Melbourne, Australia · Est. 2021 · Founded by Madi Stefanis
Madi Stefanis always kept a disposable camera in her clutch when she went out with friends. In 2019, at 19 years old and in her first year of university, she listed an old film camera on Facebook Marketplace for $50 and watched it sell for $250 in a bidding war. She spent four years' worth of supermarket savings -- $50,000 -- to develop The Reloader: a compact, reusable film camera designed for beginners, small enough to fit in a purse, sustainable enough to use forever. She dropped out of university with one semester left. She never looked back. 35mm Co. turned over $2 million in its first year.
Madi Stefanis grew up in Melbourne with a disposable camera in her clutch and the firm conviction that film photos -- the ones you hold in your hand, that come back from the lab days later with memories you'd half-forgotten -- were something worth preserving. In 2019, during her first year of a business degree, she listed an old SLR on Facebook Marketplace for $50 and received a flood of bids. It sold for $250. She did it again. And again. For a year she sourced and flipped vintage film cameras, learning the market and absorbing the demand, until supply ran dry and the answer became obvious: she would make her own.
She used $50,000 in savings accumulated across four years of working at a supermarket in high school to develop The Reloader -- a compact, beginner-friendly, fully reusable 35mm film camera designed to sit in a purse, be handed around at a party, and capture memories the way only film can. Matte finish, vegan leather wrist strap, available in seven colors. Small enough to forget it's there until you need it most.
35mm Co. launched in 2021 and turned over $2 million in its first year. Madi dropped out of university with one semester remaining. She pitched on Shark Tank Australia in 2023, received a $300,000 offer, and declined it -- walking away with a mentor instead. The brand has since launched into Urban Outfitters and major retailers across Australia and the US. Gwyneth Paltrow used one. The community 35mm Co. has built -- through intimate dinners, in-person events, and a genuine love of living in the moment -- is as much a part of the brand as the camera itself.
On a registry, 35mm Co. is the gift that captures the wedding, the honeymoon, and the first year -- held in the hand, developed slowly, and kept forever.
