SteamPunk Wedding Ring

The Etsy SteamTeam is having a contest - who can make the best handcrafted SteamPunk object that might be found at a wedding.

I couldn't resist the obvious - THE WEDDING RING!

So here is my entry.  Although only Etsy SteamTeam members my enter the contest, ANYONE can vote.
I will include voting instructions in another post.

Wonderful Feature about SteamSmith

There is wonderful and rather lengthy feature about 

"Steampunk Maker Extrordinaire Mark Eliot Schwabe" on 

London Particulars blog, "SteamPunk Jewelry". 

The feature includes many very kind words about me and my work from these folks. 

Thanks Lora!

click here to go to feature

the Making of Warrior Princess Nancy Aline sculpture

This sculpture was quite a project.  

I photographed much of the work as I went along.  

Those photographs are posted on my Facebook Fan page - in three parts.

Click on links to see the creation of this sculpture.

The beginning: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=143977&id=257236418945&ref=pb

Continuing work: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=163608&id=257236418945&ref=pb

Final work: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=166448&id=257236418945&ref=pb 

more info about Warrior Princess here

NewIndustries Ltd, part 1 (continued from December 5, 2009 below): Light Passenger Airship

Fast and light,  the latest edition to NewIndustries fleet of Airships is a real beauty.   Designed to carry   a small complement of passengers and crew, and to get them to their destination quickly the LP I is a glorious example of why NewIndustries is the world leader in Airship construction.

There are those who cry “foul”, suggesting that the essential mechanical components of this vessel are not of this world, but instead, from a galaxy far, far away.  Not the first time that critics of NewIndustries have suggested an unwholesome interstellar alliance involving the industry giant.

available for sale here

Featured Again

My Top Hat cuff links have been featured in yet another Etsy Treasury.  This time, Etsy artist PeachyDesigns has included them in her collection showing the various ways Etsy artists use 

Top Hats in their work.

Take a look!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c106d8378348eefd265ab42/top-hats

available for sale here

Airship featured on GREAT blog

Just a quick note to let you know that one of my Airship brooches is NOW featured on Totus Mel's blog.  She has great taste.  If you are not a regular visitor there, you should be!

Mark/SteamSmith

PS- AllPropellersSpin

http://totusmelswunderkammer.blogspot.com/

Anime Boston

The Princess and I had a great time at Anime Boston!

We look forward to your next chance to meet folks and vend.
In addition, I will be demonstrating "Traditional Jewelry Making Techniques applied to SteamPunk jewelry."

May 1 - the New England SteamPunk Festival at the Charles River Museum of Industry; hope to see you there!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Waltham-MA/Steampunk-Festival/234046964955

SteamPunk definition

Lots of folks ask me, "Just what is SteamPunk."

Much has been said and written on the subject, and there are many opinions.

Here my definition of SteamPunk:

"Steampunk is a retrofuturist fantasy genre celebrating the Victorian Era and objects from that era (machines, fashion, etc).

The genre also permits the introduction of objects and persons from other times into the victorian era."

It may help, if you imagine the fictional works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, to be FACT.

The genre finds expression in all forms of art, including: literature, film, music, sculpture, painting, graphic art, fashion and jewelry design, among others.

My 2 cents.

This blog is now devoted to “historical” information about SteamSmiths’ world - a time and place that might be.

Most of my SteamPunk style creations have a story, a history, behind them; together the histories that go with each design, make up the larger history of the SeamSmith's world. When the pieces are offered online, their part of the story/history is in the product description. Realizing that, as pieces are sold, their part of the larger story is no longer published I decided to devote this blog to that history. As pieces are sold, their histories will be published here, in the context of related pieces.

SteamSmith history - Pirates of the Central Coast part 1

First The Central Coast Marine Militia struck at the heart of the scurrilous pirates infecting their region:

The Avenger submarine brooch/pin

The Central Coast Marine Militia was formed two years ago in response to an alarming increase in piracy in area waters. The CCMM's early attempts to rid the waters of the scourge with militia surface ships met with only modest results, and the ultimate sacrifice by some militia seamen. Deemed unsatisfactory by the militia hierarchy, CCMM then commissioned the secretive Elite Marine Engineering Ltd (EME) company to design and build an underwater warcraft. The vessel was designed and constructed with remarkable speed. Several companies have recently constructed underwater craft, but with limited success. An energy source has been the most persistent problem. Until now, steam had been ruled out because of the problem of exhaust while the craft was underwater. The EME craft has a prominent smokestack, suggesting the use of steampower. When asked generally about the power source, and in particular, what happens to the smoke stack when underwater, EME officials consistently reply the same way. A curt two-word reply, "proprietary information."

The CCMM named the new craft The Avenger in the hope, indeed the expectation, that this vessel would live up to its name. As it turned out, their confidence was well placed. In its first mission the Avenger sank the Darklady considered to be the flagship of (nameless for now)* the most notorious pirate in the Central Coast area. It is not known if he was aboard his flagship when it went down.