Do you feel lucky, Punk?

Forty eight hours of work and pleasure beckoned as we drove across the Severn Bridge and over the border into Wales at 8 pm on Friday night.  The plan?  Our highly anticipated flirtation with the steampunk scene at the Chepstow Steampunk Winter Festival on Saturday, followed by a day of leisurely exploration on Sunday.

As per usual, my hastily written directions were insufficient and failed to take into account Chepstow’s one way system and the fact that our digs for the weekend were literally in the middle of nowhere.  This caused just a little in-transit conflict.  A sat nav is now top of my Christmas list.  We seem to have studiously ignored the virtues of these handy little devices, telling ourselves that we are too reliant on technology, preferring our travels to be punctuated by a war of words and raging headaches.  This time I really mean it - Sat nav, Santa, please!

We eventually made it without having to call the cottage owner.  Even in pitch darkness, it was clear that we had chosen well (I’ll overlook the fact that Gaz missed the unlit steps, almost knackering his ankle in the process and suffered minor concussion from hitting his head on the doorframe).  Home for the weekend was a beautifully converted stable block in the grounds of a farm (so far, so nativity story) with a huge freestanding bath and a coffee machine.  Obviously there was other furniture, but those are the kind of things that float our boat so to speak. 

Too early for a Saturday morning!

At 7 am on Saturday morning, this was the view from our very frosty stable door.  Going about our normal breakfast routine dressed in full on Steampunk clothing felt surprisingly normal.  With no sign of the “persistent stray cat” we were warned not to encourage (thank God, we’d have found that impossible!), we headed into Chepstow.

Chepstow’s Drill Hall was our workplace for the day and these fascinating creatures were our colleagues.

Check out the fascinator!

Dr Cornelius Porridge

Real, smoke breathing dragons and their owners

We took a bit of a flyer with this event, fancying something to break the winter monotony and it was refreshing to be unloaded and set up within a 60 minute timeframe.  Handmade Steampunk Top Hats, bandanas, steampunk-inspired stickers and select items from our clothing range to offer the steampunk crowd an off-duty look were set out on rich red velvet clad tables.  Obviously Dr Jones had to make an appearance for the day and everyone agreed he was the most photographed individual (and there was some stiff competition).

Dr Jones doing his thang

Beautiful steampunk clothing 

Surprisingly, no music was on offer, so after clearing it with the organisers, we soon had the place not quite rocking, but definitely toe-tapping to Professor Elemental (think old chap rap and you’ll be somewhere close).  

 

Gaz taking five

All set up

"I've lost my wind instrument!"

The day flew by and we met some really interesting characters, plus some extremely talented creatives.  

Steampunks!

Steampunk Morris Dancers

My heart bled for the creator of Imps and Things and his amazing sculptures.  I fell in love with these imps in baubles but I couldn’t justify £45 for a Christmas decoration, although we both agreed that if he worked out his hourly rate for making these creatures, he’d probably sink into a deep depression.  But hey, that’s not what motivates him and thank goodness there are people in the world like that.

Close of play was 4 pm and after packing the van, we had to unpack it again in freezing semi-darkness to locate the “safe place” Gaz had put the van keys. 

Saturday night we relaxed and filled our faces.

Tintern Abbey

Sunday, a much cloudier day, started with a lie in, a mooch around the atmospheric Tintern Abbey and a short detour to Gloucester. 

  

Such a cool sign

This kind of establishment is a magnet for us.  I talked myself down from a mohair rug impulse purchase.

Being Sunday drivers, we eschewed the motorway in favour of the scenic route, returning home to a small pile of missed delivery cards (why did I start internet Christmas shopping on Friday ahead of a weekend away?!) and a truly awful Linda McCartney Vegetarian Beef Roast.  I’m trying to clear the freezer and have long been “nut roast curious,” so tonight was the night.  Actually, it wasn’t technically a nut roast, but the synthetic flavoured pile of excrement, which promised an “outrageously succulent” veggie beef roast has killed my curiosity stone dead.

So, in summary, did the Steampunks approve of Voodoo Street?  Well, according to renowned performer, Dr Cornelius Porridge's Facebook post, he certainly did and that's good enough for me!

E-bollocks! Let's Go Out!

Last week was a bugger.  There is no dressing up this fact.  We endured a number of sleepless nights thanks to those intent on making a fast buck from our artwork on certain well known seller platforms.  Aside from the blatant rip-offs, we had one seller in Israel, who just waded in there with a screenshot of our advert – complete with our name and copyright symbol emblazoned across the image, and advertised it for twice the price! 

An original advert.  Or is it?

I’ve lost count of the number of forms we have submitted, the number of emails sent, to little avail.  The lack of support for those experiencing copyright infringement is staggering.  I’ve become an overnight expert on the subject and have quoted bite sized, easily digested snippets of key legal points to faceless customer services departments.  I’ve reported item numbers, included links for comparisons, reiterated over and over again that a design does not have to be copied in its entirety to breach someone’s copyright, only to wake up to the same standard email requesting yet further clarification, that we’ve submitted the wrong form, or, my personal favourite, one stating that “You cannot copyright an idea.”  

Image, not subject to copyright

I have been forced to explain that a sticker for example, is not simply an idea, but a tangible product and that original graphics and phrases are covered by a copyright the moment they are written or created.  

Kinky Melon HQ

So, finding ourselves swimming against a tide of copyright issues, a day out with these lovely people, Vicky and Jon aka Kinky Melon’s Retro Boutique, was just what we needed.  We headed to Walsall Art Gallery, taking in the Turner Exhibition and getting ever-so-gently reprimanded for touching a piece resembling a bin bag full of rubbish.  Lunch was half a bottle of rose wine and a delicious vegan curry (I appear to have developed a dairy intolerance in my old age.  After all the ice cream and chocolate I’ve consumed in my lifetime, I would expect my body to have embraced it and my blood to be half cream).  Happy and sleepy (me), we walked back to our car, bathed in autumn sunshine.

I don’t know about you, but I wish autumn – the most vibrant season of the year for a nano second – would stick around for longer.  I’m talking about the magically short window of time when trees telepathically agree a plan to shed 90% of their leaves in 2 days.  I’m talking about clear blue skies, weather reporters referring to “unseasonably warm temperatures”, brightly coloured, odd shaped pumpkins (3 of which are sitting on our garden steps, waiting to go under the knife, including a white "Ghost Pumpkin"), windfall fruit and the associated pies, crumbles and experimental cider, Halloween, the first hint of wood smoke in the air, fireworks and gripping TV dramas.  I wish these autumn days would stick around until, say, 21^st May, at which point an extended period of unbroken sunshine will commence, cartoon blue birds will appear and someone will ensure that I am never more than a metre away from a mojito.

Spooky sky

Leaving aside yesterday’s blip, courtesy of Storm Ophelia and a daytime sky straight out of Star Wars, one downside to the elevated temperature is having to try on steampunk costumes.  

Photo courtesy of Shropshire Star:  Ironbridge covered in scaffolding

These outfits appear to comprise endless layers.  Dressing up in full steampunk was the last thing I felt like, but nevertheless found myself doing, on Saturday afternoon in Ironbridge.  Tourists from all over the globe visit this World Heritage Site.  We go for steampunk clothes and charity shop finds.

Today, after another sparring session with Ebay, I went through the seemingly disparate steampunk elements I’ve acquired so far and decided that they can all be worn together after all.  So, top to toe, this is what I’m going with at Chepstow Steampunk Winter Festival:-

The Top Hat.

Who doesn’t have a vintage top hat in their wardrobe?  Mine just needs some temporary embellishments.

The Jacket.

On loan from Kinky Melon, it is 80s, but don’t tell the hardcore steampunk brigade.  I don’t care – it’s cropped, velvet, has crazy shoulders and looks the part. 

The Blouse.

This Ralph Lauren Sport blouse was a steal at £4.50 from a charity shop in the village.  The ruffles were hard to resist and are a key element of the steampunk look.  It was the first item I bought.

The Dress.

With steampunk dresses often commanding prices upwards of £70, I snapped up this £25 number from a vintage store in Ironbridge.

The Tights.

Black and white vertical stripy tights for a fiver - Beetlejuice meets vintage circus.

The Boots.

Still undecided between red velvet and brown granny.

A Pair of Lace Gloves.

Gloves from Hat-Trix

Another £5 bargain from Etsy, which saves me the stress of digging out my cobweb covered sewing machine, shredding a piece of lace, swearing at said machine and crying hysterically, before going online and order a £5 paid from Etsy.

Now all I have to do is steampunk up everyone else in this house.

How to do Steampunk

Voodoo Street Steampunk Hats

Some of you may have noticed (and at least one of you bought one) some elaborate new additions to our ranged during the summer months – our handmade Steampunk hats.  We have long been voyeurs of this scene and incorporated the top hat (the lifeblood of any steampunk outfit) into our logo.  We were also inspired by our visit to Goth  HQ, Whitby and more recently, the TV series Taboo.

After a couple of weekends off and mourning the end of the summer festival season, we decided we needed another road trip adventure, preferably one to top up our levels of human contact (working from home Monday to Friday can occasionally send you hurtling towards the edges of sanity).  With leaves falling and Halloween - our favourite time of the year - just around the corner, Chepstow Steampunk Winter Festival presented itself and seemed like the perfect option.  

Monmouthshire is a stunning area and Chepstow, with its Norman Castle and proximity to the Forest of Dean, seemed like a great place to make our first foray into the world of steampunk.  We pitched and awaited the decision of the organisers.  We were anticipating that the event would be over-subscribed and when decision day came and went, assumed that we had not been successful.  So we were over the moon to receive an email from Alice the following day, blaming a faulty laptop for the delay in informing us that we had been confirmed as a Saturday trader. 

Cut to one day later and I am running around like a headless chicken, making lists (not sure how effective they are, but lists is what I do!)  We have just over a month to make some hats to replenish our stock, plan our steampunk set-up and, more importantly, pull together some killer outfits that will turn Gaz into Tom Hardy... 

Tom Hardy, as Delaney in Taboo

...and me into Vanessa Helsing!

Kate Beckinsale, as Vanessa in Van Helsing

For those not on board with steampunk, it’s a creative movement with a backdrop of either Victorian England or America’s Wild West, where modern technologies (think steam power, rather than Apple technology) are re-imagined as elaborate works of art, fashion and mechanics.  

Courtesy of Pinterest, a quick Steampunk outfit this guy cobbled together!

Devotees really go to town on their outfits and we need to be on it – no loose cogs, shapeless jackets or ill-fitting corsets for us.  So, I’m currently trawling the internet for inspiration.  Here’s what I have learned so far.

Blokes:

It's all in the detail

Key outfit elements include:-

1. A fitted jacket or long coat.
2. Victorian shirt.
3. Waistcoat.
4. Top Hat.
5. Industrial boots.

Women:

Key outfit elements include:-

1. Top Hat.
2. Victorian blouse.
3. Corset.
4. Skirt with bustle.
5. Fitted jacket.
6. Granny boots.

Courtesy of Pinterest

Sounds relatively simple doesn’t it?  Until you dig a little deeper and start Googling images of steampunk outfits.  My head started spinning when I came across reference to “current trends in steampunk.”  What if Gaz’s goggles are all wrong?  Are DMs acceptable? 

One swift absinthe later and I had put things into perspective.  The whole event is celebratory.  Fun.  This won’t be Devil Wears Prada, it will be Voodoo Street Victoriana!  So whether we go traditional with rich coloured velvets, brocade and lace embellishments or embrace the new off-white or go cirque de steampunk, remains to be seen.  

Now, I’m thinking late November might be pushing it to camp, particularly if we’re going for a look less “festival”, more groomed and polished. So I need to get booking some digs for the night.  The B&Bs are all country dwellings with names like “Foxes Reach” and “Church Farm Cottage” and the 90% of the self catering cottages appear to be converted cider barns.  Cider...now you’re talking.

The result of a "Best Cider in Chepstow" Google search

Five Go Camping at Berkeley Castle

Saturday dawned and with it, the realisation that the end was nigh.  No, not the hidden planet that was making the news - supposedly heading for an apocalyptic collision with Earth on Saturday! For us, Saturday marked the end of 2017’s festival season: Berkeley VW Show.

Entrance to Berkeley VW Show

The plan was for Gaz to travel down on Saturday and set up, ably assisted by Brutebox’s Baz and Issy, who were on a five-go-mad-in-the-country weekend (five being Gareth, Baz, Issy and their two dogs, Bob and Dexter).  For once, plans ran like clockwork. 

Brutebox's Bus

Weather forecast?  Fair.

Traffic?  Light.

Automotive mechanical issues?  None.

Location?  Stunning.

Local pub? Tick.

Company? Alright.

 By 8.00 pm, Voodoo Street was set up, closed up and the famous five were ensconsed in the local pub just down the road in a village called Ham (no, I’m not making it up).

With no evening meals on offer at the local, the famous five were instead offered plastic tubs of food left over from the lunchtime service, which included chunks of bread and cheese, grapes and cold meats.  These were enjoyed around the campfire later with some slightly inebriated word-association games.  So far, so Enid Blyton.  That is, until Baz and Issy decided to turn in for the night. Gaz still had some adventuring left to do.

Backdrop for the weekend

 The sound of music and frivolity floating down from the castle and across the meadows spoke to Gaz and he decided to explore.

Meanwhile, at home, surrounded by f*!&ing enormous spiders, I was busy building my own fortress.  During one of many mobile phone conversations on Saturday night, comparing notes, I was fortunate enough to enjoy the full audible experience of Gaz very nearly falling into the moat.  

A Ha-ha

He had assumed that the black chasm in front of him was a ha-ha and had considered jumping it, before realising (too late) that it was actually the castle moat.  After a slide and a scramble to avert disaster, the result was badly nettled wrists and injured pride. 

A moat

At home, I had sealed off the bathroom where my 8-legged nemesis was last seen loitering and Caleb had built a wall of cardboard to cover the gap beneath the cooker to head off its hairy mate.  Some time around 11 pm, Gaz and I both admitted defeat and went to bed, 70 miles apart.

Thankfully, Sunday went off without a hitch.  I arrived at lunchtime (ish), delayed by road closures resulting from Velo Birmingham, the 100-mile charity cycle ride.

The weather held, trade was steady and the company was good. 

As usual, there were some classic rides, including this non-VW but stunning classic E-Type... 

 

...and this stunning, steampunk-inspired interior, photographed with our steampunk props.

After the show ‘n’ shine, we said our goodbyes and started to pack away.

High jinks

On the journey home, we noted the falling leaves, marking the gentle slide into Autumn.  We’re looking forward to some free weekends, catch-ups with friends and time to seek inspiration for new product designs.  

That said, we know it won’t take long before we start to get itchy feet again.  Who knows where we might turn up?

Crazy Cats

This week has been pretty cat-heavy.

Still in mourning for our dear departed Mowzer, I’ve been attempting to form a relationship with his look-a-like mate, who appeared like a ghostly apparition at our back door within days of Mowzer’s passing.

He’s pretty timid.  Even after 3 months of hard work, Michelin Star quality cat food and my own special human-to-cat eye blinking communication method, I’m lucky if he’ll touch my fingers with the tip of his nose.  However, a new cat on the block seems to be empowering him.  A voluptuous ginger queen is his new food rival.  I caught this snap of the two of them on our patio a couple of days ago and it’s clear that our little friend is going to have to man up if he stands any chance of competing for the daily Voodoo Street catch. 

The very fact that I took the time to photograph two neighbourhood cats is also giving Gaz concern that I am morphing into The Simpsons' Crazy Cat Lady!

Meanwhile, Gaz has been on a voyage of discovery locally.  We often head over the border into Shropshire in our free time, avoiding the West Midlands connurbation...and yet, our locality just got a whole lot more interesting after he discovered a new Tea Rooms fusing Vintage and Steampunk themes and the Black Country's answer to the Old Curiosity Shop - an endless rabbit warren of rooms housing everything from G-Plan furniture to vintage record players.  

Feeling inspired, we realised we’ve been neglecting our steam punk influences of late and so yesterday, we decided to re-visit some old ideas, languishing in cyber space. 

The results of our efforts are 2 new Steampunk inspired stickers, one bearing a Steampunk version of our logo...

...and the other a cathartic release of my cat obsession. 

 Note his Steampunk monocle and glassy eyes.  It’s worth noting that the cat’s eyes were inspired by a batch of prosthetic eyes acquired by our friend Yvette of Creative Curiosities, which she has since mounted in the clutches of crow claws. 

 This has haunted my dreams for some time now!

Yvette knows that we're big fans of her work (Dr Jones, our illustrated mannequin, is testament to that and she and I have a shared appreciation of taxidermy), so she won’t mind me saying that.  But clearly, I owe her a thank you.  They obviously penetrated my psyche!  Now it’s your turn.

Sleep well!