Future New York Print

I'm going to try to dedicate Tuesdays to Steampunk art (for your home). I ran across this print of a future New York City -- with Airships drifting above it -- on Art.com, and thought you might like it. You can get it matted or framed, which might be a timesaver. (How many years have I had posters and prints rolled up in the back of a closet, festering in the dark due to lack of a frame?)

'Future New York' with Airships, Fine Art Print, 11x17

Wireless Home Router

Ah, the clever Radio Rental... he's disguised his wireless router as a... clock? radio? All I know is that the dial on the front is not just for looks: The rev counter is a rough aproximation of the traffic utilisation between my home network and the internet. (perfect for telling when the youngsters are downloading something illicit?) The entire how-to is here on instructables, in case you'd like to do the same.

Roger Wood's Studio

I'm fascinated by people's workshops. I was considering featuring some of the unique fine art clocks from Klockwerks, and indeed they are wonderful, but I've gotten much more distracted by the artist's workshop.



I love all the antique cabinets and the layered oriental rugs.



Don't forget to go check out his clocks, too!

Steam 90%
Punk 80%

update: The klockwerks website has been redesigned, so these image have moved. Go see them over here.

Desk Idea from the Steampunk Laptop Workshop

While the steampunk laptop was fascinating, it wasn't exactly an "everyday use" sort of object. In poring over the pictures of the original fabricator's workshop (display shop?), however, I glimpsed something that I thought would be: a sewing table used as a desk. This is a simple, elegant idea. Sewing tables are relatively easy to find -- sewing machines were as ubiquitous in households in the 1800s and on through the 1950s as a personal computer is today -- and a very quick search of ebay yielded multiple affordable options. This one was my favorite:



Sewing machine tables have a lot of clever engineering that would suit our current working styles. The tabletop on the left of this one probably drops down. The treadle would make a nice footrest for the height-limited among us. It is hard to tell on this specific one, but often the tops of the tables where the sewinng machine sits was designed to flip down making a solid tabletop for laying out patterns or cutting -- or for putting a laptop? I'd remove the sewing machine (or find one where the machine is already removed) so that it wouldn't get in the way. The drawers on the sides would be convenient for many things -- power supply cords, pens, i-pods, etc. etc.

Steam -- 80% points off for getting rid of the machine
Punk -- 30% for reuse

Steampunk Laptop

After sending TinkerGirl the modded Underwood No. 5 I stumbled across (courtesy of The Practical Archivist), I ran across something even wierder and more wonderful. Via the Dark Roasted Blend we have a Steampunk... laptop. Look closely boys and girls -- I believe the mouse clicker is actually a clicker from a telegraph station (although I'm sure that's not the technical term for it...).

Follow the link for more photographs, including closeups, or check out the original fabricator's Japanese site.

Art of the Week: Grace Palmer

There is so much wonderful steampunk art out there... but I just ran across Grace Palmer, a wonderful artist (and costumer!), on the steampunk fashion group. Some steampunk art tends a bit much toward the gothic or horror, but Grace's has, well, grace. Her windup animals (all sold, it seems) could be woodcuts out of a fairytale book. However, I fell in love with her Inventor, pictured above. One of the few female *creators* instead of *createds* in steampunk imagery.

Her prices are all quite reasonable -- if I read her site correctly, you can get a 5x7 print of the above for a mere $10.

Steam -- 100%
Punk -- 100%
(a rare homething that manages to be entirely steampunk!)

p.s. Don't miss her be-goggled, gun-toting adventuress!

The SteamPunk Table: Beer "Glasses"

Although an argument can be made that in your Victorian style steampunk future, you'd still use traditional glasses for imbibing beverages... I was taken with the sci-fi style of these pewter pint glasses by Alchemy. In addition to the traditional lager glass, they also have a bitter, ale, and continental style glass.

Steam 0%
Punk 70%