Introduce yourself!

[Farslayer]

Greetings all, please allow me a moment to introduce myself.

I came upon this site when steampunk came up in the off topic section of the Armour Archive (www.armourarchive.org), a site for people interested in Medieval Arms and Armour. I am a member of "The Society for Creative Anachronism", (www.sca.org) but my wife but she has always had a bit of a Goth interest and has been slowly getting me more interested.

In the real world, I am a Mechanical Designer. I work on Sheet metal, cast and molded components along with doing some machine design.

For fun I am involved in SCA martial combat and I am getting into more correct historical presentations. I tinker with wood and metal working. I have everything from a forge to a table saw to routers etc. My wife and I enjoy antiquing, we have everything from pre-Columbian artifacts to old glassware.

After looking around at what steampunk could be, I think it will be a place for me and my wife to unloose some of our creative urges. My wife sews, draws and paints and I build things so I think we might come up with some interesting things

[MagnusApollo]

Greetings to everyone.    Well, I've a fellow lurker.   I have floated on the board for eons watching the cool links, projects, and other amazing things pass before my eyes.    I finally figured It'd be best to introduce myself.    The name is Magnus.   And I haven't much to offer in the ways of interesting items to share, or projects.   I'm still stuck in a small apartment which leaves me zero space to work on creations.   Hopefully within the next year I'll have myself a home with a workshop.

Just wanted to finally introduce myself to the rest of the steampunk peeps.

Real world, I'm a PR guy for a Mac software company.   Gives me time to be on the boards and drool over many things.    Down the road, i'm hopeful that I migh thave something to share with this great crowd.

[Noadi]

Good evening.  I'm Noadi, I hail from the beautiful state of Maine where there are still a handful of steam trains and boats, and nearby New Hampshire has the cog railway which if you ever have a chance to take a ride will thrill the hearts of any steampunk. 

I'm a sculptor who works part-time at a school to pay my bills while I pursue my artwork with the goal of being able to sculpt full-time at some point in the future.  My artwork is mainly based on fantasy and mythology. The only reason I've not done any steampunk sculptures yet is because the ideas I have I'm not sure how to implement yet, I'm hoping this forum can help me figure some of it out.

[Ashflex]

Good evening.  I'm Noadi, I hail from the beautiful state of Maine where there are still a handful of steam trains and boats, and nearby New Hampshire has the cog railway which if you ever have a chance to take a ride will thrill the hearts of any steampunk. 

I'm a sculptor who works part-time at a school to pay my bills while I pursue my artwork with the goal of being able to sculpt full-time at some point in the future.  My artwork is mainly based on fantasy and mythology. The only reason I've not done any steampunk sculptures yet is because the ideas I have I'm not sure how to implement yet, I'm hoping this forum can help me figure some of it out.

Hi, and welcome to the forum.  Ive seen you on the Clubhouse and Shiflett Brothers forums too, your sculpts are beautiful.  Hope you enjoy your stay here!

[the Hat]

Hello, I am Scott the Hat. I like top hats, and do not own a pair of goggles. But I do have a very fashionable leather vest! I'm a writer, researcher and thinker extrodenare! I am also a terrible speller.

[Sir Theodore Catchpole]

the names Catchpole, Sir Theodore Catchpole
any one for cake and tea?

[Easy]

To whomever may chance upon this message:

Having finally overcome my aversion to registration, as I greatly prefer to read forums such as these from afar, I would like to introduce myself. My alias is Easy, a name which reflects little upon my character, though at first it may seem to; however, it references my predilection for competition with automatons of that setting in various games of wit and strategy. My interest in Steampunk grew from my obsessive preference for antiquated technologies and bygone manners of thought. I am currently laboring to retrofit a used record player into an authentic phonograph, discern the purpose of the gears within an old clock that I recently took apart, and build a telegraph from scratch to replace the telephone in my father's home (although this has been on hold for quite a while). This forum seems the perfect place for me, as it appears that I have found a group of like-minded people who have the added benefit of being far more experienced with such tinkering than I am. My current occupation is as a student at Boston University (which is why much of my tinkering is on hold), studying Archaeology. With a bit of luck, I will be able to gallivant about in a desert somewhere with a pith helmet and a pocketwatch in a few years, hopefully finding something of merit along the way. In any case, I hope that this marks the auspicious beginning of many years of tinkering and learning.

Easy

[Mad Maxine]

I live in Seattle, which is a little bubble of comfort surrounded by reality. I moved here to get away from the sun (the "Evil Day Star"), and I believe that people who move here and then whine about how grey it is should just move away, so there's more space for the rest of us. I live in a little tiny cottage on the verge of a light industrial district. I live alone with my dog, because people drive me crazy. I'm single, have a strange boyfriend (or whatever he is) who's in a local punk band, and I hate children.

I grew up poor in Wisconsin with great parents who inadvertently taught me to value the things I have. They instilled in me a great work ethic, a ridiculous level of independence, a sense of wonkiness, creativity, fortitude, and an uncanny ability to figure out how to make the best of a bad situation. We are also strong survivalists.

I spent 11 years going to college to get a Masters degree in Paleontology, only to end up being an industrial hygiene consultant, which is exactly what a test I took in high school said I should be. On the bright side, the skill set is the same between careers.

For hobbies, I play with microscopes, collect industrial and scientific equipment, fix water-cooled VWs, work on mopeds, maintain my house, work in my yard, make costumes, and tinker. I also occasionally whip out some artwork, but haven't done much of that lately.

I found this forum through a friend of mine and I am very happy to meet you all. Thanks for giving me an excellent creative outlet!

Toodles!
M

[Mister Greyshade]

Maybe I should do one of these things before I make Gunner. Its a bit long I'm afraid.

I've been a Sci-Fi fan since I was old enough to read Space Cat books and was a Star Trek freak by nine years old. I also watched Wild Wild West pretty religiously. I spent my teens play D&D and read every Michael Moorcock book I could lay my hands on. I'm still an overgrown fan boy and go to Comic-Con every year.

At about nineteen (the early eighties) I got heavily into the emerging California mod scene. Back then the scene was full of DIY punk attitude as well as sixties based dandyism. Punk itself was going through the darkest and most self destructive part of the hardcore period so it was of little interest to me. I was deeply into the mod scene for at least twenty years. After a few years I got into this John Steed/city gent look with it and that, and a slowly growing awareness of Victoriana, was never far beneath the surface of my style.

I've been married for twenty years to a cinemaniac, craftswoman, and fellow mod scene veteran. We have two boys seven and four years old who possess the combined insanity of both parents. I'm overeducated, BA Anthropology, interdisciplinary social science MA, and a Master's in Library Science. I work as a youth
services librarian, and recently published a paper on "virtual" community as Chapter 13 of Youth Culture: Scenes, Subcultures and Tribes.

A few years back I got fed up with the stagnant vinyl geek remains of the mod scene and got into various medieval and renaissance reenactment groups and activities. My musical tastes broadened to include darkwave, medieval, neo-medieval and folk. I also discovered I'm a fair craftsman. As much love the medieval thing it always seemed a little lacking in that there was no way to bring it into your day to day life and style without looking like a dork or a hippy or both. I found myself turning into a boring dad blob wearing jeans, Teeshirts, and (gasp!) shorts.

Last month my wife and I went to Anachronist's Comic-Con party and brassgoggles meet-up. I knew about the board because I sent Anachronist a copy of my then unpublished book chapter as research material for his paper. I knew what steampunk was in literary terms, but I had know idea how far it had come as a culture. Even though my wardrobe was at its lowest ebb in twenty years it was now problem to dress for the party I just put on one of my bowlers and my lapeled waist coat and was good to go. The party was more than I expected. There were well dressed people, civilized manners, intelligent conversations, yet it was undeniably an assemblage of  deviants creating a world of their own. I was home again.

Kiskolou's phrase "punks with etiquette" is not only apt it is for me familiar. In the early eighties mods were called "punks in mohair (suits)." I think the mainstream social order has a lot invested in a the dichotomy of clean-cut, respectable, conformity vs unkempt, disreputable non-conformity. This makes clean-cut, respectable, non-conformity incredibly subversive. Steampunk is, of course, more than that, but for me that is a big part of the appeal. Anyway, a month after that fateful party, I'm on these boards, my sideburns are a lot bigger, and am starting to rebuild my wardrobe.

[KatarinaNavane]

Good day, everyone!
I'm Katarina Navane, but you can call me Kat.  Or Laura. That works too.
I was introduced to steampunk (and to this website) by my friend Tommy, known here as Caine.  I've always enjoyed all things historical.
I'm currently a college freshman, of 18 years of age, but I'm a jewelry maker by trade.  I also enjoy reading, writing, drawing, and playing videogames. 
For any interested parties, my jewelrys and artworks are available for your viewing pleasure at
http://katarinanavane.deviantart.com 

[Sir Theodore Catchpole]

мое имя Sir Theodore Catchpole
я живу в США
i like every thing und i have a fish tank with fish
anyone for tea and cakes?

[JLeigh]

My name is J Leigh (or simply J if you prefer).  I'm a 19 year old second-year at the University of South Florida in Tampa, studying architecture.

I generally tinker around with things and create, my current projects-in-planning are a copper desk lamp, a stained-glass computer case, and some various clothing/costume things.

So hello, world!

[Daedalus Wacks]

Greetings to all.  I decided I had lurked long enough.  My name is... well, I have several, being involved in subculture activities.  In the steampunk arena, I am Daedalus Wacks.  In my community, I am Mr. Silverwood, but I'm ok being called Danny.  I am also The Dark Advisor, an advice columnist for an online comm, where I distribute occasional advice from the heart... of darkness.

I am a portraitist, clothing designer, sculptor, wood worker, general artist, raconteur, bon vivant... etc.  I have always been interested in the steampunk genre, but didn't know it WAS a genre until my partner pointed out Steampunk Magazine.  My life was changed.

I am currently doing almost nothing on a daily basis, except dealing with several medical conditions, but I have big plans to start a few businesses very soon, some of which will be aimed at a steampunk audience.

I have been told that I am obssessed with steampunk, but I don't see that as a problem.  It's not like I'm hanging out in dark alleys trying to score my fix of watch parts...  when it comes to that, I shall join Steampunk Anonymous.

My taste has always been Victorian.  I have for a while leaned towards Goth, but as I am getting older, I have discovered my taste lightening up a bit.  All those boxes of black fabric might have to go.

In my physical stagnation, my mind has been active, and I have been working on some great designs for clothing, accessaries, personal items, devices, etc.  All the usual suspects, and a few more unique items.  I will try to post the items when I can.

Thank you for having me here.  I am so happy there is a place like this.

Danny Silverwood (Daedalus Wacks)

[Tristian Dreyman]

Though I have been here some time, I haven't actually written an introduction. Thus, I shall.

I am Tritian Dreyman. I'm a variety of things, professionally. Currently still at college, studying performing arts, stage management, lighting design, sound technology, and music. I also design and occasionally build madcap devices. For extra money, I used to work in a bar near my hometown, but got fired when I faked sick to play a gig, and my boss turned up in the audience. Now I am shortly to start work in a bookshop, which I think is a lot better.

In my free time, I play guitar in several bands, and bass in a couple more. I'm also a classically trained singer (don't laugh) and actor.

I love steampunk, though I didn't know it was steampunk until I stumbled across the wikepedia article. I just thought I was a bit wierd. Glad to find a community to belong to.

[Lt Col Goth]

Hello,

My name is Al, I'm 18 and about to go to Uni to study History in a few weeks. I'm from the great land of engineering, Scotland. Specifically near Stirling.
I'm a self-professed weird geek. I am very into History, especially the Napoleonic-Victorian era. Zulu being one of my favourite films. Also Alternate History. I'm in the process of reading the whole of the Timeline 191 series by Harry Turtledove (Sorry not Steampunk >_<)

I can't remember how I got into Steampunk, but I love it, The engineering, the art, the story, the science, everything.

I play WOW and Warhammer. Colonel Goth is the commander of my Imperial Guard regiment. I basically use that Alias for All internet activities. Lt Col Goth will be his Steampunk ancestor.

[I dunno why but this introduction has taken me like an hour to write. I have writer's block >_<]

I'm not yet independent enough to start tinkering with Cogs etc and building goggles without severe questioning from the Inquistorial Squad that is my parents. Although now I really want a Steampunk Computer >_<

Umm so yeah.

Hi

**Wave**

[the Hat]

Hello,

My name is Al, I'm 18 and about to go to Uni to study History in a few weeks. I'm from the great land of engineering, Scotland. Specifically near Stirling.
I'm a self-professed weird geek. I am very into History, especially the Napoleonic-Victorian era. Zulu being one of my favourite films. Also Alternate History. I'm in the process of reading the whole of the Timeline 191 series by Harry Turtledove (Sorry not Steampunk >_<)

I can't remember how I got into Steampunk, but I love it, The engineering, the art, the story, the science, everything.

I play WOW and Warhammer. Colonel Goth is the commander of my Imperial Guard regiment. I basically use that Alias for All internet activities. Lt Col Goth will be his Steampunk ancestor.

[I dunno why but this introduction has taken me like an hour to write. I have writer's block >_<]

I'm not yet independent enough to start tinkering with Cogs etc and building goggles without severe questioning from the Inquistorial Squad that is my parents. Although now I really want a Steampunk Computer >_<

Umm so yeah.

Hi

**Wave**

Welcome! I love Harry Turtledove novels and Warhammer too. I think you'll fit in very nicely here.

[VerilliumJupiter]

Ello,

My Name is Katrina, Im 17, ive apparently always been into steam punk, just never knew thats what it was called until my friend, whom you know on here as radiosaturday, delightfully informed me.  Im a gamer by birth, I have always been into period -esk clothing.  about a year or so ago i got into mixing and matching era clothing, and adding interesting pieces to others... 

Um... Hi...


I also cosplay...

Oo


and take radio saterdays creations after she doesnt want em XD

[KatarinaNavane]

Ello,

My Name is Katrina, Im 17, ive apparently always been into steam punk, just never knew thats what it was called until my friend, whom you know on here as radiosaturday, delightfully informed me.  Im a gamer by birth, I have always been into period -esk clothing.  about a year or so ago i got into mixing and matching era clothing, and adding interesting pieces to others... 

Um... Hi...


I also cosplay...

Oo


and take radio saterdays creations after she doesnt want em XD

Similar names! As long as you're VerilliumJupiter there shouldn't be too much confusion, but there's also a Katriana runing around here somewhere.   

[VerilliumJupiter]

My Name is Katrina

Similar names! As long as you're VerilliumJupiter there shouldn't be too much confusion, but there's also a Katriana runing around here somewhere.   

Yep, We better inform this person with a similar name,  so much confusion, You can just call me Wakefield 

[KatarinaNavane]

My Name is Katrina

Similar names! As long as you're VerilliumJupiter there shouldn't be too much confusion, but there's also a Katriana runing around here somewhere.   

Yep, We better inform this person with a similar name,  so much confusion, You can just call me Wakefield 

Like in the Hawthorne story?

[Dollymop]

Oops.  I just realized I put my intro post in the wrong thread.  So, let me try this again.

I like my fiction cyber or steampunk. 

I move to the Toronto area at the end of this week, and I hope to meet some similar minded folks when I get there.  I enjoy rpg's (online and tabletop), museums, history (of course, however I really love early modern vs. Victorian, but I digress)

My creative hobbies are fibre related, knitting and crochet.  I am working out a very cute cog embellishment, and will be happy to share it once I have it finalized. 

As a steampunk fan, I am tempted to play around with a bit of writing, I am not claiming to be a writer, but rather that I would like to improve my skills, and write a little for my own enjoyment.

[VerilliumJupiter]

My Name is Katrina

Similar names! As long as you're VerilliumJupiter there shouldn't be too much confusion, but there's also a Katriana runing around here somewhere.   

Yep, We better inform this person with a similar name,  so much confusion, You can just call me Wakefield 

Like in the Hawthorne story?

Sadly no,    Its a character's line in radiosaturday's story Anapura Daylight 

[KatarinaNavane]

My Name is Katrina

Similar names! As long as you're VerilliumJupiter there shouldn't be too much confusion, but there's also a Katriana runing around here somewhere.   

Yep, We better inform this person with a similar name,  so much confusion, You can just call me Wakefield 

Like in the Hawthorne story?

Sadly no,    Its a character's line in radiosaturday's story Anapura Daylight 

Ah, I did not know that.
There's a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne concerning a man named Wakefield entitled (surprizesurprize) "Wakefield." 

[Anaesthesius]

Greetings!  Call me Anaesthesius.

  I am an American in my mid-twenties.  In college I majored in the biological sciences, and am engaged in inquiries concerning the uses of the genetic Transforming Principle.  I am no longer a student, far beyond a minion, but not yet a Doctor of Philosophy: I am content with the term "boffin," expressed with an amicable spirit.  One day my research will shake the foundations of modern science - conquering even DEATH ITSELF!

  I have been called mad, but I contend that men & women of science ought to tidy up after themselves and sign up for the centrifuge prior to use.  These simple practices tend to avert harsh words, fisticuffs, and the unleashing of abominations in one's residence.

  I've always been fascinated by machinery old and new, though I have too little math to be an engineer.  I dabble in the history of science, and I intend to start collecting vintage scientific instruments & curiosities.  I may also modify my own electro-mechanical conveniences to resemble the philosophical apparatus of yesteryear!  I'm also an experienced outdoorsman and spend far too much time tinkering with micro-galvannic difference engines.

[Miss Gadget]

Hey, I'm Jon,
LARPer, Roleplayer, Wargamer, Biologist, Teacher.
Originally checking the forums for inspiration on prop making for a Steampunk larp, I ended up getting the Steampunk bug and eventually signed up for an user account.