Hello Adventurous Friends!

We’re dotting the Ts and crossing our eyes over here at Craftketeer Central, making sure all our ducks are in a row, and other metaphors for last minute arm-flailing.

But it’s very fun arm-flailing.

When we started this notion, it was going to just be a vendor event, but then we thought… hey… people like to learn things and be entertained. And La Quinta has an excellent space for accommodating both these things. So we threw together some panels, almost unexpectedly, and we hope you enjoy them.

They’ll be at 11, 12:15, 1:30, and 2:45. I’ll update the actual time table once we make sure everyone’s pocket watches are synchronized, but we’re fairly sure it’s going to look something like this:

Something Old, Something New

Brian LeTendre and Jenn Iannaconi

Brian and Jenn discuss the mashups of old and new in horror and science fiction, and why we are so drawn to connecting certain time periods and elements in fiction. As well as a selected reading from Brian’s novel: Lovecraft’s Curse

Victorian Era Spiritualism & Divination

Kikea Louve and Erin Smith

An exploration of various classical forms of divination, and spiritual practices of the Victorians. As well as a look at some of the famous spiritualists of the time.

Sales Skills for Artists and Makers

Michael Whitehouse

Discussing fundamental sales skills in an approachable, newbie-friendly way.

Not Just Tea & Crumpets: Steampunk Outside of Victorian England

Erin Smith

A look at the Steampunk genre in other parts of the world, and beyond…

 

If you want to end up staying all day, we certainly wouldn’t blame you!

There are many reasons why Steampunk uses the Victorian Era as its jumping off point. The wardrobe for one. Who doesn’t enjoy gentlemen decked out in dapper finery, or women in corsetry and lace? It removes us from the casualness of modern times, while staying within the very edges of modernity’s comforts.

But it isn’t all about fashion, of course. It’s about the toys! The chaos of the industrial revolution was easing into something more comfortable and familiar, and incorporating technology into daily life was becoming far more regular.

Steampunk posits what would happen if industry had gone with alternate sources of energy for its designs. Steam, obviously, but also the notion of aether, which was what alchemists and late 19th century scientists thought made up all that space in – well – space. Harnessing that would give someone power over gravity and magnetism, which leads of course to airships.

Invention in historical Victorian times was an explosion of ingenuity. We have this era to thank for things like cameras, the telephone, ice cream, sewing machines, steamboats, ice cream, movies, ice cream… well you get the idea.

One of the joys of designing Steampunk is to take more modern conveniences and make them available somehow using the technology of Victorian times. Sometimes you’re reinventing the wheel, however, because while they might not have been able to make everything they dreamed of work quite yet, there were some remarkable patents that came out of that era. I’ve tacked some of the fun ones below. What kind of modern convenience would you like to see in Steampunk form?