It's Spring here in Sydney, today is a gloriously sunny day, the flowers are blooming and all is good. The start of a new season has inspired me to do a good old Spring clean and clearout. Going through the cupboards really made me realise just how much stuff I have accumulated and made me re-evaluate my thrifting habits. I have always said I am not a "collector" (ignore the Pyrex) so how could I justify having 6 typewriters, a heap of copper cookware and bakeware and more maps than I can shake a stick at?
So I have purged, I sold a lot of stuff on eBay, gave a large box to Vinnie's and dumped a sackful of bits and pieces that were too sad to do anything with.
I made the difficult decision to sell 3 of my typewriters, I can really only have 3 on display without it starting to look like a shop and the others were just sitting unloved in cupboards which kind of defeated the purpose of me bringing them home in the first place.
I am delighted to say they all sold on eBay and each has been given a new lease of life (I couldn't help asking the buyers what they would use them for), so may I introduce to you 3 very different typewriters, each about to embark on very different new lives...
My Adler Gabriele 35 sold to a very a lovely lady who had one for years, it took pride of place on her desk until her husband donated it to an Op Shop without her knowledge when they moved house (grounds for divorce if you ask me). She was very happy to buy a replacement for her long lost typewriter and I am sure as I type it is sitting looking gorgeous on her desk (but steering well clear of her husband).
My lovely Olympia SM3 sold to a guy who will be using it as inspiration for an Art College assignment to take a vintage typewriter and redesign it for the 21st Century (I'm fervently hoping this does not involve disassembling it in any way).
And the most exciting new life goes to my Olivetti Lettera 32, it sold to a lady from the Sydney Theatre Company Props Department (I want her job!!!) and is going to be used in an upcoming play direct by Philip Seymour Hoffman, how exciting!!! I nearly wanted to jump into her car when she came to collect it and go back to the Props Department and raid it!!!
So goodbye my lovelies, I hope you enjoy your new lives, I will miss you and will try very hard not to fill the void by buying more typewriters ;-) At least I still have my Olivetti Studio 44, Litton Royal 201 and Imperial 200 to keep me company!
11 comments:
OMG. We think alike, I have 6 typewriters too (how weird is that, the same number)that im now going to put on ebay for the same reasons. Its been so long since I looked at them I cant even remember what they are... Isn't that terrible... They deserve a better home. I love how you asked where they were going, Its nice to know isn't it. Megan xx
Good for you! I've been doing the same - I've gotten rid of so many things the past few weeks. The attic was cleaned out, the closets, my office, and every little bit here and there I could part with. It's hard to let go of things but it feels so good! It's always nice when these things find a home with someone who will really enjoy them.
I love, love, love that you know where your typewriters are going, imagine the new lives they are going to have. I think there might be a shortstory in that somewhere! Well done for being brave and letting go of some of your collections.
It is hard to let them go, isn't it? I'm down to my last one... My Kolibri, Groma. And that one is definitely a keeper!
Perfect home for the Olivetti, that's so cool!!!
Yes, it's always hard to get rid of the lovelies that we collect on our thrifting haunts, but it sounds like you were quite brave in decluttering. I have to do that about once a year, and since the last one, have tried to be more selective about what I bring home, no matter how cheap it is.
And do love that your Olivetti (my favorite of these three) is going to find such a showcase home. Just saw him in Capote, where he is a writer so I'm totally picturing him with this typewriter now.
What a cool thing to do find out where your treasures are going to land! I am in the cleaning and editing mode right now.
Beautiful typewriters! I'm inspired to use Ebay to sell some accumilated treasures and clear up my life :) You should share tips sometime *ahem*. Good luck Spring Cleaning. We're Fall Cleaning here in the Northern Hemisphere!
I love reading you... you think outside the square! xxx
What a great post! How interesting... Good on you for your clean out. It's hard to say goodbye though and you've found a way to make it easier. I so want that job too... (Olivetti Lettera 32). Pruxxx
Oh ... MY ... GOD ! I have been catching up on my favourite blogs and I recognize that I, ME, MOI, am the lady who purchased your Adler Gabriele off eBay recently! Me, whose husband donated my old one to the local Op shop when we moved away!
Ssssh, but I now have THREE old typewriters that I don't really need .. I think you are a clone of me!
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