About Steampunk : Shop Local

I’m so excited to be featuring my first guest today!  Claudia from ClaudiaBruno on Etsy is sharing a ton of information about the steampunk movement and the jewelry she makes.  Claudia is an Italian Jewelry Designer in Boston.  She is a regular Steampunk artist at the Independent Designer Market in Harvard Square and will be a vendor at the SteamCity Steampunk Festival in Waltham, MA this coming weekend.  May 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th

Hi Claudia!

Thanks so much for helping me promote local craft fairs on my blog and for teaching us about steampunk.

Meg: What exactly is Steampunk?

Claudia: Steampunk jewelry is a mélange of found objects, rusty machine parts, keys, watch movements and typewriter keys.  It is based on science fiction concepts at the time of late 1800’s beginning 1900’s when all power was steam-based.

M: Can you describe Steampunk fashion?

C: Steampunk fashion has slowly been creeping in and can now can be found in large chain stores such as H&M.  It comprises of Victorian undertones: bloomers, corsets and lace accompanied by hard elements such as broken watches, mechanical moving parts, suede and brown leather. Spectacles, opera glasses, top hats, aviator caps and goggles along with full wrist fabric cuffs can all be incorporated.  Of course, less is more, and by that I mean let’s try not to look like we came out of a costume shop in 1907 or like we belong alongside Amelia Earhart, but you get the picture!
I shop at the Steampunk Emporium.

M: When did you first get into Steampunk jewelry?
C: I started Steampunk jewelry several years ago.  I was a punk in the seventies, a cyberpunk in the early nineties and a Steampunk in the new millennium. As long as it reflects the punk principles of being out of the norm, innovative, and unusual, you will always find me signing up to the club.

M: Claudia, I’ve visited your ClaudiaBruno shop on Etsy. Your Steampunk cuffs are so intricate. Where do you get the materials that go into the art?

C: The cuffs you mention belong to my Black Magic collection.  It is all in the patina, so to speak, which is a black patina used on hot metal.  The objects that I use to decorate the black cuffs are always vintage, broken typewriter parts, rusty keys, and vintage crystals.  I make my own cameos using altered art and decoupage vintage images and resin. EBay is a never-ending source for my findings as it is the world’s biggest estate sale!

M: The New England Steampunk Festival will feature all kinds of vendors including you. Have you been a vendor there before? What are you looking forward to the most during that weekend?

C: This is the first time I will be attending the festival. This is their second year but the biggest one yet. The entire city of Waltham will be participating and the Museum of Industry, a Steampunk Mecca, will be donating some of their artifacts which will be parading through the streets of Waltham. I understand there will be a Victorian picnic at Mt. Feakes Cemetery and several lectures and exhibits on the Steampunk movement. Music will delight us all as a couple of big stages are set up by the Watch Factory where the main events will be taking place.

Claudia – again, thank you so much.  I’ve loved having you on my blog and hope you have an awesome weekend.  If you’re local and can visit – do try to find Claudia, she also knows of another Etsian participating, Venus in Furs from Rhode Island.  And if you aren’t local – check out Claudia’s Etsy shop – it’s filled to the brim with all things steampunk!