At first glance, the house in Sungai Sapih Village, Padang City, West Sumatra, appears to be nothing more than a typical grocery store, a common sight across Indonesia. Inside the roughly 6×8 square meter space, thousands of everyday products are neatly arranged: shampoos, soaps, various toys, old advertisements, newspapers, currency, and even comics.
However, this house is far from an ordinary shop. The items displayed are not for sale or use, as they are all long past their expiry dates—produced predominantly in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. “Every item here holds a piece of the past. These objects revive forgotten memories for many people,” explains Rivaldo Ferdian, the visionary owner of the Time Capsule Gallery.
Rivaldo began his unique collection several years ago. He personally designed one of the rooms in his home to meticulously replicate a 1980s grocery store. “This setup was intentionally created for content production, and remarkably, all the items still contain their original contents. Most of these products have never been opened,” he shared with journalist Halbert Caniago, reporting for BBC News Indonesia.
Rivaldo’s journey to amass these vintage treasures was far from simple. He navigated numerous obstacles and challenges to acquire the items once widely sold decades ago.
Rivaldo’s Journey: Unearthing Vintage Gems
Rivaldo recounts that the Time Capsule Gallery sprang from his passion for collecting vintage items, locally known as “jadul,” which intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Initially, I only collected old advertisements published in various magazines I found in antique bookstores. My curiosity about these products then drove me to seek them out one by one,” he revealed.
His quest began by systematically visiting various grocery stores, or “warungs,” across Padang City. He specifically targeted shops in peripheral areas, hypothesizing that these might still harbor forgotten relics of the past. “I vividly remember spotting a long-closed warung in the Solok area, owned by an elderly gentleman. That was my first significant find, where I acquired a substantial number of these items,” he continued.
He discovered that the 1990s-era goods in that Solok warung were preserved by the owner as a poignant memorial to his deceased child. “According to him, the shop closed when his wife fell ill, leaving him no time to reopen it. By a remarkable coincidence, the day I arrived was the very first day he had reopened the warung,” Rivaldo explained. He successfully persuaded the owner to sell the cherished items.
“As I recall, I left Rp200,000 with the gentleman and took several items whose advertisements I had long collected,” he said. With these vintage acquisitions, Rivaldo began creating captivating content about the “jadul” items in his home—now the Time Capsule Gallery—sharing them across his social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube. “Initially, I had no intention of creating content. But my younger sibling suggested I give it a try. As I also have an artistic background, I saw it as a form of creative expression,” he noted.
Over time, his social media content garnered overwhelmingly positive responses from netizens. Thousands of followers flocked to Rivaldo’s accounts, fueling his ongoing quest for more vintage finds. By 2022, he received an unexpected message from a follower in Kalimantan who had once owned a grocery store there. “The person offered to send me all their items, free of charge. They even covered the shipping costs, which I remember being almost Rp1 million,” Rivaldo recounted.
Upon examining the shipment, Rivaldo was astounded. Among the items were some he had been actively searching for, including several that were truly ancient. “The shipment even contained a face powder dating back to the 1890s, alongside other items from the 1980s and 1990s,” he added. The hundreds of toys proudly displayed on another side of the gallery, Rivaldo explained, were his own childhood playthings, each holding a special place in his memory.
A Lifelong Passion for Collecting Vintage Items
Rivaldo admits his affinity for collecting “jadul” items began in his childhood during the 1980s. His early passion involved collecting cartoon pictures printed on small pieces of paper, known locally as “gambaran.” This hobby continued through his youth, even as he moved to Java and worked as a product salesperson.
In Yogyakarta, a hub for “gambaran” collectors, Rivaldo sought out more of these nostalgic treasures. “There, I found various ‘gambaran’ dating from the 1960s to the 1990s, eventually rediscovering the very ones I had collected as a child,” he reminisced. From these seasoned collectors, he received a prophetic piece of advice that now rings true with the existence of his 1980s-themed grocery store gallery. “The words were roughly, ‘Be careful, eventually, there will be old items sought for collections, and ‘gambaran’ alone won’t be enough’,” he recalled.
Collection for Content and Connection
Rivaldo clarifies that the majority of items in his gallery serve primarily as a collection for display, intended to share past memories with visitors. “For specific collections like stamps, old currency, and certain other items, I do sell them if there’s interest. However, the products displayed in the warung replica and the toy collection are not for sale,” he explained.
He emphasizes that most of his collection is dedicated to creating engaging social media content and collaborating with fellow content creators. “My income largely comes from social media, through endorsements and YouTube AdSense. Alhamdulillah, it’s currently sufficient for household needs,” he gratefully stated. Rivaldo notes that numerous companies have shown interest in advertising on his Instagram account, @kapsulwaktunusantara, which boasts an impressive 491,000 followers.
Preserving Precious Memories
The Time Capsule Gallery, Rivaldo stresses, exists for more than his personal satisfaction. It is an open invitation for anyone to explore and relive the past through its diverse array of items. “Anyone is welcome to visit, not just those from West Sumatra. Many visitors from other regions come here to see the collection,” he affirmed.
He shares a touching anecdote from 2024, when a couple in their 40s visited the gallery. Rivaldo welcomed them to browse his thousands of items. “Within minutes, the woman burst into tears upon seeing a particular product in the gallery. Her husband then tried to comfort her,” he recounted. Rivaldo later learned that the face powder product was one frequently used by the woman’s mother, evoking profound memories of her mother’s life. “I offered her the product as a keepsake, but she insisted it remain here with the others, stating she would return whenever she missed her mother,” Rivaldo said, highlighting the deep emotional impact of his collection.
In another instance, a netizen inquired about a specific shampoo that held cherished childhood memories. “They asked about the shampoo they used as a child. According to their story, that item was intimately linked to memories of their deceased grandmother,” he explained. Rivaldo sent a photo of the product, but the netizen earnestly requested the actual item be sent so they could smell its scent and remember their grandmother. “Initially, I hesitated because obtaining that item was incredibly difficult, and I only had one sealed, unopened product with that particular scent,” he admitted.
After careful consideration, Rivaldo requested the netizen’s address and sent the shampoo, asking for no payment. It was his heartfelt gesture, a physical reminder to help them reconnect with their past memories and their grandmother.
At the Time Capsule Gallery, numerous visitors express their appreciation for this unique space. Dian Albert, one such visitor, discovered the gallery through social media. She came specifically to find a particular face powder she used as a child. “I’m here to see a face powder product I frequently used when I was little, and thankfully, it’s here,” she shared. For her, merely seeing and smelling the powder transported her back to her childhood, remembering moments of being bathed by her mother. The gallery truly offers a sensory journey back in time, allowing visitors to relive cherished personal histories.
Journalist Halbert Caniago in West Sumatra contributed to this article.
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