I'm Going to the Type-In!

Changing Hands is having a Type-In on June 24th. It's being organized by a Changing Hand's employee who loves typewriters. I plan on going, so I'll see you there.

Close Encounters at the Mesa Typewriter Exchange

I was on the phone with the unsinkable Bill Wahl from the Mesa Typewriter Exchange and he told me a story about a celebrity sighting in the store. 

Screenshot from Mr. Brown's Instagram

I guess Mr. Brown stopped by last thursday and brought a very nice Olympia that was in the shop. Pretty cool.

You might ask why I called. Well, the 7th Phoenix Type-In is in the works and a date is forthcoming. Regardless, it will probably be later this summer. Keep your ear to the typebars for more information. 

6th Phoenix Type-In Raffle Results

Here are the winners:

Kama
Jordan
Laura
Henry

Jordan was on hand to claim his typewriter, but the others are still out there completely unaware of their typewriter bounty. The remaining three can pick up their typewriters at the Mesa Typewriter Exchange. If you have a feeling like you might be the Kama, Laura, or Henry mentioned, email me at tryanpa@cox.net and we'll sort it out.

Thanks to everyone who entered. Thanks to Eric and Ted who donated the typewriters for the raffle. I also know that Changing Hands also thanks you for your support.

Some Thoughts and Thanks About the 6th Phoenix Type-In

If you didn't make it out to the 6th Phoenix Type-In at Changing Hands you missed a great event. There were more people than ever interested in getting behind the keyboard of a typewriter. I thought it was fantastic to meet so many new people and hear their typewriter stories. 

We had a few new events that we never tried. First, was a speed typing competition arranged and organized by Jake Fisher. Jake printed out the typing assignment and really did a lion's share of the work on this event. About 5 people participated and it was a great time. Brian won the competition on his beautiful blue Selectric. He was worried that there might be a Mark Maguiresque asterisk next to his name because of his performance enhancing typewriter. But as the event was all in good fun no one begrudged him his place on the rostrum. Newcomer Rose came in second. Tori came in third. 

Second, we also had some great door prizes; four typewriters donated by Eric and Ted. I'll do a follow-up post with the names of the winners and information on how they can claim their typers.

Chanel 5 was on had to cover some of the event.

It was a lot of fun

I do want to take some time out to thank all the people who made the 6th Phoenix Type-In a success. Changing Hands has been a partner in the planning of this event. They offer the space and are so very supportive of interesting and fun things. We've held type-ins at a number of locations and by-far Changing Hands has been the most accommodating and the most excited to host us. Walt at Changing Hands was a huge help and very supportive. Thanks Cindy and Walt. I also must thank the Rt. Rev. T. Munk. I met Ted at the first Phoenix Typewriter Round-Up and Type-In at Hulu's and he was an early supporter of the Phoenix typewriter scene. If you haven't found his blog or the new, improved, and vastly better Typewriter Database you are missing out on some great internet. Go there now. Eric Jaros was kind enough to offer typewriters for the raffle. Bill Wahl was there for the first type-in and I am happy to count him as a friend. Bill spreads the word about all the type-ins to his customers and I think that more than half of the attendees knew about it from him. Thanks Bill

One final note. I didn't take nearly enough photos, but I'll include the few that made it to my Instagram feed. If you would like to follow you can find me at @tryanpa 

Type-In Today!

Today (May 23rd), from 1-4, is the 6th Phoenix Type-In at Changing Hands on Camelback Rd. Come by and enjoy some beautiful typewriters.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.magicmargin.net/2015/05/the-countdown-to-type-in-and-type-in.html

and here:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/the-6th-annual-phoenix-type-in-celebrates-typewriters-at-changing-hands-7343100

We plan on having some great things this year including:

• A typewriter clinic with Bill Wahl from the Mesa Typewriter Exchange. Bill will be on-hand to give his professional opinion about your typewriter.

• Jake Fischer, the typewriter wunderkind, will be holding a speed typing competition which may include fabulous prizes.

• A special exhibit of The Typewriters of Mad Men. You can see, in person IBM Selectrics and a small collection of typewriters featured on the show. 

• A chance to win a typewriter. Just put your First Draft receipt in the box and you can win one of three fantastic, beautiful, mid-century typewriters.

The Countdown to the Type-In and Type-In Press

If you were looking to gather with some like-minded typewriter lovers this weekend, you are in luck because the 6th Phoenix Type-In is happening this weekend at First Draft in Changing Hands. From 1-4 you can get a chance to meet typewriter collectors from across the valley, have a refreshing drink from First Draft, possibly win a typewriter, and see some great machines.

The 6th Phoenix Type-In will include:

• A typewriter clinic with Bill Wahl from the Mesa Typewriter Exchange. Bill will be on-hand to give his professional opinion about your typewriter.

• Jake Fischer, the typewriter wunderkind, will be holding a speed typing competition which may include fabulous prizes.

• A special exhibit of The Typewriters of Mad Men. You can see, in person IBM Selectrics and a small collection of typewriters featured on the show. 

• A chance to win a typewriter. Just put your First Draft receipt in the box and you can win one of three fantastic, beautiful, mid-century typewriters.

Please come out! You'll have a lot of fun.

On another note, the 6th Phoenix Type-In was featured in a New Times article. You can find that story here:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/the-6th-annual-phoenix-type-in-celebrates-typewriters-at-changing-hands-7343100

I hope to see you on Saturday!

6th Phoenix Type-In

If you were in the mood to meet like-minded typewriter enthusiasts, this might be your event. So mark your calendar for May 23rd from 1-4 for some spring typing fun.

I would also like to take a moment and recognize our kind sponsors: First Draft at Changing Hands and the Mesa Typewriter Exchange. Without them this event would not be possible.

Type-In Update

Don't forget that this weekend the Arizona typewriter community will be holding the 5th Phoenix Type-In at First Draft. This is a great change to meet fellow typewriter enthusiasts. Come on by, grab a drink, see a few typewriters, have a chat. It's great fun for a Saturday afternoon.

The 5th Phoenix Type-In

It's been a while since we planned a type-in, but the next one will be on the 26th of July from 1 to 4pm at First Draft Book Bar at Changing Hands. That's 300 W. Camelback Rd. in Phoenix. Look forward to some new faces and there is a rumor of a Fay-Sholes. It should be an exciting afternoon.

Also, I would like to thank Changing Hands and First Draft for letting us have the next type-in at their fantastic new store. Changing Hands is an institution and having their support is wonderful.

So, if you can make it we would love to see you for the next type-in. Bring a machine or two! Keep your eyes peeled for more information.

If you have any questions, please email me at: ryan@magicmargin.net

If you have time check out First Draft's website: http://www.changinghands.com/firstdraftbar

4th Time Around

There must be something in the sunshine that makes this dry and dusty town a nexus for typewriter fans. The luck of the sun...or maybe the Irish was with us because the 4th Phoenix Type-In and Typewriter Round-Up had a record crowd. For softies like me there was an additional "awwww" factor with Jeremiah (10 years old) who had seen the type-in during a rerun of Bill Geist's typewriter story, begged his mom to go, and was committed to "stay to the end."

For Christmas he received a Sear Citation in an ice-white color scheme. It's a great machine and he seemed immensely proud to show it off to other collectors. He had a great time going around and trying out new and different typewriters. He was even lucky enough to go home with another machine in tow; a nice Lettera 32.

The regular mugs were there; Bill Wahl, Theodore, Tori, Brian, Robert, Matt, &c. But there were more than a few new faces including, Alexander, a teen collector who brought his Remington Quiet-Riter to show off.

In terms of typers that stole the show my Royal KMG with italic type was warmly received, but it was Bill Wahl's prewar Olympia desktop standard machine that caught my eye. Yowser! Talk about shiny.

Here are the pics:

This time the event seemed more private. There were no reporters there; just fans of the typewriter. I hope everyone had fun. Ted will be scanning in the sheets from the typewriters so keep an eye out on munk.org/typecast .

See You Today at the Type-In

Type-In Geekery

The New Times Jackalope Ranch was kind enough to give the Phoenix Type-In scene another accolade in a recent post.

4th Phoenix Type-in

4th Phoenix Type-In

I am happy to announce that the date for the 4th Phoenix Type-In and Round-Up has been set. Again, Lux has kindly allowed us to host our event at thier famous "farmhouse" table.

Bill Whal from the Mesa Typewriter Exchange will be on-hand to diagnose youe typewriter woes and offer some sage advice.

I also wanted to use this post to soft-launch a new side-business of mine: Type the Knot. If you want to know more about this visit http://www.typetheknot.com The site is still in formation, but I wanted to share none-the-less.

The Mini Type-In Was Mini

Friday night was the Mini Type-In. Counting myself there was one other typewriter enthusiast.

Bryan, who came to the 3rd Type-In at Lux, was kind enough to indulge my blabbering on and on about typewriters. I brought a mid-50s Smith-Corona Skyriter and Bryan brought a few Japanese-made Litton Royals; a Mercury and a Mustang. His examples are in great shape and it was a joy to have the experience of using them.

With just two typospherians in attendance, the conversation was limited, but the conversation was interesting.

So, was the mini type-in successful? Yes, just a little.

Mini Type-In Tonight!

Don't forget about the mini Type-In tonight. Here's the info:

See you there!

Oops

I had the directions to Elevate Coffee Co. wrong. This is the corrected graphic:

Mini Type-In

Type-In Leftovers

These were the pages folks were using at the type-in. Some of what is written is meaningful. Some of it is just silliness. Other things are random. It's fun to read none-the-less. Think of these musings as public cooperative poetry.

Lux et Veritas

I just got wind of this really great article about the Type-In. Click the title below to be whisked away. Make sure to carriage return!

Typewriter enthusiasts gather for Type-In at Lux in Phoenix

I want to thank Megan Finnerty for such a great article. She really asked some great questions and really portrayed the essence of the Type-In.