What follows below is our humble opinion. While being respectful of the hard work and dedication of convention organizers, volunteers, guests, performers, and attendees, we just needed to have our say!

Much has been said recently about the challenges of being a con planner/organizer and being a con guest/performer. We thought we’d take this opportunity to add a third perspective – that of con vendor.

We acknowledge the difficulties faced by both planners and headliners of steampunk cons. On one hand, con planners are trying to fund and organize a weekend-long fun and informative experience involving diverse groups and individuals. On the other hand, guests and entertainers’ livelihoods depend on promoting themselves and getting paid or being treated to certain perks. However, we feel that none of the recent posts on this topic has indicated an awareness of or has acknowledged the vital roles vendors play in the success (or at least the occurrence) of conventions and the challenges faced by vendors.

When sourcing funds to secure both a location and entertainers to draw attendees, vendor fees play an important role in providing the funds that get a con off the ground. Most cons, even first-year cons, charge between $100 and $500 for a single table/booth space. Vendors pay this price up front, commonly before any details of location, entertainment, and attendance are available. This speculative investment makes vendors a solid part of the financial foundation of a convention.

Vendors also play a vital role in confirming hotel accommodations and establishing convention room rates. Vendors reserve rooms early and commonly reserve extra nights before and after the convention, which is an important step in convincing hotels that the convention can provide the room-nights that make it worthwhile for the hotel to reserve the block of rooms at a lower convention rate and allow the convention to take over essentially the entire hotel.

Vendors themselves are often a draw to the convention, attendees visit the vendor hall to see their favorite makers/sellers, to see what’s being made and sold, to get inspiration, to buy hard-to-find costume pieces, and to keep up on new developments in literature, gaming, technology, art, costume, and film. The vendor hall is the epicenter for this type of activity and information.

The problem is, once vendors have been contracted, vendor hall operations commonly take a back seat to other convention organization. Here’s a summary of potential pitfalls for convention vendor coordinators (in no particular order):

• Careful vendor selection and balance must be maintained, so that you don’t have a room full of vendors selling similar wares. (And while we understand, for the above-mentioned reasons and for increasing attendees – shopping options, trying to book as many vendors as possible, planners really should consider the vendor-to-attendee ratio to ensure that vendors feel that the competition is reasonable.)
• Often vendors arrive at a con having very little information about vendor hall layout, set-up/load-in, and tear-down/load-out procedures. This causes a lot of stress on vendors and can set the tone for the weekend.
• Vendor hall hours are long and may fluctuate. Please consider how long your vendors will be cooped up in the hall, and make sure the hall hours are reasonable and solidly established before the day of the con.
• Communication between vendor hall coordinators and vendors is frequently spotty. When one vendor asks a question, assume that other vendors want to know the answer. Set up a forum or other easily accessible way for vendors to get and share up-to-date information.
• Most vendor halls have poor lighting and climate control, and sometimes security is sketchy as well. (Several conventions we attended last year did not even have locking vendor hall doors!)
• Vendors aren’t always aware of who is con staff/volunteers and who is an attendee. Make sure the contacts and lines of communication are clear so that issues in the vendor hall can be handled in a way that is least disruptive to the vendors and to attendees.

Worst of all, vendors have to MISS the convention. That’s right, vendors pay the most to be there and get to experience the con the least. We stand on our feet for hours, watching the con walk by, but we don’t get to engage in the panels, workshops, entertainment, or leisure like everyone else. In exchange for this, we have the opportunity to present our wares for your perusal and the potential to make a little bit of our initial investment back as sales. All we ask in return is a little respect. Even if you never say, “Hey, man, thanks for being a fundamental part of my con experience,”please visit the vendor hall, interact with us, and leave us feeling like underwriting the next con is totally worthwhile.

Thanks!

the frenzygals

Adventures With Power Tools

M posted photos on her Facebook page of her boyfriend doing household chores such as scrubbing the tub and doing dishes and our friend Matt asked “Where are the photos of girls with power tools?”

In building our circus we had cause to use lots of different power tools – jigsaws, circular saws, miter saws, power drills (with multiple different bits and drivers) – and hand tools.

When all was said and done, K had made no less than (and most likely significantly more than) a dozen trips to the hardware store for pieces/parts and one very important trip to purchase our new power drill after three other drills failed to be up to the challenge of drilling the bolt holes in the wheel of death and the Candy Apples sign. Needless to say, she is in love with our new drill as it makes it so much easier and faster to complete her projects.

We put our tools through the ringer when we work and demand that they rise to the challenge. No pink handled tools with half the power of the “men’s” version for us! Refurbishing the vintage ferris wheel seat alone broke two drill bits and bent a third!

Review: Steampunk Santa Comes to a Video Near You

Click this link to see the video on YouTube: Justin Bieber Steampunk Christmas Carol

M here. We have seen the jaded, sarcastic missives fired at this project before it ever saw the light of day in its final form and were somewhat confused by the blanket hatred of the project coming from the Steampunk community. We are not fans of Mr. Bieber, but we find it hard to believe that one person’s use of the aesthetic in a generally innocuous way can taint it for all others for all eternity. Come on, people, what’s with all the hate?

That said, I am going to share my personal thoughts upon the first viewing of this video. Feel free to disagree. I am but one person in a sea of billions and I am certain my opinions don’t match to a very high hill of beans in the grand scheme of things.

I find that most of what I have to say about this video is positive and I will probably watch it several times. It looks cool.  That clockwork dancer ROCKS! The little boy dancer reminded me of Newsies, which is one of my favorite films of all time. I actually love the idea of an old school Santa’s workshop with hand crank machines and such instead of a sleek, modernized, computerized North Pole. Oh, and the circus stuff added in – definitely cool!

On the downside I could have done without the odd cuts of the scenes from the cartoon, they just sort of pull you out of the feel they were building. My guess is the director had a really cool vision and had to add that in for promotional purposes. Mr. Bieber’s pants were just… well, stupid. Also, I should admit that I am a bit of a “bah humbug” when it comes to Christmas music and am NOT a fan of most of it, so I didn’t like the song. But then, I don’t particularly like any versions of that song. Finally, I am not remotely interested in Mr. Bieber himself and would not have ever watched the video had there not been a Steampunk influence to it.

All in all, I say it is a solid 6 out of 10 because it is about the visual representation of something I love. I will not be downloading this song to add to my playlist and in future watchings I will likely turn the sound off. However, it could have been a lot cheesier and a lot worse. So, how about we all just appreciate the beauty that IS present and in the spirit of the season, be jolly and joyous rather than bitter and resentful?

Oh… and I am still in awe of that clockwork dancer and her mad pop-and-lock skills!

A Very Steampunk Christmas – Trimming Your Tree

If you are at all like us you probably have lots of bits and bobs lying around just waiting to be turned into something. Well, stop looking at that pile of awesome as a millstone around your neck and give these shiny pieces a new life this holiday season! With a little wire wrapping, ribbon tying, and a few metal hooks you could have your very own Steampunk Holiday Tree!!

For us, space is a premium in the workshop so we opted for a small 4 foot table top tree that we picked up at a craft store for $40. It is made of Rice paper wrapped wire and already has the lights as part of the limbs. Yay! No messy wiring to wrangle!! It was a Victorian tradition to put actual candles on your tree, but that is kind of dangerous and the Fire Marshall most definitely frowns upon danger so our modern version of this suits us just fine.

We have quite a selection of skeleton keys, brass filigrees, vintage brooches, old necklaces, chain, and little things that mean something to us that we have gathered along our journey in this big, bad world. So, why not put them to use and decorate our tree? It really is that simple!

A few other ideas for you include:

1. Top Hat/ Mini Top Hat Tree Topper – Use a paper tube and a piece of stiff cardboard cut town to the size of the interior of your hat to hold it in place and avoid getting tree sap on your lovely stuff (if you have the luxury of a real tree). If you don’t have a Top Hat, this is a great excuse to finally get one!

2. Fabric Scraps and Ribbon – We know you have some of this lying around! Cut small triangles and sew them to the ribbon to make a flag garland.

3. Vintage Costume Jewelry – clip and drape brooches and necklaces on your tree to add some sparkle. Or treat yourself to that necklace or bracelet you’ve been coveting and use it decorate your tree as well.

4. Skeleton Keys – Use ribbon scraps or ornament hooks to hang these on your tree.

5. Chandelier Crystals – These usually already have a bent metal hook at the top so you can just hang them throughout your tree for added bling!

6. Brass Filigrees – Have a few extra you haven’t turned into jewelry yet? String them on ribbon and turn them into ornaments.

7. Vacuum Tubes – These may require some wire-wrapping skills to turn into ornaments but will look retro-cool hanging on your tree!

8. Gears – We have some larger ones that look pretty awesome suspended from wire ornament hooks. You can get some now for decorations and use them in projects later – perfect!

9. Nautical Themed Pendants – mini portholes, tiny diving helmets, little spy glasses, clinometers, compasses – all these make great ornaments as well as jewelry pendants, and their brassy goodness gives your tree a distinctively Steampunk feel.

10. Treasured Trinkets – have a tchotcky from a lovely vacation? a little toy from your childhood? Something odd your grandma left you? Wrap it in wire, tie a ribbon around, somehow get it on your tree and be reminded of the valuable memories the little things embody!

Take back the holidays and make them your own again. Remember what you loved about them as a child, and blend that with what you love now. Share what you love with others. It was a Victorian tradition to hide presents IN the tree, so adding some of the maker supplies the Steampunker in your life is wishing for this year is totally traditional in a non-traditional way!

A Very Steampunk Christmas: Holiday Wreath

If you love the look of Steampunk, the holiday season is a great time to express your fondness for the aesthetic with the abundance of gorgeous golds, coppers, and browns in holiday decor. We decided to make our own decorations this year and started with a festive wreath for the door to our workshop.

Using a basic wire wreath frame ($4), 2 dozen floral picks of various shades of bronzes and browns (approx. $25), 5 yards of copper colored satin ribbon ($3), some floral wire (free, because we had tons), some screws and nuts ($2), and a special piece we added at the last minute (also free because we already owned it), we built a lovely Steampunk-inspired door decoration.

M used pieces of the floral wire to wire the floral picks to the wreath frame, then wrapped the frame with the ribbon to hide the ugly wire stems. Then we cannibalized our old convention sign to use the real brass porthole as the centerpiece. We had to go buy new screws so they were long enough to go through the porthole, the wreath, and the foam core board backer from the sign used to hold the porthole in place. Yes, that is our bathtub dirigible logo layered inside the porthole!

Book Review: A Steampunk Maker Primer

Book Review: Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos: A Maker’s Guide to Creating Modern Artifacts by Thomas Willeford

M does the heavy lifting in terms of writing our blogs, but K insisted on poking in for a bit to write this book review.

Now, before I get started, in the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that Thomas Willeford of Brute Force Studios is one of our favorite people. He is a sweet, kind, funny, intelligent, talented, gruff old goat, and he’s our kind of crazy. If you are unfamiliar with his name, don’t be surprised if you are familiar with his work. You know that arm that Nathan Fillion wore at the end of the steampunk episode of “Castle” ? Yeah, Thomas made that. Thomas’s work has been featured in several compendia about steampunk art and accessories, he has been a featured guest at several steampunk (and general fandom) conventions, and he has contributed designs to Alchemy Gothic.

Now, having said all these wonderful things, I should point out that they have no bearing whatsoever on our review of this book.

Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos: A Maker’s Guide to Creating Modern Artifacts is far and away the best DIY maker book I’ve ever read. I mean that in all sincerity. I am an avid reader and collector of all books relating to making. I’ve got books on assemblage, mixed media, paper crafting, jewelry arts, metalworking, leatherworking, and just about everything else you can image. Most of the time, these books show artistic photos of beautiful projects and give either super simplistic instructions for making simple projects, or they show artistic photos of beautiful projects and give detailed instructions assuming that you already have experience with advanced techniques. But this book – Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos – covers a lot of advanced projects with simple, straightforward directions for every single step. With this book, you will be walked through measuring, cutting, sawing, drilling, punching, sanding, riveting, and more. You will use metal, plastic, leather, wood, and glass. There are no shortcuts to making the glorious projects in these pages, but when you are finished, you will have steampunk accessories that you can be proud of.

We highly recommend that you pick up a copy of his book and that you follow Thomas on Facebook at his fan page.

Brute Force Studios: http://www.bruteforceleather.com

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 17

Days 113-114 (K) Fortune Teller Necklaces Continued… & (M) 3D Quilling and Dye Experiments

K here. I’ve been working for four days on this series of necklaces. I started months ago by making the soldered charms, and I finished the fourth one tonight. Those of you who make jewelry will understand how obsessed I was with making sure they all hung properly and carried the theme. Each one contains one fortune and a color theme, from pink for love to green for money. I definitely think these will impart good fortune to their eventual wearers!

Also, I’ve learned that I am very stingy. It was hard for me to part with so many different supplies, especially the unique pieces, such as the old cash-register key in the green necklace, the lucky penny in the purple necklace, and the voodoo dolly in the pink one. But I am learning and getting better at letting go of my hoard!

M has been looking for creative ways to expand her quilling skills and hit upon some examples of 3D quilling. I decided to try my hand at it by making a flowerpot and free standing flower. It took quite some time to quill the flower pot and lots of glue to coat it to keep its shape. I used a toothpick covered with green paper as the stem and glued the flower to the top. The flowerpot turned out a bit lopsided so it didn’t want to stay on its own very well. Better luck next time.

M also spent some time tea staining petticoats and hand dyeing some other items we have in our stock that weren’t moving in their original plain white state. They turned out not quite as expected from the dye colors, but I learned a lot about dying things and that you should always use at least double the dye, leave the item in the dye at least twice as long as suggested, and you must use the salt recommended and apparently vinegar as well. Still learning how to do this, so hopefully we will have some better color in the future.

Day 115 & 116 (M) BedTime JimJams & Badge Ribbons

M has been working on these jimjams for over a year and finally got the buttonholes sewn for the drawstrings thanks to her new sewing machine and was able to finish the waistbands thanks to her lovely serger. Then using a bodkin (seriously one of the best and simplest inventions ever) she threaded the velvet ribbon drawstrings. Using the ribbon printer we bought last year I was able to make custom tags for the jimjams with all the legally required info such as fiber content and washing instructions. They look so legit! While I had the ribbon printer up, I learned to change the foils and printed up some custom badge ribbons to hand out at conventions. K helped by coming up with some clever sayings and keeping me on task as we were trying to get the van loaded to leave for San Antonio and I have a tendency to get sidetracked and waste time.

Day 117

Our first day of driving for the trip to San Antonio and AetherFest. We drove through some rain (again) and the silver lining of it this time were the gorgeous cotton candy clouds we witnessed at sunset. It may not be very Steampunky but cotton candy and circuses go hand in hand so we are totally counting this!

Day 118 The Peanut Shoppe

We made a stop on our way to San Antonio at The Peanut Shoppe after seeing the billboards for miles. It looked like a 70s throwback from the rainbow signage and we knew it would have to be good. Endless supplies of sugary treats, nutty goodness, and real beef jerkey did not disappoint! We bought atub of peanut brittle to share around at the convention, some beef jerkey, and some jalapeno brittle which K brought home to her beau. They also had quite the supply of sour ball candies and gummi bears! Just what we like!

Day 119 Circus Pretzels

Our circus for today was provided by our friend Jed. We met via our Facebook page when he started posting his amazing creations and we were instant fangirls. When he found out we were gonna be in his part of the country we made plans to meet up. M was surprised when a man who looked suspiciously like Abraham Lincoln walked up to her and extended his hand in greeting as if he knew her… then she read his name tag and realized he did know her, after a fashion. Well, being the awesome fella he is, he brought us pastel pretzels for our sweet cravings and our circus! Yaay, for friends!!

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 16

Days 106-108

Saturday (Day 106) was spent at Oklahoma Steampunk Expo – M posed with the stiltwalker outside our booth. Sunday – we have no photos, but we are totally counting the dance we did when the convention hall closed and we were able to pack up. Monday (Day108) we drove from Oklahoma City back to Mount Vernon, 16 hours in the van. We made a brief pitstop to see the World’s Largest Rocking Chair and were sufficiently underwhelmed by the experience. Now that we are home again, hopefully we will be able to offer you better options.

Day 109

So, Monday, we picked up a couple more Denizens: Thor and Blueberry! Tuesday, we ran out of time to make our circus, so at 11:55, Robin gave us 5 minutes to make a drawing using our left hands and without picking the pen up off the paper. And huzzah! (M would like you all to know that her drawing included an alien riding a unicycle and a stiltwalker with a balloon. In case you were wondering…)

Day 110

Today, we had ice cream cupcakes to celebrate Frenzy’s birthday! K started the day early, repairing an old chandelier we were having hung in the stairwell to the third-floor ballroom. K ended the day creating multiple versions of a necklace she designed earlier this year.

M started on a crochet project, but fell asleep as she had put on her snuggly flannel pajamas and taken some cold medication prior to starting. She woke up when she poked herself with the crochet hook and put it down for the night to get some rest. Stay tuned for the finished project!!

Day 111

M finished her crochet project from last night during our product photo shoot today with Main Vine Studio. It turned out much bigger than she expected and so the buttons will need to be moved. It is also supposed to have a second ruffle and a mate, but that will happen later. Hey, I made something, and I am still standing upright, so today is a win so far.

K worked on Fortune Teller themed necklaces that she has been thinking about making for a while now. Today’s is themed “Your future is what you make it, so make it a good one. I started months ago by making the soldered charms. Those of you who make jewelry will understand how obsessed I was with making sure it hung properly and carried the theme. It contains one fortune and a color theme. I definitely think it will impart good fortune to its eventual wearer!

Day 112

M finally got her camera to speak to her new computer and now they are sharing files like old friends! Here is my Circus for Good Friday: a quilled Dancing Horse. I wanted to work on my quilling skills some more and decided to go way outside my skill level and make up my own complex pattern. I probably should have taken photos of the rejected versions as I went along. They weren’t pretty. This one isn’t great either, but I guess I am probably my own worst critic.

K continued her Necklaces of Fortune today with the theme “You will receive a compliment from a stranger.” I used a soldered charm I made using an actual fortune I received when we were in Seattle last year, then added a bunch of other awesome unique pieces from my stash. It is so hard to part with these little treasures, but the end result was totally worth it!

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 15

Day 99

It was a late submission for today, but this necklace took K forever! I had to make all the individual links, then make sure that the asymmetrical chains were of equal lengths so that the necklace would hang properly. Isn’t that big brass tiger awesome?!?

M worked on her quilling technique and is totally dissatisfied with the results. I will need to work more creatively to make things look better, but I did learn some new tricks for using circles to create new shapes and negative spaces.

Day 100

For our 100th day of the circus project, K decided to experiment with dangerous acids! I etched brass using a muriatic acid/hydrogen peroxide solution, which we then neutralized by using a full 2-pounds of baking soda. Some of the etching took really well (butterfly, eye, some of the writing), but some did not. I learned a lot, including that my inner scientist squirreled away some pretty cool skills and facts that I can recall at a moment’s notice! And if you’re going to etch metal this way, do a lot at once, so you don’t waste your materials … but if I was going to screw it up, I didn’t want to ruin a big batch of brass! These aren’t quite done. Next up: oxidize with liver of sulfur, buff and seal, and finally, incorporate into the intended applications…

M got the idea to crochet a tentacle necklace when she made the ribbon neck ruffle a week ago. It didn’t turn out quite as I expected, but it is a good base for future iterations. The tentacles definitely need to be longer and fatter and I think they could probably use some mini suckers to make them look more tentacle-like.

Days 101-103

We’ve made so much stuff in the last couple days and we prepped for Oklahoma Steampunk Expo, we’re not even sure which days each project is really aligned with. But we made a lot of stuff! And you still haven’t seen a third of the awesome bustle skirts M cranked out in the last week! K decoupaged an old partial mannequin to better display our pettipants. She used the directions that came with the glass syringes we sell as they are in Czech and Russian and we couldn’t use them for anything else. She also made a sun catcher in honor of her kitty Xena who we sent off to kitty heaven this week. Everything seemed like it was taking forever, especially the dye projects M was working on, but the petticoats turned out awesome with the tea stain.

Day 104

Nothing really, except getting up early and getting set up for Oklahoma Steampunk Expo, which was a feat of strength and mind over matter as we drove 16 hours in the car yesterday, through tornadoes, and got very little sleep last night. None of these are acceptable excuses for our lack of creation, but our booth looks pretty flippin’ sweet so we are counting it as today’s circus as it IS our traveling side show!

Day 105

Today we met the original Ronald McDonald – he has the coolest circus tattoos and grew up as a carnie working on Ferris Wheels! We got our photos with him as our circus… We also met the cutest, most amazing girl ever – Vaudevie from Hellblinki! She plays the accordian and recently spent time with the Ringling Brothers band! She is going to give M info on how to learn to play her accordian. Some days we really LOVE our jobs!

Circus-a-Day Project Recap of Week 14

Day 92 and 93

K started Saturday with the idea of prepping some brass for etching, but didn’t have the proper chemicals for etching, so all I did was the stamping. Some turned out better than others… On Sunday, I decided to finish those dratted Fortune Cookie charms, so I could work on the Fortune Teller necklace I’ve been planning for what seems like months. While I was at it, I made a new one from a fortune I found on Saturday while cleaning and I soldered some of the letter charms I’ve had lying around for years. I started with circusy letters, and I have loads more to make, but after about 3 hours of soldering, I decided I needed a break!

M worked on the hair fascinator base she had rescued after the original had been damaged during our recent convention. I removed the veiling and flower, added the black and white striped trim, covered the top with red sequins and added two gold leaves. Still trying to decide what to use as the focal. I am considering making a flower out of some old zippers. Then on Sunday I woke up with the idea to do some sillhouette art and chose to work on my quilling skills. The curly-qs and harlequins were fun to make and they just lent themselves to making a jester/clown. I am really liking how it turned out and may make several more characters along the same theme!

Day 94

So, K started her art project this morning around 11am. But because I am so disorganizationally organized, I couldn’t find the right materials to finish the project. So, seven hours later, I finally found the beading wire and crimp tubes I was looking for and was able to make the necklace in under an hour. We found the cameo in an antique store in Kansas, and the beads are Swarovski crystal and Jablonex cathedral beads. The magnetic clasp has been part of my hoard for about 10 years.

M continued her quilling experiments with a Ringmaster face including top hat, monocle, curly moustache, and bow tie! I made the hat but then when gluing it together glued the brim on upside down – GRRR! The moustache is uneven because I used two separate pieces instead of one piece folded in the middle as I started out trying to make a profile silhouette, but it wasn’t turning out well so I switched to a face-on creation. I am not very proud of this one, but I made it… so it counts.

Day 95

M kept up with the quilling theme she has been adopting this week. I was working in bad lighting so didn’t notice I had grabbed off white paper for his legs until I saw it in the photograph. Oh well, sometimes things like that happen. I particularly like his blue tutu!

K’s contribution was several sets of cufflinks, all made from buttons we found on our way back from Tucson. The two sets of lion cufflinks are fit for any Victorian lion tamer, and the red ones read “Victory & Glory”.

Day 96

K started the day by finishing four of her Winged Vial Necklaces, filled with lots of tiny gears and sparkly Swarovski crystals. Then, Kara helped M make lots of bustle skirts (photos TK tomorrow), and K masqueraded as the crazy, moustachioed, and armless freak. We had to make an emergency run to Hobby Lobby in search of trims/ribbon for M to finish the bustle skirts and decided to use some of their home decor items to create the word “CIRQUE”. M is counting it as her circus because everything else she was working on didn’t get finished.

Day 97

We were VERY productive today! M made this glorious brocade bustle skirt with velvet ribbon waistband and contrasting trim. Don’t you just love it! K started work on a thigh-garter holster for one of the many mini cap guns we discovered at antique stores on a recent outing. The holster is mocked up using paper brads instead of rivets so we can work out the details. Then, we’ll be embellishing the ruffly garter idea to include leather, buckles, and filigrees! More fun to come!

Day 98

K’s been working on preparing for the Oklahoma Steampunk Expo, and part of that involves preparing jewelry displays. Well, I got tired of looking at the old, ugly, off-center cuff link displays we made last year. So, I decided to remake them, all pretty-like. I think they turned out pretty sweet looking!

M took an existing hair clip that was just the black and white feathers and added a lace flower she made from some scraps and some heart shaped rhinestone beads. I used the beads to make a little flower, sewed it to the lace flower, then sewed the flower onto the feather fascinator. I was tempted to use glue for time’s sake, but I loathe using glue when a more permanent and less messy option is available.