Steampunk Stylings

A corner of my steampunk-styled room at home.

I've been planning on penning an entry dedicated to steampunk at some point.  However, I was inspired to go ahead with it when Felicia Day (who is fast becoming one of my new personal heroes) spotlighted Steampunk fashion in the latest episode of her web show The Flog. (By the way, if you haven't seen her new YouTube channel Geek and Sundry, you should definitely check it out.)  The fashion she models was designed by Clockwork Couture, which I'd never heard of before, and which is outside my stingy price range, but which is fun to admire anyways.  You really can't go wrong with timepieces, corsets, lace-up boots, and quirky Victorian hats.

For those of you who don't know, steampunk is both an aesthetic movement and a subgenre of science fiction that explores an alternate, anachronistic Victorian era--a historical "future" powered by steam.

Before I go any farther, I should confess that I have yet to engage in steampunk's literary incarnation.  Last time I went to the library, I looked for a copy of The Difference Engine, which several sources have identified as the "seminal" streampunk novel.  Alas, it was checked out.

In the meantime, however, I adore trying my twitchy DIY fingers at steampunk crafts and design.  Steampunk is a perfect amalgamation of so many elements that I love, including deep wood tones, brass, old books and typewriters, curiosities--really, anything that might clutter the dusty study of an eccentric, 19th century adventurer/time-traveler.  Steampunk embraces anachronism.  You can luxuriate in antiques and antiquated styles, without stifling your creativity via a stodgy adherence to authenticity.  It's not just history--it's history plus.

My primary steampunk project has been jewelry-making, which I have been doing for about the last 10-12 months.  I use "real" components as much as possible, meaning recycled and repurposed watches, pocketwatches, clocks, skeleton keys, and jewelry fragments.  Not reproductions from the craft store.  A true aged patina cannot be fabricated.

Sometimes, I think I began making jewelry because broken clocks and pocketwatches are too much fun to dissect with tiny screwdrivers.  I could spend hours deconstructing them.  Then I have to find something productive to do with all of the gears and inner workings I end up accumulating...

Some of my recent creations (photographed outdoors, because the weather was beautiful today):

Shameless self-advert: some of my pieces are for sale on my mother's Etsy store, and at Generations of Harmony in Harmony, Minnesota.