Brave Little Typewriter
If you’re anything like me, nostalgia can be real. Autumn and Winter bring it out in a major way. Maybe you have a heart for simpler times, or just really like cool gadgets that make fun clicking noises. In either case, Patrick C Rivera and his Brave Little Typewriter project are sure to add a creative and inspirational spark to your day. It sure got me excited to get up and go make something.
Real talk though. As the digital revolution continues to infiltrate the world around us, it’s impossible to escape the fact that our lives are becoming more and more saturated with keyboards and touchscreens. Soon the alphabet will begin with QWERTY (or QWERTZ for us German-speakers), and the beauty of personalised handwriting and cursive will be lost as mobile phones and tablets replace stationery, paper reams, fountain pens and idk. Ink*. #DamnYouAutocorrect
Patrick C Rivera shows that this sense of nostalgia can intersect beautifully with artistic passion and a heart for ministry.
On the surface, Brave Little Typewriter is a one-man business that restores vintage typewriters. Which in and of itself you gotta admit is pretty dang cool. But dig a little deeper, and you find that Patrick’s passion project is so much more than a flannel-clad hipster’s nostalgic daydream; it is his expression of the appreciation for individuality and intimacy, and we at Catholic Creatives are absolutely here for it.
I really love the way this whole thing got off the ground. Brave Little Typewriter started with a simple need: Patrick’s daughter had read a book about a girl who owned typewriters, and she asked for one of her own for Christmas. So naturally, Patrick helped Santa track down a 1941 Remington typewriter, took the thing apart, put it back together and gifted it to his daughter. Tell me that doesn’t give you all of the feels. In the months that followed, Patrick took on additional typewriter restoration projects, posting pictures of his work to social media along the way. This led to contacts reaching out to ask about buying typewriters for themselves.
One of these individuals was Paul Massell of New Eve Media. Paul, like Patrick, recognized and appreciated the beauty in the design and build of these typewriters, as well as the ingenuity of Patrick’s garage-based typewriter business. This prompted Paul and his colleague Jacob Spence to meet Patrick and chronicle the story of Brave Little Typewriter.
I got my creative spark playing in garage bands in the ‘00s. Safe to say, Brave Little Typewriter blows emo-fringe-hair-Jude out of the water when it comes to garage-based artistic endeavors.
Personally, I find Patrick’s project inspirational on a number of levels. First and foremost, his work serves as a constant reminder to him of the individuality of the user of each and every typewriter he takes on. I’ll let him explain:
Every typewriter has a story. Some come with phone numbers and addresses etched into them underneath; driver's licenses and social security numbers; office badges or nameplates; they come with residual imprints of their previous owner. These imprints of the typewriter's story are unique because they were used as part of the previous owner's story telling. I am blessed to continue those stories.
Patrick C Rivera
Mate. Yes. I love the intentionality Patrick gives to taking on a piece of equipment that has been used and worn-in by a previous owner. It’s something we all relate to. Maybe it’s a nicely broken-in baseball glove you’ve purchased secondhand. Or an old acoustic violin you found in your grandfather’s attic. Or maybe a coat or dress your grandma used to wear. I play a 1952 Gibson guitar that was literally in 12 pieces before my mate and I began restoring it. We named it Lazarus, because…well…yeah. But Brave Little Typewriter takes the beauty of weathered instruments and turns it into something that can literally be given for someone else to hold, a personal note as a physical, tactile sign of human connection. What many people write off as wear-and-tear, Patrick sees as an individual’s story, etched -- sometimes literally -- into the walls of the machine he is bringing back to life.
Each typewriter provides more than just a glimpse into the past. Patrick also sees the present value of the typewriter as anything but obsolete. Sure, iMessage and WhatsApp may be able to get a message around the world in seconds. But a typewritten note brings a mindfulness and personal connection that is lacking in the digital age. Just as a handwritten letter is unique to the individual writing it, no two typewritten notes are identical. This line Patrick says in the New Eve video hit me like a ton of bricks:
When you type on a typewriter, no person typing a note is going to have the exact same note, because every single person types differently, with a different level of force. Each typewritten note or letter is just as unique as the person who wrote it.
Patrick C Rivera
Woof. That gives me all of the goosebumps.
Now I don’t know about you, but I definitely need to track down a typewriter and have Patrick restore it for me. Keep up the great work, mate, and we are stoked to keep up with you and all the amazing things you’re doing with Brave Little Typewriter!
by Benjamin Jude
Worship Leader / Recording Artist
CC Admin