Tea & Automatons

 

This will be one of the biggest sales we’ve ever had!  Don’t miss it!

Those of you that went to Steamcon may have marveled at our wondrous program “book”.  It was in the style of an old fashioned newspaper and was a point of great pride for us.  I am sad to report that the talented woman responsible for the design of that book year after year has passed on.  Our dear friend Katherine “Pel” Schroeder lost her battle with cancer last night.

Pel was soft spoken but had a very mischievous personality if you got to know her.  She loved anime, arm warmers and socks.  She had a passion for fonts and did amazing design work with them.  I often saw her at the Wayward Coffee shop for the weekly Seattle Steamrat meetups.  We would sit and share ideas about steampunk or costuming.  She adored steampunk and often found new things before I did, or introduced me to new music.  Her support of Steamcon was very appreciated and she was one of our hardest working volunteers.

She was very stylish but extremely camera shy.  She hated to have her picture taken and so sadly, there are very few pictures of her.  I have pulled together a few.

Pel had a great laugh and a quick wit.  She inspired me.  She will be missed.

If you would like to honor Pel, her parents have set up this website.  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katiepelianthschroeder

On July 5th I will be at GEARcon in Portland giving a talk about my Steampunk travel adventures around the world and some that I have yet to take.  I will be giving a visual presentation about all the places I’ve been and the steampunk destinations that I want to go to.  So if you have ever wanted to get some inspiration on where in the world to go, I hope you can join us.

I am quite happy to have been invited to be the Guest of Honor at this year’s Brass Screw Confederacy!  BSC is a very different kind of steampunk event.  It’s held in the city of Port Townsend just fifty six miles from Seattle, although the trip does include a couple of ferry rides as well.  The carefree feeling of the trip by ferry insures that by the time you arrive in the tranquil waterfront town, you will be ready for the more leisurely pace of the past that never was.  The event takes place along the historic main street of Port Townsend, in its Victorian era buildings and also out at the old army base, Fort Worden built in 1897.  Drawing on its rich heritage, BSC utilizes the backdrop of authentic architecture to give us a wonderful setting for our steampukery.  And of course the local steampunks bring that in spades.  Our host Nathan Barnett, innkeeper and dapper gentleman is always ready with a smile and a tale.

Festivities begin Friday at 1:00 and include a lecture entitled Our Octopus is Smarter Than Your Labradoodle, a photo shoot, larping with the Rise of Aester crew, the Bazaar of the Bizarre (4-7) and various drinking opportunities.

Saturday’s events entails many talks, including a State of the Steampunk Address by yours truly, games including some very unorthodox croquet, the Bazaar, and much more.  A Grand Promenade will be held at 3 PM to show of all the amazing fashions.  Myself and several other judges will be pronouncing the best thus and such and so forth, so be sure and make us proud.  And if you’ve any strength left, there are more shenanigans on Sunday as well!  You may see the full schedule here.

The BSC looks to be a grand excuse to dress up in your best finery, and have fun in a very immersive atmosphere.  I am quite looking forward to seeing all the creativity and octopi.  Did I mention that their theme is “Octopi Port Townsend” and I for one am rising to the challenge!  You will just have to join us and see.  It should be a unique experience.  I am even staying in a B & B for the very first time!

 

With several northwest steampunk events coming up, including the Brass Screw Confederacy where yours truly has been invited to be Guest of Honor, our next TTRS is perfectly timed!  It is the ideal place to acquire new and gently used items to prepare for all the upcoming steampunkery!  Past TTRSales have been treasure troves of steampunkishness and this one will be no exception!  Clothing, jewelry, gears, parasols and so much more will be on offer for your shopping enjoyment.  Merchants include Mac McGowan whose wonderful handmade goggles have appeared on television as well as the hats of many esteemed steampunk enthusiasts and the amazing Tony Hicks aka Shamus Tinplate. Check out all our wonderful artisans and merchants:

Ann Wendell – Wonderful old jewelry and other bits and bobs

Clint Harris – GEARS!  Clock parts and more!

Clockwork Beetle – Steampunk medals and brooches

Designs by Victoria – Jewelry and parasols

Diana’s Closet/Steamporium – Clothing, jewelry and Steampunk art

Larsen Geekery – Clothing, art, and much more

Sepiachord – Music!

SewCherie – Clothing and assorted accessories

Steam Baby– Goggles and handmade leather accessories

Tinplate Studios – Brass weaponry and oddiments

Tormented Artifacts – Custom leatherwork and steampunk obscura

Twisted Root Studios – Handmade books

Velvet Mechanism – Hand-crafted, steampunk jewelry from an era that never was.

 

In the wake of Steamcon’s departure, people have been asking what else they can do.  I have created a Facebook group for announcements, but here is a list of some of them as well.  Do follow the links for more information.  I hope to see you at many of these wonderful events.

Upcoming Steampunk Events

March 28-30 – Emerald City Comic Con –WA State Convention Center  Okay, the event itself is not steampunk but I will have my steampunk art and gifts for sale at table N- 12 in Artists Alley, and Brian Kesinger and several other steampunk artists will be there.

May 17^th – Time Travelers’ Rummage Sale –Noon – 6:00 PM – Lower level of the All Pilgrims’ Church (500 Broadway, Seattle WA) A great place to acquire accessories for all the other steampunk events.

May 18^th – May Train Outing – Northwest Railway Museum – Gather for photos at 11:00 AM, train ride at 12:01.

May 24^th – PNW BJD Expo – Kitsap Conference Center- A doll show with a steampunk theme.  I will have a table at this event as well.

June 6^th – 8^th – Brass Screw Confederacy – Port Townsend – The lovely seaside town of Port Townsend turns steampunk for a weekend.

July 4th-6^th – GEARcon – Doubletree Portland WA- Portland’s steampunk convention.

 

On Sunday we got word that the new board had decided to close up shop.  Martin and I completely understand the reasoning.  You can read a more detailed explanation here. As you can well imagine, I am deeply saddened.  I have been trying to write down my thoughts, but having little luck.  I will try again in a bit.

Please don’t think that Steamcon was the only steampunk in the northwest.  If you are on Facebook, I have been working on an announcement group for events.  You can see it here. I will make a post about events here soon.

Thank you for all your support throughout the five wonderful years we ran.

It’s that time of year.  Time to attend the company holiday party.  It can be fun depending on the company.  Some companies really know how to throw a fun party.  Others will at least have good food.  With the down turn in the economy, their budgets have gotten tighter, so both food and fun are less prevalent than in the past.

But if you are the plus one for your spouse, S.O. or friend, it can be difficult.  You rarely know anyone there. You are stuck in the middle of boring work related conversations or trying to find common ground with other plus ones.    To my great delight, I was recognized by several steampunk fans and got to chatting about that.  We even managed to find a few converts so we got to preach the word of Steamcon.

The big conundrum for me was what to wear.  I made the mistake of dressing up too much in the past, and feeling out of place.  The invitation said it was a “Winter Circus” theme and cocktail attire is encouraged.  That sounded wonderful.  Right up my alley, but what to wear that won’t get me confused with the entertainment.  Full on steampunk is probably not good.  There’s memorable and there’s making a good impression on my husband’s co-workers.  So I opted for a black velvet jacket, gold organza skirt and a small black hat.  As we came in I was happy to note that the hat I almost wore was being worn by the fire performer.  Whew.  I got lots of compliments on my cute, but not too over the top hat.  Then the two girls on stilts came over to let me know they were wearing the same hat!  Lol!  Oh well.  I got a cute photo with them.

The atmosphere was very fun.  They had made up Union Station into a circus tent.  There were lots of wandering performers and an aerialist rig in the center.  Contortionists, a juggler, a magician, a numerologist and more!  The food was tasty and the bartenders were skilled, so we had a great time.

The music got louder and it became hard to carry on a conversation.  The music was very eclectic.  People did dance though.  In fact one of the stilt walkers came back over and asked if I was dancing, so I danced with her.  It was a very odd but fun experience.  She even got me to twirl a few times.  I was wishing I had worn more danceable clothing.  Next the pretty little mime came over and did some mirroring with me.    I felt that I did pretty well at keeping up with her.

My only complaint would be that they had a candy and flavored popcorn instead of real desserts.  I have to admit that it did fit the theme and was easy to eat, so it worked.

All in all, kudos to the people putting it on.  It was a great party and we had a great deal of fun.

 

For all of you that are going to be traveling to Steamcon, I thought I’d write up some thoughts about packing and such, especially in regards to steampunk gear.  A small aside, “garb” is the term used by the SCA, so I tend to call my steampunk costumery “gear” to differentiate it.  Hat, props, goggles, boots, corsets  and more!  Steampunk gear is complicated and fussy.   Here are some things that have worked and not worked for me in the past.

The biggest hurdle of course is props.  Weapons are especially difficult.  The more realistic, the harder they are to get to your destination safely.  TSA is a very suspicious organization, and probably with good reason.  I recommend not trying to transport anything that was ever an actual weapon.  They have no sense of humor and you may lose it.  So shell casings, even as decoration are a bad idea these days.

When I need to get large props to a show, I often will ship a box or two to my hotel.  This can be costly, and you are risking shipping damage, but sometimes it’s the only way to ensure things get to your destination.  Be aware, finding a FedEx office outside the hotel will save you quite a lot of money.  Hotels add on a lot of fees.

It worked very well for many years and then I had disaster strike.  One of my three boxes didn’t show up after a show in Detroit.  The identical one that did arrive, was quit damaged and it lead me to wonder if the other one had been even more damaged or destroyed.  I made a huge effort to track it down, but to no avail.  Long story short, about a year and a half later I got it back, mostly unharmed.  It does make me very wary these days.

One idea that I have found works well is to have a sturdy hatbox with a handle as a carry-on.  I put two hats nestled into each other and another tiny hat in them.  I add compasses, widgets and jewelry to the center if there is room.  Then I wrap the interior of the box with belts, goggles and such and then add a layer of squishable clothing.  TSA is likely to want to inspect anything that looks suspicious, but at least you can be there to supervise.  The last time my hatbox went through security I got a big grin from the handsome TSA agent, who then told me it was the “most interesting” assortment of things he had ever seen go through his scanner.  I wish I had had a Steamcon flyer to give him.

If you have a hat that won’t fit, simply wear it.  You will be able to store it overhead once you get settled and they never count it as a carryon.

Parasols and corsets are a bit problematic.  They can potentially read as dangerous metal or knives, so having them in a carry may not be the best idea.  It can be a risk to put them in checked luggage, but it will generally work better.  Putting a parasol in a large mailing tube and carrying it on can work as well.  You may need to pull it out for inspection.   Art supply stores have tubes with handles already attached or you can fashion one yourself.

For most clothing, my husband and I have nice hanging bag that folds up.  It is very handy to just pull everything out and hang it up when we reach the hotel.

I’m sure I’ve missed some tips, but Steamcon is about a week away, so my brain is well pummeled mush at this point.  I am so looking forward to seeing all the fabulous costumes that you all have created and sharing my own new creations.  It should be a marvelous time.  See you there!

 

Steamcon, the Northwest’s premier steampunk convention is coming up October 25^th – 27^th.  The theme this year is “Around the World” which lends itself to explorer costumes and exotic apparel.  As a costumer, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I didn’t stay in the hotel.  I hate to limit myself to one ensemble so having a room means I can take a small break and change clothes when I feel like it.  And of course being Halloween weekend means costumes are a must!

The Hyatt Regency Bellevue is a gorgeous hotel with lots of amenities.  Did you know there is a fridge in every hotel room?  Eques, the hotel’s breakfast restaurant has some of the most amazingly decadent breakfasts.  Nearby there is just about everything imaginable, from restaurants, grocery stores, shops, movie theaters and even a bowling alley.

Steamcon has a special rate for the weekend, but this opportunity ends on September 23^rd, so don’t delay.  Get your reservation to stay in the heart of the adventure!