Wings of Steam

Anyone who creates or buys steampunk jewelery from old watch parts should be on the lookout for toxic radium paint.

Jane Irwin, who makes and sells jewelery from watch parts, has discovered that a recent batch of parts she received included trace amounts of the radioactive green paint. After looking into just how much of a risk radium can be, she is now offering everyone she’s sold jewelery to a free inspection and/or full refund of their pieces.

I strongly urge those who handle old watch parts, both buyers and sellers alike, to read her article and inspect your pieces to make sure they’re safe.

JanerBlog: Steampunk Crafter Public Service Announcement

A week ago on November 2nd, the bellydancing group Read My Hips presented a runway style steampunk fashion show at the Subterranean nightclub in Chicago. The show featured music, dance, and cabaret acts by eight different performance groups and clothing and fashion by eighteen different fashion designers.

Performers included:
KSA
Read My Hips
Jack and Jinx
The Honey Buns
mARTa
Blue Cat Tribe

Designers included:
Stephanie Barto
Marquis DeSign
Dark Eye Design
UV Glowin’
NohWear
Under the Root
Kreatia
Wounded Line
Crisiswear
Robyn Coffey

I’m quite impressed with the quality of the designs that were presented. Below are few highlights from the fashion show, photographed by Brian C. Janes of bcj. Photography.

Click here to see more.

MTV had a recent article on steampunk, reporting on the growth of the movement as a subculture. As is to be expected, MTV focused the mainly on the fashion and music aspects of the culture and didn’t mention steampunk’s ideals at all. They also made a few mistakes, misspelling Jake Von Slatt’s name and making Steamcon sound like it’s taking place this month when it’s not until October of next year. The video (posted above) did a better job introducing steampunk than the article, and even included a couple of music videos by Dr. Steel and Abney Park.

MTV article: here. Accompanying photos: here.