Saturday, January 19, 2013

Saturday Steam 1/19/13

First up this week, Danna spotted the most amazing lamps over at Anthropologie:


And get this: it's called "The Kerplunk Bell Jar Lamp." That's right, KERPLUNK. Hee! I love it! I don't love the $700 price tag, though. Yowch. But hey, that's marked down from $1300! Plus their smaller Trinket Lamp is only $500:

WHATADEAL!

Most interesting is to me is that these look like assemblage art - so why not save yourself several hundred dollars and cobble together an apothecary jar, some old lamp feet, wire, bits & pieces, and a $10 lamp kit from the hardware store? Makers, ASSEMBLE! (And, John! To the hardware store!)

And while we're talking assemblage art, look at this crazy beautiful collage painting:


The artist, Anna Dabrowska, uses all kinds of industrial flotsam and random doo-dads (technical term) to make these paintings. Normally this kind of art is a little too grungy for me, but I gotta say, I am LOVING Dabrowska's style.

Here's another:

It's kind of like if the Borg went Renaissance.

Here's a close-up, so you can see the doo-dads:

See lots more over at TechGraffiti, which has a really nice write-up on Dabrowska. (And thanks to both Vivienne & Laura for the link!)


Now check this out: Elinor found a Star Trek officer's uniform done up steampunk style!

DANG THAT'S SPIFFY. All it's missing is one of those cool hats with the feathers, amirite?

This is the work of Steven Connell, and you can see more of his work over on DeviantArt.


Look, I know Christmas is long over. I KNOW. But I never got around to showing you this cool wire tree that Candy made from an old bed spring!

Ok, so there are no gears and it's not exactly Victorian, but how fun are those copper wire loops with all the beads? I want this in my office right now!


I almost never paint my nails, but I like looking at nail art as much as the next geek girl. Plus I do have one of those stamping tools that transfers designs off small metal plates. So when Katie C. sent me this new design made with a stamping plate from Nicole of Nail Polish Wars, WELL.


I've seen steampunk nails with actual gears and bits glued on them, of course, but it would drive me bonkers to have bumpy snaggy bits stuck on my nails like that. Plus the hand-painted designs I've seen are way too difficult/time-consuming for most of us, so these stamping plates are a great idea.

This particular design plate is by Cheeky, if you want to look it up, and I *think* it also includes this funky number design:


Great. Now I want to paint my nails. I BLAME YOU, KATIE. (Ok, maybe I'll just look at nails on Pinterest for a few hours instead. Good? Good.)

And finally, I'm not much of an online clothing shopper, but Olga P. found this awesome "Lost in the Labyrinth" skirt that would be fantastic for cosplay or just elegant evening wear:


The satin skirt can be worn three different ways, thanks to all those grommets and ties, and the best part? It's only about $57! I mean, I know that's not exactly pocket change, but that's a great price for something that looks to be decent quality. Not to mention preeeetty. (Fair warning: I don't know anything about the site where it's being sold, so shop with caution.)


Oh, and for further reading, the Huffington Post published an article this week by one of steampunk's original pioneers, James Blaylock. He talks about the genesis of steampunk, and then recommends a few titles - which I need to check out!

Also, Lori M. sent over this one from the Seattle Pi on steampunk fashion. The site is ad-heavy, which is annoying, but there are some fantastic photos in the slideshow - like this one of Diana Vick, who I've long admired for her cosplay savvy:



Welp, now I want to go shopping for copper cyberlox, too. Gorgeous!


Hope you guys enjoyed, and as always, share your steamy finds in the comments or over on the Epbot Facebook page!

14 comments:

  1. Yay! James Blaylock and Tim Powers are two of my favourite authors, but their work is often hard to find. Did you know they created a fictional Victorian poet called William Ashbless, then had a couple of his poems published as books- in particular one called On Pirates ( or similar)- last copy I saw for sale was $900!

    Also Tim powers " on stranger tides" was the direct inspiration for the most recent pirates of the Caribbean movie, but also indirectly the first one ( which was based on monkey island, and guess what book the monkey island developers were reading?)

    Yep, I am a tad geeky about these books, but they are so good, and yet a major PITA to buy

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  2. with this post, you've made me drool on the keyboard. at work. how am i supposed to explain this?

    but...but...LAMPS! and steam trek!

    (i also want to point out that my confirmation-of-humanity-word today appears to be "dedly u.")

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  3. OMG THANK YOU! For a few years now I keep picturing costumes with cyberlox, only I could never remember what they're called! "You know, those deliberately-fake-looking punk falls that were super popular in the 90s? Kind of... goth-punk I guess? With the pretty colors?" I was beginning to think I'd just imagined the entire phenomenon then bam! Now I can google "cyberlox" and everyone goes "oh yeah, those!" >.>

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  4. Omigosh! The nail thing I sent in got featured! :D

    BTW -- If anyone is looking for those plates, it took me a while to track them down. They're from the summer collection:

    http://www.cheeky-beauty.com/stamping-nail-art-image-plates-set-of-26-nailart-image-plates-with-161-designs-by-cheeky/

    Plate CH33 has the gears

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  5. Huzzah! I thought of you right away when I first found that steampunk Starfleet uniform, so I'm really glad you like it :D Those lamps are amazing! I'm tempted to make some myself. . .

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  6. LOVE Renaissance Borg! (and all the rest, but that's kinda a given, now, isn't it?)

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  7. As a rabid polish addict, I appreciate this post on sooooo many levels.

    I need to get that stamping plate!

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  8. "It's kind of like if the Borg went Renaissance."
    That's a perfect description! And it makes me want someone create an episode where 7 of 9 somehow gets short circuited so she dresses borg/renaissance. That would be spectacular. Quick, someone write the script! :)
    I love your Saturday Steam posts.
    P.S. I read an interview about Ginnifer Goodwin and it mentions she likes steampunk. Another reason to like her. :) Here's the link: http://www.elle.com/life-love/entertaining-design/ginnifer-goodwin-interview?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1448_6632099&q5184997=1

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  9. Whoa. That uniform. Would look amazing on my husband.

    Saturday steam indeed.

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  10. http://www.chicstar.com/storefront/listproducts.aspx?Three-Way-Lace-up-Skirt&id=10127 directly from the manufacturer plus they have wholesale accounts. fun stuff indeed :)

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  11. And did you see the octopus shower curtain at Anthropologie? http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-bath/26862813.jsp

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  12. Hello new awesome artist! I'm a huge fan of painting assemblages and when I paint (which isn't often, sadly) I love adding 3D elements to my work! Also the fact that you describe things like "It's kind of like if the Borg went Renaissance." is why you're my fav blogger. :D

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  13. Have you already seen the book 1000 Steampunk Creations? http://www.amazon.com/000-Steampunk-Creations-Neo-Victorian-Fashion/dp/1592536913/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358839950&sr=1-1&keywords=1000+steampunk+creations
    I barely had a chance to glance through it in Joanne Fabric, and I already want to buy it full price and NOW!

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