I’ve been out of the loop for quite a while… Life gets busy. So busy that I don’t even have time to typecast this post. However, my wife shared something she came across and I thought I’d pass it on, though, as I already stated, I’ve been out of the loop for so long that this may come as old news to the rest of you. If so, I apologize for my redundancy.
Here is a link to read about what appears to be new typewriters. I don’t know much about it as I’m sharing this on the run.
Streamlines DeLuxe 
Someone on Facebook recently pointed these out, and someone else actually bought one! The report is that the quality is typical of Chinese-made typewriters, unsurprisingly. But I think the design is charming and I’m glad that they are being marketed. If all goes well, I will publish a little interview with the designer of the shell on my blog.
In a picture it seems swell enough, though the shell looks like plastic. Am I seeing that correctly or it is that merely the look of the finish? It IS a very nice and clean design which reminds me of an Olympia.
What puzzles me is, with so many bullet-proof vintage machines to be had for pocket change, why would anyone buy a Chinese machine of inferior quality? And despite the modern interest in typewriters, I suspect the supply of existing, well-functioning machines exceeds the demand by a long shot, which makes launching into a modern production seem risky.
In any case, I hope the maker does well in this venture. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see how a new machine does in the market, which is probably a question many of us have had in our mind.
true, if only they could put in the quality equal to say a Brother JP-1 or Silver-Seiko of the 70’s-80’s. Heck, that’d be enough. Sadly, the things are somewhere a step above a Buddy-L toy, and they cost what you’d pay for a pristine 50’s machine at high market value, and those are still plentiful. I’m not sure the economics would ever work out. /:
PS: great to see you again, even on the run (:
I’m almost certain the shell is plastic. As for why people would buy this instead of a classic, they may feel nervous about buying something old that probably needs cleaning and repair. Or it may not even have occurred to them that they could buy a typewriter; then they see one in person, brand new, and it’s cute, so they go for it. You can see some delighted reactions among scrapbookers on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/wermemorykeepers/
There are so many quality machines out there to be saved and used, perhaps people who get turned onto typewriters via these new models is actually a great thing because it will lead them to discover a whole new world of vintage machines to enjoy.
I’m just happy to have a brief moment to post. I used to wonder why people seem to disappear or abandon their blogs — now I know why. Life happens. I really do miss being around here and chatting with the usual suspects. I hope you’re all doing well.
It looks awful even from a distance. Love your banner though. 🙂
Thanks!
Thank you for this, I’ve seen it mentioned elsewhere, too.
Regarding blogging, I’ve found consistency is better than content; meaning that your audience of regular readers are more likely to keep reading when you post every week or so, even if it’s not typecast or fancy, just something, anything.