Oly is a proud new homeowner!
A typewriter case has little to do with aesthetics and everything to do with practical protection. They are an essential component of typewriter care by preventing dust and moisture from working their way into all the mechanical bits. (Additionally, a case can also protect a typewriter from being sat upon by a dog while sharing a backseat on a drive across the state. Poor Ollie has definitely suffered that indignation). After searching the internet for a case for Ollie with no success, I wondered if we could make one. I floated the idea to Benjamin and he chewed on it for a while.
The first weekend in February we went to a local estate sale hoping to find a case, but the one that we’d had hopes for ended up being too small. Two days later Benjamin announced he was ready to build and we returned to the sale to buy an empty typewriter case to use for hardware parts. He worked for a couple of weeks with careful planning and much attention to fine detail and on Valentine’s Day, Ollie moved into his new home!
The case is fabric-wrapped in a coordinating color to Ollie’s lovely green accent keys. It’s been sealed and sanded several times and finished with a coat of polish leaving it smooth and glossy. I love the vintage look of the exterior fabric and the whimsy of the interior fabric in the top inside of the case. We got really lucky with finding such perfect fabrics at the local fabric store!
The tiny arrow handle was harvested from a mechanism inside the old case and makes for a functional, cream-colored accent that I really love.
The hinges snap apart to allow the top of the case to be removed so Ollie can stay permanently attached to his base (just like Maggie is on hers). This is super excellent because Ollie’s old rubber feet were so dried and hardened that he hopped across the desk every time we typed together! The bottom of his new case has brand new rubber feet so he won’t skitter away from me anymore.
The chrome feet on the back make upright storage possible, keeping Ollie tucked up against a wall or bookshelf and out of the way. This feature, and all of the other hardware details, were made possible by the sacrificial estate-sale case!
When I first asked about building a case for Ollie (modeled after Maggie’s original fabric-wrapped wooden case) I severely underestimated how much careful planning, math, and skillful execution would be needed to pull it off. Benjamin took it on as a personal challenge and problem-solved as he went. I learned a lot by watching and listening and found it to be a fascinating and painstaking process. I’m so thankful to him for all the hard work he put in to craft such a beautiful home for Ollie!
