How We Restore Typewriters
El Granero · Fuengirola, Málaga · Since 2013
Many hands.
One typewriter.
A new chapter.
Behind every typewriter we restore is a journey of discovery, patient craftsmanship and people who care. We are Ania and Jacek, and this is the work we love.
A craft built through experience
Seeing the possibility beneath the dust
A faded machine at a flea market can still have so much to give. We imagine the sound of its keys, a fresh sheet of paper and the person who will fall in love with writing on it again.
Since 2013, our family workshop has grown around that feeling. Every restoration teaches us something: a different mechanism, a stubborn fault, a clever solution from another era. Experience is built through this daily work, one machine at a time.
We want to preserve both the pleasure of using these machines and the character that makes each one its own.
From discovery to a fresh sheet of paper
The journey behind the finished machine
These are the stages a restoration can involve. Each typewriter follows its own path: some need their original finish gently preserved; others need extensive mechanical work or the skills of specialist workshops. Several stages may overlap, and testing often takes us back to an earlier adjustment.
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The hunt begins
Long before a typewriter reaches our bench, its next chapter is already taking shape. We search flea markets and follow promising leads, while collaborators across Spain keep their eyes open for machines worth rescuing. Finding a good candidate takes patience, travel and the experience to see beyond dust and a tired case.
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The first careful journey
A find may be a long way from Fuengirola. Collectors, collaborators and couriers help bring it to our workshop. Packing and handling matter from the very beginning: a vintage machine has delicate mechanisms inside a surprisingly heavy body.
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Getting to know the machine
On the bench, we examine how the keys, carriage, ribbon mechanism and paper feed work together. We look for wear, corrosion, missing pieces and earlier repairs. Two examples of the same model can need very different attention; each machine tells us where to begin.
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Taking it apart, thoughtfully
We remove the components needed to reach the work beneath, keeping track of their position and how they fit together. Small springs, screws and linkages deserve as much attention as the outer shell. Disassembly is slow, careful work, and it often reveals problems that were invisible from outside.
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Cleaning away the years
Dust, old ribbon ink and hardened residue can hide deep inside a mechanism. We clean carefully, choosing methods suited to the material and condition, and address corrosion where possible. Lubrication is selective: knowing where to use it, and where to keep a mechanism clean and dry, is part of the craft.
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Finding solutions, piece by piece
A tired spring, damaged lever or missing part can bring the whole restoration to a pause. We repair what can be saved and search for suitable original or compatible parts. Where appropriate, a replacement may need to be reproduced. Finding, fitting and adjusting one small component can be a project in itself.
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Paint, metal and specialist hands
Original finishes carry a machine’s history, and we preserve them where possible. When a restoration calls for repainting or renewed metal plating, specialist paint shops and chrome workshops become part of the journey. Preparation, finishing, drying and careful handling all take their own time. These stages depend on the individual machine.
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The bag and case have a story, too
We also restore carrying bags and cases. Cleaning, repairing and caring for their coverings, interiors, handles and fittings can demand a different set of skills from the machine itself. Where their condition allows, we preserve the original character so that the typewriter and its travelling companion belong together again.
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Bringing everything into harmony
As the machine comes back together, we adjust alignment, spacing, carriage movement, ribbon travel and paper handling. These mechanisms affect one another. A small adjustment can mean checking several other things again; experience helps us recognise what needs another patient look.
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Paper in. Time to type.
We put the restored machine to work, checking the keys, capitals, margins, line spacing and carriage return. The feel matters alongside the typed page. We test, adjust and test again, listening and looking for the small details that make writing satisfying.
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Ready for its next chapter
After the final checks, we prepare the machine for collection or carefully pack it for its next journey. Couriers become part of the story once more. What leaves our workshop carries the work of many hands, ready for someone else’s letters, poems, ideas and everyday words.
The people behind the work
One typewriter connects many hands
You may meet the two of us in the showroom, but a restored typewriter has a much wider circle behind it. There are the people hunting for machines across Spain, the couriers bringing them safely to us, and the specialist paint and chrome workshops whose skills help with particular restorations.
There are conversations, searches, journeys, carefully packed components and work passed from one pair of skilled hands to another. Coordinating all of this is part of restoring a typewriter, too.
We are grateful to the people and companies who help keep this craft alive. Their contribution is there in the finished machine, even when you cannot see it.
Why patience belongs here
The smallest detail can take the most work
A screw that will not move. A spring that is almost right. A letter that sits just above the line. Problems like these ask for observation, a steady hand and sometimes another approach entirely.
A missing part can mean a long search. Specialist finishes involve their own preparation and waiting. Reassembly can reveal that a mechanism needs another adjustment. The progress is not always visible from the outside, but every careful decision shapes the result.
This is hands-on, artisanal work. Time, knowledge and patience are part of what you feel when you sit down to type.
Our family, at the heart of it
Made with love, and a little help from our dogs
El Granero is woven into our family life. Our sons, Kuba and Filip, are always there to help us, and their support is part of the story behind the machines that leave our workshop. We are proud to share this world of old mechanisms, discoveries and creativity with them.
Our dogs are part of that story too. Their company, affection and cheerful interruptions have helped us through countless busy days. They remind us to pause, smile and enjoy the life we are building around this work.
That warmth matters to us. We put love into what we do because we love the machines, the people around us and the thought of someone finding their own words on a typewriter we have brought back to life.
From our workshop to your words
The next chapter belongs to you
When you see a finished typewriter, we hope you can also see a little of the journey behind it: the hunt, the many hands, the patient work and the family who cared for it along the way.
For us, the loveliest part is knowing that it will write again.
Ania & Jacek
Type What You Love.
Meet the family behind El Granero