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Legal Secretary Turns Typewriter Keys into Stunning Jewelry

By Lynne DeVenny

Or, Suddenly I Find Typewriters Beautiful

Anne Jansen, a legal secretary at Armstrong Teasdale LLP in Clayton, Missouri, turns typewriter keys into unique jewelry that anyone would be proud to wear, even if you don't miss your crotchety old Royal or Remington.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that four years ago, Jansen saw a woman at a Chicago flea market wearing a bracelet made of typewriter keys. Inspired, she made her own bracelets out of an old Underwood, and immediately sold all of them at work.

Now she sells jewelry made from typewriter, cash register and skeleton keys, as well as other found objects, through her business, The Key of A (http://www.thekeyofa.com/). The jewelry is so lovely, it was hard to choose a piece to share in this post. I went with "P" for paralegal, but purchased an authentic black typewriter key (initial D) pendant necklace on square filigree through Jansen's Etsy site (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ajsoftail).

At her website, Jansen explains her connection to typewriter and skeleton keys in particular:

Overall, the mystery of the keys is in itself a constant inspiration for me and I hope that translates into excitement for you, my customers, when you make a purchase of our one of a kind creations. Who knows what inspiring words may have been written and locked doors opened using these very keys??!!

Who knows, indeed. Jansen's site reminds me that even though my mother's old electric typewriter came with a poltergeist, I also spent many creative and enjoyable hours writing essays and poetry that I still have today.

Looking for a good home for an old typewriter? Contact Jansen via her website, and see if she can give it new life by turning it into wearable - and memorable - jewelry.

Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch; The Key of A

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on September 18, 2010 (boomark / email).