Ribbons! Ribbons! Ribbons!

Tee hee! 

Is it wrong to be excited about... ribbons? As a male? Am I betraying my masculinity? 

Well.... if anyone has a problem with it, I dare them to tell me to my face. 

But I've got ribbons! Actually, more accurately 8 ribbons and some correction film. From the USA. And not just any ribbons. I have a variety of ribbons here, courtesy of Jay Respler at the modestly named Advanced Business Machines in New Jersey - USA. The service was excellent, and I highly recommend him to anyone. The special ribbons seem very heavily inked, but considering the machines they are going in, this is probably a good thing. 

I have only a vague inkling of where New Jersey is, but apparently it looks something like this:

So I asked google maps about how to get me there, in case I ever wanted to drop by on the way to getting some milk, and pick up a few more typewriter supplies.  

Nearly 26 thousand K's! I'd better pack some lunch. 

Hmm..... And my Kayak. 

Oh hang on, there's a few too many toll roads in Japan for my liking. Better look at the map again, and figure out if there's a better option... (click to enlarge if you can't see)

I might have to re-think this plan. Not that I mind a bit of a swim. 

True story!

Anyway. I now have.... PURPLE RIBBONS. Oh, how good is it that I can get a purple Ribbon! Now I can complete Project FP, with its finishing touches! Lets not talk about how purple is my favourite colour. My masculinity is already feeling a touch dented. 

I bought a bulk amount of ribbons from Jay for a reason. It's cheaper. They are now sealed in a nice metal tin I bought from Ikea, for future use - when I see fit. Mind you, I have 4 typewriter needing ribbons, so of that 8, 4 are going into service... kinda soon. 

Locally, I can only source black ribbons. They are of a high quality, but I need something with a little more... pizzaz. Standard black and red ribbons have been costing me about... ohhh. $15 each at a time (postage included). when I have gotten them online. Where as buying this amount from Jay worked out far more economically, even if I payed more than I payed for 'The Royal'. And they WILL be used.

I'm happy to be buying from Jay, despite the tyranny of distance. Typewriter supplies at the moment are more or less a boutique service, and are likely to continue to be so in the future. There's plenty of people out there trying to find ways to re-ink or rejuvenate old ribbons, but honestly while we still have these boutique services available to us, I think we should be giving them as much business as we can, to encourage them to keep supporting our hobbies - be that collecting or writing. While there's still money changing hands, there's going to be people willing to provide a service. 

So... cheers Jay! Thanks a heap for the ribbons. 

interestingly, as you can see in the photo Jay slipped in some advertising slips of a Corona electric typewriter unit. He must know of my love for unexpected curiosities of history, because I found these very fascinating!

I haven't been to the USA since the 80's but I always do enjoy getting packages and letters from there.

So here's to an excellent business, with excellent service.