This week’s interview is with IG account @vintagebeeper who is run by Nick !
- Tell me a little about yourself:
“First, thanks for inviting me to an interview for @lady.cult!
Behind the page, I’m a guy who was born and raised in Brooklyn [NY] and my earliest memory is listening to The Beatles at 4 years old on a Crayola Box-shaped cassette player (you can still find it on eBay).
From age 4, I had a GameBoy Color glued to my left hand and used to draw my own superheroes and cartoon characters in school notebooks. I asked too many questions in school growing up and was promptly handed a huge “Kids Fun-Filled Question and Answer Book”. I still find myself very interested in finding the answers to life’s questions and knowing just why things are the way they are.
As I took notice of life around me, I was always fascinated by the design and aesthetics of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, especially in media. I was born in the mid-90s and was on the tail-end of getting to experience these decades, but I always look back fondly on it. I can remember enjoying the little things like going to other people’s houses and looking at the art on their walls, observing the aisles and carpet-lined floor of a video store, or being amazed by the old furniture at my grandparent’s houses. I often find myself gravitating towards movies from the 80s and usually have a classic rock station on in the background.
Outside of the page, I currently work on an upcoming NYC-based reality series while also putting in hours at a local radio station. I wasn’t able to imagine myself as a person not working in an office for 40 hours a week, but I find that the older I get, the more I’m moving towards having ideas and wanting to see those ideas take off.”
2. How did you come up with your IG handle name?
“I first started vintagebeeper in March just as I was learning that we would be self-quarantining. I was originally spending the time decluttering and went through the photos on my phone. As I was going through what was close to a thousand pictures, I noticed that many were just art I had quickly “Added to Photos”.
I considered putting them in Dropbox or saving them to my computer, but I knew by doing so I was creating a new type of clutter and most likely wouldn’t check on them again. I thought Instagram could be an interesting home for them. I had used Instagram in the past for a personal account but, to be honest, I never really enjoyed using social media as a whole.
When I had the idea for a page, I was messaging with a friend and running through a list of possible names. I wanted others to know off the bat that it was a vintage page. With the first half of the name conquered, we wanted to include something from the past that everyone still remembers. One that comes to mind was “vintagewalkman”, but it just didn’t have the right ring to it.
Once we came up with “vintagebeeper”, it just felt right and, luckily, it was available. “
3. How did you come up with your concept of your Instagram?
“In the first few days, I just started uploading the pictures I had saved and didn’t give it much thought. At that point, I hadn’t used Instagram since 2014 so it felt like I was using a completely new app. Once I got a hang of it, I was posting one picture a day with a few hashtags and added daily stories as a way to keep myself accountable and disciplined with the posting.
I didn’t have any plans or expectations in the beginning. I wasn’t making the page into anything other than a place to store my photos and thought maybe someone seeing them would enjoy them the same way that I originally did. To my surprise, more people than I imagined started to become interested in the posts.
As of now, they are mainly a mix of old book cover illustrations, airbrush design, and 80s/90s Japanese artists and I always credit the artist in the caption, unless it’s unlisted online. My tried-and-true method is to “reverse image search” the picture to find the artist behind the artwork. In the end, it became a lot bigger than I expected it to. With the push from my friends and the followers have given me, I plan to continue posting every day.
I’m not an artist by trade, but I like to think of this page as an “e-museum”. Every time you visit, you might find a new exhibit that sticks out to you. Building this page has allowed me to see there is something for everyone when it comes to sharing these posts. It inspired me to continue looking for ways to bring people together through the power that nostalgia has over us.”
4. Who are your top four favorite artists and why?
“Illustrator Tim Jacobus is the illustrator of the famous Goosebumps series. His cover illustrations were most likely my first experience with art and allowed me to dive into reading the original 62 books when I was younger. He uses a wide array of colors and has an amazing attention to detail that helps to imagine the characters in the book. I always thought he deserved more credit and I’ll plug him in here for those that aren’t familiar with him.
Wayne White – Set Designer, Puppeteer, Animator, Cartoonist, Illustrator
Wayne White is definitely another big part of my childhood and I appreciate his work on the set of Pee Wee’s Playhouse. I don’t actually remember how a box set of Season 1 on VHS ended up in my house, but I’m glad it did. He designed the sets and puppets for the show and his mind is one I would love to pick. I’ll plug him here too, why not?
Sid and Marty Krofft – Television Creators and Puppeteers
I became interested in the Krofft brothers as recently as last year when I found out that they were behind The Banana Splits, H.R. Pufnstuf, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. What drew me to them was their absurdity and vivid color schemes which were one of the earliest of their time for television (1960s). A lot of other children’s shows followed suit and it amazes me how surreal they can get (google “The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth”). I became obsessed and started reading articles on them and even listened to a podcast where they sat down with Gilbert Gottfried. They set the tone for others to be abstract and bizarre in a time where it wasn’t often seen before.”
5. Do you have any exciting news that you would like to share?
“The page actually just got a shout out from Tim Jacobus (listed above) in the beginning of June and I shared it on the Instagram page. I’d like to plan for other great artists to collaborate and find ways to connect them with the followers, using the page as the platform.
Otherwise, I’m always looking for feedback on the daily stories and highlights. All of those, other than the Goosebumps and Garbage Pail Kids Collections, were suggestions from followers that DM’ed me. I’m always happy to take a look and explore something new that I can share with others and ultimately bring us closer together. Feel free to always reach out.”
If you like to know more information on Nick this is his following contact information:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vintagebeeper/
There is also a VINTAGEBEEPER Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6lGPY0QROOikltJCzzvU0P
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