel
draining and isolating, whereas browsing an old-school book, record
or video store feels energizing,” says Beyond Video co-founder
Eric Hatch. “People are realizing they miss the conversation and
recommendations they get in person, which produce a shared
sense of discovery that no algorithm can deliver; and they also
miss engaging with the beauty of the artwork and packaging.”
The best way to get your analog groove on? Through oldschool
and immersive experiences alike. Whether you’re
more interested in leisurely browsing books or bowling,
Baltimore has something for you.
ken stanek
Baltimore.org 31