From Transient to Durable: Exploring the Emotional Value of Obsolete Objects
Haian Xue, Sari Kujala · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2019
Many branded products, which were once common and cheap everyday commodities when initially produced, eventually become collectibles after being obsolete perhaps for years or even decades. A strong emotional value is often ascribed to these rediscovered products or brands by their collectors. In this paper, we explore a Finnish example of this phenomenon, whereby obsolete plastic tableware (produced by Sarvis in particular) which was very popular in 1960s and 1970s, has become increasingly collectible. Focusing on this particular case, this paper relies on a combination of Rubbish Theory (Thompson, 1979) and Memory Retrieval - Nostalgic Product Experience Model (Xue and Woolley, 2011) as a theoretical framework and uses qualitative data collected through ten semi- structured in-depth interviews with both collectors and ordinary consumers (non-collectors of plastic tableware) to address three questions: (1) why once mundane objects become collectibles, (2) how this particular emotional value is attached to such objects and (3) how this form of emotional value might be usefully transferred to new design outcomes, both in the particular case of Finnish tableware design as well as in a more general context. In conclusion, it is argued that memory formed during an individual’s critical developmental period (e.g. childhood) together with nostalgic experience, play a significant role in the creation of such emotional value and pave the way for nostalgia as a contemporary design focus.