Look what I’ve got. The first Kowal Portable Typewriter and Adding Machine.
I mentioned that I wanted to modify my computer to have some of the stylings of a portable typewriter. After a great deal of thought I decided to go with sticker applications on the keys due to the wee attachment points on the existing key caps. To create the sticker, I started by taking a photo of my keyboard as close to straight on as I could. If I do this again, I will scan it instead.
Next I grabbed a stock photo of a typewriter key. Now, since the computer keyboard has a lot of keys that a manual typewriter doesn’t, I knew that I would have to create keys from scratch. So, I erased the letter on this one and used it as the template for all the keys. For the font I chose P22’s Parish Roman, which is a gorgeous spin on the standard Roman fonts. You’ll see how lush it is in the next photos.
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I laid out the keyboard directly over the photo I took to control for spacing. If I do this again, I will squish the keys closer together so that I have more space around the keyboard area for making adjustments to fit. I thought I allowed enough, but I didn’t. |
I’m about halfway through the process in this photo. I used a piece of paper to make a template to cut the keyboard area of the sticker to the right size. As you can see, I wound up with silver space all the way around, but in my original, I was going to run the sticker right up to the edge of the keyboard. I think the image was enlarged slightly when they placed it on the sticker. The process of modifying the keys is pretty simple. Here– I’ll show you.
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Pop the key off the keyboard with a butter knife. |
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Cut out the corresponding key with your exacto knife. I was paranoid about losing a piece so I only cut out one key at a time. |
 Carefully center the sticker on the key. |
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This is the squiggly part. I had to bevel the edges of the stickers as I was trimming them, or the edges were noticeable and distracting under my fingers. |
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Next, I colored the edges with a permanent marker. I initially did that before adding the sticker, but the edges of the sticker showed up as white. Over the two week since I did this, the ink has crept under the stickers giving a slight patina to my new keys. It doesn’t look bad in this context, but it’s not what I planned. I’m also discovering that in a couple of places, the ink is wearing off–not surprising, but faster than I expected. Next time, I think I’ll try to seal the edges as well as experiment with black enamel paint.
Edited to add: I now use black nail polish. It is smooth, glossy and chip-resistant. The black marker wound up rubbing off. |
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Here’s the finished key ready to be installed. |
And here it is in all its glory.
Well, not quite all its glory. I still have to do the space bar, but I need to go to an art store for that. I’m debating about doing the space around the screen itself, which would be pretty, but just seems like a lot of wasted sticker, unless I can come up with something clever to do with the middle section. Hm, I guess I could do a style thing to the power supply… Nah. That would just be silly.
Edited to add: In response to comments.
- I used schtickers.com to create the sticker. These are repostionable tough stickers designed to protect the exterior of a laptop and have prooved pretty durable on the exterior, which I did about a month ago. I travel a lot and so no signs of wear, so I went for the interior. The stickers have a beefy vinyl coating so I think they’ll hold up to wear.
- I don’t believe that I’ve done anything which will impact the warranty. Although it’s a moot point, since the laptop is well past warranty date.
- And for the curious–the plan for the space bar is to use a very thin wood veneer to make an “ebony” space bar. It comes in paper thin sheets at the art store. I expect this to be the spot that shows the most wear, but that’s the way it is on actual vintage typewriters too.
- Edited to add: I finished the space bar. Pictures and process are detailed here.
- The design is based on a blending of an early Royal, a Remington and a Ox-blood red Smith-Corona.
- The background is actually a screen saver from 3planesoft. I wound up deleting it after trying the demo version, because it goes through this loading thing that was bulky. It is pretty though.
Further edited to add: The fine folks at schtickers.com have said that they would like to offer readers of my blog a 10% discount. Just enter the discount code KOWAL during the check out
process. You might also want to use their old interface, as the new one does some resizing that might frustrate you.
Article Series - Modding my Laptop
- Modding my laptop
- The Kowal Portable Typewriter and Adding Machine
- Typewriter question
- Schticker discount
- The Kowal Portable Typewriter’s Spacebar
- Modding my wireless keyboard
Oh, Mary. That is about the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. You have some seriously mad crafting skillz.
Damn, you’re amazing.
::swoon::
Unbelievable!
Mary, that’s beautiful! I hope it holds up over time!
Laptop typewriter mod…
Wow, what a work of art. Writer Mary Robinette Kowal modded her laptop so that the keyboard would resemble keys on an old-fashioned portable typewriter. This looks so touchable! I wonder how she managed to ensure that the stickers won’t fade with lots…
That is about the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time. When can you do mine?
That’s sooo cool & very creative. My hat’s off to you.
how’d you do the printing (sticker paper, printer, etc) It looks pretty luxe. very nice
You’ve been BoingBoing’d – nice work, I expect this will hit the steampunk sites shortly, too.
Is there a howto for the nice enamel-like work on the keyboard surround? More stickerwork?
Beautiful, Mary! I remember you speculating about this a few months ago? And there you are on boingboing. Hats off to your creativity!
Great idea.
Great look.
That is simply stunning! I am terribly impressed – would you permit me to post about that on Brass Goggles?
[...] Typewriter Laptop is a beautiful piece of art created by Mary Robinette Kowal. She modded her laptop to make the [...]
Hmm! I have access to a vinyl printer and a cutting plotter so I’m highly tempted to make my own set of key caps to see how it goes. I’ll try it with a print onto black vinyl, then laminate it and run it through a vinyl cutter to make individual key stickers
Mod your Laptop into a Portable Typewriter and Adding Machine…
Writer Mary Robinette Kowal has done a semi-steampunk mod on her laptop, calling it “The Kowal Portable Typewriter and Adding Machine.” And, unlike most mod freaks, she didn’t catalog everything to the minutest detail. I like her “I had……
That is just stunning. I cam here via BoingBoing and your laptop is the most beautiful steampunk mod I’ve ever seen!
Goodness. I’m glad you like this, because I’m totally in love with it.
In answer to the questions about the stickers (which I’ll add to the main body of the post) I used schtickers.com, which makes laptop stickers that are designed to protect the outside of the laptop and seem to be pretty rugged.
This is gorgeous!
You should try the commercial sharpie markers that are resistant to chemicals. They are far more permanent that a normal permanent marker. They look like normal sharpies, but they have a warning on the side of them in red about how permanent they are and that they are resistant to chemicals.
MRK, you’ve set the web afire with this!!!
I want one now. I’d try to make it look like the laptops in “Brazil, though. Yours is so nice. Wow. Shiny.
I love the keyboard – but I really love the wallpaper / screensaver you’re using. Where can I find that?
That’s beautiful! Very creative and inspiring.
[...] The Kowal portable typewriter and adding machine [Mary Robinette Kowal via Boing Boing] [...]
That looks amazing. Nice work. I felt a little bad this morning, though, with the boing boing effect. I wanted to see your site but I wasn’t able.
[...] http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com Arvioi jutun mielenkiintoisuutta: (Ei arvioita) Loading … Samaa aihetta sivuavia [...]
That is awesome! I am so impressed. I mentioned it on my blog.
[...] UPATE: More here. [...]
Mary, all I can say is “You GO Girl!”
You bring new meaning to the word “KEWL” !
I wanna go out and get a laptop JUST so I can copy you!
(And really, where did you get that kickin’ wallpaper?)
Take care, you are now beloved by the ‘net.
Have you installed typewriter sound effects for when you hit the keys? Here’s a freeware program that allows you to do that: Tiper.
gorgeous!
[...] the cunning application of custom stickers can do for a previously plain laptop! Above is the Kowal Portable Typewriter and Adding Machine, a laptop modification very much inspired by very early 20th Century typewriters from Royal, [...]
[...] ¿y si queremos personalizarlo aún más? Pues tendremos que currárnoslo un poco. Aquà tienen un tutorial paso a paso de como convertir tu portátil en una máquina de escribir Olivetti, mediante la compra [...]
Jeff: That’s a great idea. I’ll look into those.
Chang: If I see you at Readercon, you may fondle my laptop.
Brock and Steverino: I’m using the 3Planesoft Mechanical Clockwork screensaver.
flightless, Joy, elissa and Steverino: Thank you!
strugglingwriter: I know what you mean. I wanted to do an update and couldn’t even login to the dashboard. It seems calmer today.
Eric James Stone: I’ll give Tiper a try.
[...] of clear plastic sticker over the printed and hand-retouched bits? Meticulously documented here: Link. (Update: ruh-roh, we brokeded the website! It’s down as of 9pm PT 7/5/07, no doubt from too [...]
[...] Link – via Boing Boing [...]
[...] anyone is wondering what I might like for my birthday — or any other day for that [...]
Wow, oh wow, that is so retrobeautimous!
I’m tempted to send you a laptop to retrofit-and pay anything you want to charge!
So fun and cool, Mary.
And the screensaver too. What screensaver is this “clock”?
Thanks
That thing’s even more amazing in person. One really needs to see it close up to truly appreciate it. Thanks for letting me view it.
Did I really fondle it? I think not.
[...] Read how she did it here: The Kowal portable typewriter and adding machine [...]
Dorsie: Let me test drive this longer to see how it holds up before you get too excited. I did have someone come up to me today at the con for a consultation on his laptop.
Bihar: You can get the screensaver at 3planesoft.com
Chang: If you hadn’t been drooling…
[...] Moose got all excited last night because Dell are releasing coloured laptops – she laughed at my suggestion of just buying a tin of red enamel paint and doing it herself. Seemed like a reasonable idea to me, but not as pretty as this laptop/typewriter mod. [...]
This is brilliant! I wish I can do the same
[...] of clear plastic sticker over the printed and hand-retouched bits? Meticulously documented here: Link. (Update: ruh-roh, we brokeded the website! It’s down as of 9pm PT 7/5/07, no doubt from too [...]
Hi I really like your Modded Laptop.I was on a laptop buying spree this week and I saw your laptop on engadget. My dad said I could only buy about 10 laptops this week but I with some begging I got him to spend about 38.5k on that laptop you have there (or a laptop you modified like a typewriter) Email me.
-MITCH
What a wonderful idea. Gives a lot more personality to the computing experience. Tempted to do the same to my powerbook.
dementia, Mitchell, and Matthew: I’m glad you like it. Wait until it’s actually finished!
[...] this is just nice to look at!! Ol’ times.. beware MacBook!!! …joking.. buying one sparkling white MacBook [...]
A modded laptop to bash out your softcore romantic fantasies on…
Boing Boing is quickly pioneering a name for itself in the steampunk/electronics mod department, to the point where I think they could quite possibly branch out and create a whole new blog for the basement-dwelling masses.
Their latest feature is of …
Yay, you’re back up. It was lovely to meet you and see your delightful machine at ReaderCon.
Cheers,
Geoffrey
[...] This is friggin’ awesome. I wish I had the talent and patience to replicate it. There’s a better picture of it on BoingBoing. The RadicalAtheist The Forum Rules I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. – Robert McCloskey [...]
Steampunk mod your laptop into a vintage typewriter…
Mary Robinette Kowal wanted her laptop to resemble “a blending of an early Royal, a Remington and a Ox-blood red Smith-Corona” so she got her heavy duty stickers and felt pens out……
oh my gosh, happened upon this and it’s amazing!!!
[...] with the same old laptop? Then turn it into a portable typewriter “look a like”. It’s a typwriter imposter that is sure to inspire your creative juices. Maybe a laptop [...]
[...] Schtickers: Fun, removeable wallpaper for the outside of your laptop! If you’re totally awesome, creative and patient, you can end up with a gorgeous laptop like this one. [...]
Typewriter keyboard…
Here’s a good tutorial on retro-izing a keyboard using some clever photography and sticker making… Link…….
ãƒãƒãƒƒã‚¯é¢¨ãƒŽãƒ¼ãƒˆãƒ‘ソコン…
　 ä¸ä¸–ヨーãƒãƒƒãƒ‘ã®è²´æ—ãŒä½¿ã£ã¦ãã†ã§ã™ã€‚ ライターã®Mary Robinet……
[...] Converting to an Underwood Formed at the Bauhaus coffee house in Seattle’s Capital Hill in the summer of 2004, Retrofitted Designs is the brainchild of Leslie Pierson and Angelo Zambito. Designer Mary Robinette took the Schtickers and added her own cusomization, to convert the keyboard into that of a manual typewriter. She tells how at her site. [...]
That’s amazingly beautiful. Do you take orders? *g*
[...] a good tutorial on retro-izing a keyboard using some clever photography and sticker making… Link. [Read this article] [Comment on this [...]
WalMart has a great collection of plastic stickers/tags that look like old keyboard keys. Usually in the crafts section.
Geoffrey: It was so nice to meet you at Readercon too. Hope all is well with you.
Amy: Thank you!
Jonquil: Actually… I will (hopefully) be starting to take orders in August.
Abizar: You know, I looked everywhere for those, because I remembered seeing them. I finally gave up, in part because I realized that a computer keyboard has more and different keys than a typewriter.
nice background dare …. ware did u get it?
on the laptop … dat is …
can u give me at least a title for the laptop background?
Vintage…
Edwin Tofslie designer et directeur artistique propose la frise ci dessous qui permet d’embrasser d’un seul coup d’oeil toute la production Apple depuis 1976. C’est une preuve de plus que des mises en scène très simple peuvent parfaitement …
Ivan: I answered that question multiple times in the comments. I’ve also gone back and added it to the original post. Finally, please learn to spell.
sorry … didn’t notice … and by the way .. my words were in their short forms … if u didn’t know …
I do recognize the text messaging form, however, that does not mean they are correctly spelled. “U” is a letter. “You” is a word.
I’m a writer and like antiquities. I do not ask for much.
in that case i’m sorry …
[...] clipped from http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com [...]
The clock is pretty, but it drives me crazy because it has a second hand that acts like it is out of a different clock – one with a balance wheel instead of a pendulum. Also, there are some axles that look like they are running right through a gear. The escapement is well done though. Just turn off the sound so you don’t notice the two different rates of ticking.
Ivan: Thank you.
-d-: You can turn the sound off on the control panel for it.
[...] to skip ahead to the next paragraph Neil took this picture at Readercon, of his colleague Mary’s computer. I wish I had seen it in person. She used stickers to create the look of a vintage [...]
I saw your wonderful laptop on Brass Goggles, the Steampunk site. Wish I could buy one!
boocat: Give me another month to get some bugs worked out and I might be offering to do this mod for people.
[...] Looking the picture, it seem that Mrs. Marry has successfully achieved her mission. As she mentioned on her blog, she wanted to modify her laptop to have some of the stylings of a portable typewariter, great jobs Mrs! If you want to duplicate her art work, you can follow the step by step instruction here. [...]
Wow! You should sell this as a kit! I’d buy it.
Thank you! I’m actually hoping to do that, but need to work out a few things first.
[...] found this via boing-boing while looking for something else: The Kowal Portable Typewriter and Adding Machine, which is the creation of one Mary Robinette Kowal, who is a professional puppeteer and sometime [...]
You’ve had a re-linking on MAKE blog again, under the heading Typewriter Art. Yours is the last “related” picture and link, and it still looks as great as ever!
Gah! I have got to post the finished images. I’ve done the spacebar since then.
Hello Mary. I keep checking back on this page ever couple weeks since finding it through boingboing. If you do decide to sell this as a kit or service please give me a yell.
Regards.
hello,
i followed a link from a link and found your creation – it’s beautiful and inspiring and, most delightfully, achievable.
thankyou for sharing,
geof
Nick: Soon. I’m hoping by the end of the month.
Geof: Thank you for following the trail of breadcrumbs back here.
that has got to be one of the coolest things ever. i adore old typewriters and found it to be a wonderful idea!
[...] Remington e Ox-blood red Smith-Corona. Con poche e semplici procedure, che spiega dettagliatamente nel suo sito, ha effettuato un modding donando un aspetto vintage al suo [...]
[...] sí, se puede, y de hecho Mary Robinette Kowal lo he hecho y explica en su página como, aunque lo básico es cambiar las teclas originales por otras inspiradas en una [...]
[...] ficou interessado pelo assunto, sugiro à visita ao site de Mary. Nele, ela conta alguns detalhes desse trabalho, o que certamente pode interessar a quem pretende [...]
Mary!
What a surprise! This is Elaine in Portland, Matt’s wife. I was just doing some crafty surfing and came upon this. You are indeed a crafty goddess. I can’t wait to tell Matt. How are you and Rob? Are sound and wine still part of your life? Matt was interviewed on a local podcast that aired last night. We went to a listening party on NE Williams. Every time I see sound-challenged visuals or beautiful puppetry, I think of you guys.
I hope you are both well!
Beautiful Artwork! I would like to make the paper keys to decorate scrapbooks with…in the process of that, did you just take a pic. of an actual old key and then print it onto cardstock?
I downloaded a picture from istockphoto.com and used that. Then printed them on special stickers. I’ve since done another project where I printed them onto regular sticker paper. I think you could do it on anything, really.