Etsy shop – Page 7 – Steampunk

Jack Dalrymple and his Mechanical Arm

Posted on February 15, 2017 by janonlife

“The Kraken, Mr Dalrymple? Are you teasing me a little?” Grace asked.
She so wanted to believe his story, but was determined not to be taken for a fool.

img_20160719_150349-2 “I assure you, Miss Templemann, I would not dream of doing anything so ungentlemanly. All I have told you is the truth. I was crossing the Northern Sea in my airship, when a huge green tentacle appeared from far below and, as I explained, rendered most of my arm useless.”

“So how did you survive this fearful attack?” she enquired, glancing at the mechanism which controlled his beaten copper arm.

A shadow crossed Jack’s face as he recalled the event and he gave an involuntary shudder.
“Fortunately it was only my left arm that was attacked. I took my knife and sliced through the beast’s appendage, which fell to the base of the gondola. The creature chose not to waste any more in a further attack.”

“You poor man!” Grace cried, staring deep into his eyes.

Jack flushed slightly at the attentions heaped upon him by the beautiful redhead.
“And what of you, dear lady? For I see that you, too, are waiting for a check-up with Oscar Kopp, the genius who fashioned my mechanical arm, and managed to save my hand. Is your enhanced arm also the result of injury or disaster?”

img_20160710_145925 Grace gave a throaty laugh. “Good gracious no! I asked Oscar to build me this dart launcher so that I might protect myself from attack when I embark on my expedition to darkest Africa. One simply can’t be too careful. I’ve been wearing it for a month and he is due to make any necessary adjustments before my departure on Saturday. But tell me more about your device. It looks most tremendously complicated.”

“The mechanism is mainly to enable me to utilise my hand in a natural fashion, despite all the nerves and musculature having been destroyed,” responded Jack. “As for this chain -”

But he was unable to finish, since at that moment a door opened and Bjorn, Dr Kopp’s half-human, half mechanical assistant emerged, immaculately attired as always, and called, “Next.”

Grace rose to her feet. “It’s been delightful to meet you, Mr Dalrymple,” she smiled.

“The pleasure has been all mine, Miss Templemann,” responded Jack. “I wish you well in your African adventures.”

“This way, Miss,” said the assistant, and Grace was ushered through into Oscar Kopp’s laboratory.

To discover more about Jack, or even to purchase this unique, one-off 6inch tall model click on this link: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/490268411/steampunk-explorer-jack-dollshouse-scale?ref=shop_home_active_16

Grace is also available at the Steampunk Dolls House and can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/476764086/steampunk-lady-grace-dollshouse-scale?ref=shop_home_active_20

Dr Oscar Kopp and Bjorn – his assistant – will also find their way to the Steampunk Dolls House when time permits. Meanwhile, feel free to explore the other delights at the Steampunk Dolls House here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SteampunkDollsHouse

Henry Fotherscue and the Temporal Transformer

Posted on February 10, 2017June 18, 2017 by janonlife

“Would you care to take some tea, Mr Fotherscue?” asked Alice, sweetly.
“Tea?” Henry remarked abruptly, as if being jolted back from more portentous considerations. “Oh yes, if you wish.”
“Darjeeling or Earl Grey?” she persisted.
“Uh, the second one,” he responded as he unstrapped the heavy contraption from his back, placed it carefully on the floor and slumped into the richly upholstered chair she indicated.

Delicately – Alice performed every act with delicacy – she poured the beverage and handed him his cup.
“Uncle Ambrose will be here shortly,” she smiled. “He had a few errands to run.”
“Right you are,” said Henry. Then he stopped and looked at Alice with a degree of interest which had hitherto been lacking. “So you are Ambrose’s niece? Do you live with him here?”
“I lost all I had, including my parents, in the Resplendian Uprising when I was just fourteen. Uncle Ambrose was kind enough to take me in. I act as his housekeeper, and his workshop assistant, when required.”
She didn’t add that this service had only been required on a single occasion, and then only for approximately six minutes, when her uncle had needed someone to turn a wheel while he checked a mechanism from beneath. Normally he allowed no one near his workshop – not even to dust.

Steampunk Explorer 'Henry' Dollshouse Scale 1/12th — Henry

Henry Fotherscue looked duly impressed.
“You are indeed fortunate to live with such a brilliant inventor. Are you, then, familiar with this device?”
“It’s the Temporal Transformer,” Alice replied, in as casual a tone as she could manage. As luck would have it, she had been eavesdropping from the drawing room on the day Henry had first collected it from her uncle, and had overheard a good part of their conversation.

Henry nodded. “It’s been playing up,” he stated. “I think maybe the elephant was a mistake – in more ways than one.”
“Elephant?” Alice enquired, with a slight gasp.
“Hmm. Ambrose warned me not to attempt a transformation with anything too large. But, I mean to say, how large is large? I’d avoided bridges, airships, buildings and so forth, but the locomotive had worked just fine. You should have seen the people’s faces when it appeared in the middle of a market in 1542! The elephant, though – well – not so easy to control.”
“I’m sure,” murmured Alice, weakly. “So – forgive my ignorance, Mr Fotherscue – but when you make a temporal transformation, do you then travel with the object?”
“Well obviously,” Henry replied. “How else could I bring them back?”
“Oh yes, I see,” lied Alice, flushing slightly. “More tea?”
“Perhaps,” he said, absentmindedly. “The thing with an elephant is, you can’t tell what it’s going to do from one moment to the next. Not at all like a machine. And the transformer hasn’t been the same since. I do hope Ambrose can fix it.”

‘So do I,’ thought Alice, grimly. She wouldn’t have wanted to be in young Henry’s shoes if her uncle’s prize invention had been ruined.

Henry

If you would like to become better acquainted with Henry and the Temporal Transformer, they are on view at the Steampunk Dolls House Shop.

Click this link to visit him: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/480727524/steampunk-explorer-henry-dollshouse?ref=shop_home_active_13

The lovely Alice can be found at this link: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/494223091/steampunk-lady-alice-dollshouse-scale?ref=shop_home_active_11

As for Ambrose – the inventor of the machine – he, too, is available there to admire, or purchase.

We hope you will enjoy discovering the remaining delights at the Steampunk Dolls House here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SteampunkDollsHouse

Delores – standing for a photographic sitting

Posted on January 23, 2017January 23, 2017 by janonlife

20160925_114618_resized Allow me to introduce myself – Miss Delores Mayfeather.

Well, appearance is everything, wouldn’t you agree? It’s the details that matter and I should never permit myself to be seen in public without looking my best.
I understand from my eccentric but knowledgeable friend Professor Erazmus that in another dimension it is all the rage to produce ‘selfies’ – images of oneself contained in a small glass device. Imagine being able to photograph oneself, whenever one pleases! I feel I should fit well into that culture. Nevertheless, in mine, I must content myself with ‘sitting’ (although I was compelled to stand, which was most fatiguing) for a photographer named Miss Podmore at her studio in Lexden Gardens.

Steampunk Lady 'Delores' Dollshouse Scale 1/12th I was delighted to discover a female photographer – such a pleasant change from those rough-spoken men – and this lady was both polite and a master of her craft.

She showed me a range of canvas backgrounds – ‘drops’, she called them – and allowed me to select a few. Naturally, I selected images of cogwheels and machinery, the better to display my mechanical arms.

Had you not noticed them? They are most cunningly designed to augment my natural muscles and to allow me to utilise super-human strength – an ability most necessary for a young lady when walking in the streets of London these days, in my opinion.

Miss Podmore was kind enough to say that I made a most agreeable subject. She even asked my permission to display a copy of my photograph in her studio. Naturally, I agreed.

I shall definitely use her services again.

Should you wish to view or purchase a miniature copy of my portrait, simply click here.

I myself can be found at this address.

So delightful to have spoken with you. I must now hasten away to oil my arms. The weather does not agree with them at all.

All change at the Steampunk Dolls’ House

Posted on January 16, 2017 by janonlife

Two of the gentlemen from our collection – img_20160804_092230-1 Alex, the young adventurer whom regular readers last met on an airship journey (here, for anyone who missed it) and img_20160712_175139 James, a debonair gentleman carrying a telescope and sporting a very unusual monocle – are about to embark on a new adventure.

They are leaving our Shropshire stock room, to begin a perilous journey via the postal service, to their new home.

We hope they won’t find the journey too traumatic (What am I saying? These gents live for adventure!) and that they will be thoroughly appreciated by their new custodian.

Meanwhile, new stock will be arriving any day in the shop, as we branch out to include a wider range of items and prices to suit every pocket.

Alex and James are unique, one-off creations and won’t be replaced, but there are plenty of other characters there and new ones will arrive in due course. If you’d like to visit the shop, please click this link. Our range can also be seen here at Steampunk Junkies.

The Scrying Room

Posted on January 4, 2017 by janonlife

As promised, the first of the steampunk-themed rooms has now joined the items for sale at the Steampunk Dolls House shop on Etsy UK.

Professor Erasmus, in his black and gold smoking jacket and cap, stands, deep in thought, staring into the domed scrying glass set into his bench. Ancient books, contraptions and receptacles of various kinds surround him or lie on shelf behind him. An elaborate system of chains and pulleys hang from the ceiling and above the wooden wall panelling, the cogs that control various clockwork mechanisms can be glimpsed.

There are several other images and more details available on the site.

20161230_192628-1 The scrying room was created by Matt, the shop’s owner, while Erasmus was made here in my workshop, to Matt’s specifications.

I’m currently working on a series of framed portraits of the shop’s characters, with help from the ‘effects’ button on my phone. These should be available in the shop soon.

Here is a sepia toned photograph of Erazmus, to give you an idea of how they will look.

You can find full details of the scrying room by clicking here.

Maybe I’m biased, but I think, considering the hours of work and craftsmanship that went into it, it’s very underpriced. See what you think.

Transformation – Amelia (mechanic/aviator)

Posted on December 16, 2016 by janonlife

img_20160716_080357-2 Here’s a rare picture of Amelia with her identical twin sister Leonora. When I first met them they both looked exactly like Leonora (left).

All my steampunk characters start out as mass produced dolls which I pick up online or in shops or bazaars.

First the clothes and excess glue are stripped off. Then I look at the hair and decide whether it’s salvageable. Sometimes I keep it and just do a restyle, as I did here. Sometimes I make a new wig.

Next they sit for a while on the workbench while I decide how to transform them. I’d done several lovely Victorian ladies in long dresses with top hat style fascinators or cogwheel covered headdresses, but Amelia seemed to want to break the mould.

img_20160716_080532-1 So here she is – a fearless flyer and expert mechanic. She may be petite and blonde, but she’s the equal of any other aviator and is happy to strip down an engine with the best of them.

The details were fun to make – the hip flask swinging from her belt and the leather wristband, the brass knee protectors worn over tight leather trousers, the chamois leather scarf and the wrap-around goggles.

20161009_190651 As for Leonora, she must have been inspired by her sister. Following a very unpromising start as a dolls’ house housewife, she ended up as a renowned explorer, travelling the world with her glass astro-chronometer. Her unusual goggles have integrated clockwork dart-launchers. I wish I had the skill to make them work!

If you’d like to see more pictures of this intrepid duo, or welcome them into your lives, the links to their pages at the Steampunk Dolls House are here:

Amelia: Click here.

Leonora: Click here.

Bella

Posted on December 8, 2016 by janonlife

Meet Bella, one of my favourite steampunk creations.

The ballgown I fashioned for her has a black brocade skirt, trimmed with metal beads and cogs. The bodice and sleeves are made from pale grey leather and black lace, heavily embroidered with watch parts.

Some costumes work better than others and Bella’s suits her personality well. I was going to make her a headdress of some kind – perhaps a veil over her face, made from the same lace that covered her bodice.

Bella was adamant, though. She wanted a mask.

I’d never made one before at that scale (1:12). I used a piece of lace, stiffened with several layers of PVA to make the mask base. Next I raided my box of watch parts. Two pieces (called, I think, ‘flirts’) took my eye. Wired together, they made a skeletal stag’s head shape. Tiny coils of brass wire formed the eye spaces and cheekbones. Minute cogs and chains were stitched into the spaces, and there was Bella’s mask.

Now she can decide whether to wear it on top of her head or as a mask. She normally chooses the latter, though. Bella enjoys retaining an air of mystery and keeping her identity concealed.

If you would like to visit Bella in her temporary home at the Steampunk Dolls’ House shop, click here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/490262419/steampunk-lady-bella-dollshouse-scale?ref=shop_home_active_8

If you’d like to give her a permanent home, she is available for sale.

Algernon and Mercurius

Posted on December 2, 2016February 9, 2017 by janonlife

20160929_133029 “Mongolia?” repeated Mercurius, his eyebrows almost vanishing beneath his flying helmet.

“Oh yes. Mongolian Steppe. Perfect climatic conditions there for incubation,” mumbled the old man, whose back was turned as he counted the money and placed it into a brown envelope.

“Incubation?”

20160925_114134_resized “There’s no need to squawk in that manner, young man,” Algy responded. “Your advertisement in the Gentleman’s Weekly stated that you would carry any cargo to any destination with no questions asked. Yet you pester me with questions!”

Mercurius shook his head slowly. Algernon Fforbes was not typical of those who required his services. To be honest, he was most often called upon to deliver weaponry of various kinds. This intricately carved casket and its key – which he was under the strictest instructions not to open under any circumstances until he arrived at his destination – intrigued and concerned him, in equal measure.

“Forgive me,” he said, “I have no wish to know the reason you are sending this – item, or where you obtained it.” (This was patently untrue; he was itching to know both these facts.) “However for my own safety I need to know what type of material I am carrying.”

Algernon gave a snort of irritation and reached for his pipe. “You are carrying an egg, young man. It is well wrapped, so you need not fear breaking it, unless you are foolish enough to crash that flying contraption of yours. You are to find as remote a location as possible in the Mongolian Steppe, place the casket on the ground and unlock it, using the key provided. You will then have ample time to leave the vicinity and fly away before the di- before it hatches. I’d advise you to make as much haste as possible, however, since you are so concerned for your safety.”

“So I simply abandon it there?”

“Have I not just said as much?” Algy snapped.

20160929_133135 Somewhat unwillingly, Mercurius picked up the casket and attached it to the lanyard beneath his greatcoat. He hung the key beside it. Algernon handed him the envelope stuffed with banknotes.
“You will find the agreed fee there,” he said shortly.

The messenger walked slowly to the door. He made every effort to keep silent, but finally cried, “You are spending a huge amount of money, it appears, to abandon some unfortunate newborn creature to a slow and lingering death in a frozen wilderness, Sir. There seems no rationality to it!”

Algy smiled at this. “Not at all, I assure you. The creature will thrive. The conditions in the area where you will leave it are the closest on the planet to those in which it was conceived, in its own time. I am offering it – via your services – the gift of life. Now good day, Sir, and make your journey with the utmost speed.”

20160925_114057 As the door closed behind Mercurius, Algy picked up his Device and cradled it fondly in his arms.

“The ‘creature’ will thrive,” he chuckled to himself. “But I can’t say what the effect on those who encounter it may be.”

If you would like to become further acquainted with Mercurius (complete with the casket and key) follow the links below to his page at the Steampunk Dollshouse. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/490270025/steampunk-gentleman-mercurius-dollshouse?ref=shop_home_active_11

Algernon is no longer available. All the characters in the shop are one-off creations, so won’t be replaced once sold. However there are many more to choose from here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SteampunkDollsHouse?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Lucy and Eve – both ladies?

Posted on November 28, 2016 by janonlife

The students at The Lucerne Academy for Young Ladies sat in a neat and expectant semi-circle. It was not often a visitor came to speak to them, and this one had apparently come at the personal invitation of Miss Lucy.

img_20160805_224038-1 Lucy Etherington was a legend at the Academy. Her classes were always full; her lessons were endlessly surprising and – while her teachings were sometimes frowned upon by the more conservative members of the college’s governing body – her successes were indisputable. Many of her former students were now world renowned explorers, inventors and scientists.

There was a slight gasp as the visitor entered the room. She moved gracefully and smoothly, almost gliding into position before the pupils. She gave an engaging smile and the girls looked in amazement from her to their teacher and back.

“Miss Lucy,” cried Grace, remembering just in time to raise her hand before speaking, “Are you twins – or sisters, at least? Your faces look so alike!”
There was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the group.

img_20160724_170539-1 The visitor gave a tinkling laugh, not unlike the sound of tiny metal bells.
Miss Lucy smiled as well. “We are – one could say – very closely connected. Young ladies, allow me to introduce Eve.”

There was enthusiastic applause.
Lucy turned to Eve and said, “We are delighted to welcome you here. Perhaps you would be kind enough to demonstrate some of your accomplishments to the students.”
“I’d be delighted,” replied Eve, still with the soft, ringing voice that was pleasant to the ear, and yet ever so slightly disturbing.

She moved across to the piano and began to play a tune – a piece by Handel, which many of the girls had themselves studied. After this she showed them several watercolour paintings – proficient yet, it must be said, lacking any particular creativity – and passed around some embroidery she had completed.

The clapping became merely polite; the smiles and nods on the girls’ faces grew more fixed. All of Eve’s ‘accomplishments’ were quite charming. They mirrored those expected of the girls themselves by the majority of their parents and tutors. The students were far too carefully educated to fidget or yawn, of course, but this was hardly what they had come to expect in one of Miss Lucy’s lessons.

Lucy, meanwhile appeared to be giving little attention to her guest. She seemed much more concerned with the equipment in her leather bag and was constantly turning dials and pressing buttons. The girls were mystified.

Naturally it was again Grace – the wildest and most impetuous of the group – who gave voice to their puzzlement.
“Miss Eve,” she said, picking her words with far more care than was usual in her case, “I think your music and artistic ability are wonderful, but I just wondered…”
“Yes, my dear?” trilled Eve, with an encouraging smile.
“Well, do you do anything – um – creative? I mean, I know all the skills you have shown us are creative, of course, but I mean, do you – invent, like Miss Lucy, for example?”

There was absolute silence in the room. Grace and her fellow students wondered anxiously whether she had been impolite. They watched their teacher and the visitor with a mixture of fear and anticipation.

Eve smiled. She turned her head and glanced at Miss Lucy. Miss Lucy nodded slightly.

“What an excellent question, young lady,” smiled Eve, and there was an audible sigh of relief from the girls. “Sadly, I am not able to ‘invent’ as you put it – important and vital as such things may be. You see, you young ladies posses something which I do not have. You have the drive and ability to be endlessly creative and to mould your world in countless innovative and brilliant ways. Alas, I do not.”

Grace exclaimed, “But you’re not that old! Miss Lucy is -”
“My friend means,” cut in Katherine, the girl seated next to Grace, hastily, and with burning cheeks, “Miss Lucy has been a wonderful example to us of how nether gender nor age should ever be a bar to achieving great things in life.”

Eve smiled again, and Miss Lucy gave a slight cough which almost managed to conceal her snort of laughter.

“My dear young people,” smiled Eve, “You are completely correct. I am glad that you have listened so carefully to your teacher. However, when I said there was something that I lacked, I was not referring to strength, youth or vigour. Indeed, my strength surpasses that of the strongest of gentlemen.”

To prove her point, she crossed again to the piano, stood behind it and lifted it effortlessly above her head. There were gasps and a few screams from the audience. She smiled and replaced it carefully.
“What I lack, my dears, and what you – and your teacher – all possess in abundance… is a soul. Without a soul, creativity is reduced to mere copying, as the young person sitting there so astutely noticed. I can learn a piece of music or paint a scene perfectly. I am able to conduct a conversation with only a small amount of assistance.”
She glanced once more towards Lucy, who removed her hand from the dial she was adjusting and placed her hands in her lap.
“But to invent,” continued Eve, “to create, to alter the world in the ways that I hope you will all go on to do – for that, a soul is required.”

The audience sat and stared at her in stunned and uncomprehending silence.

“Perhaps it is time to share your secret with the young ladies,” suggested Miss Lucy. “You will NOT require smelling salts,” she added rather sharply, turning to the students and raising her eyebrow slightly. “Simply open your minds and expand your understanding of what is possible.”

The girls leaned forward in their seats.

img_20160724_170620-1 Eve nodded and gave her tinkling, slightly mechanical laugh once more.
“To do so, young ladies, I will need to turn my back on you, I’m afraid. Your teacher and I do indeed have a very close relationship. I am her creation!”

As she said these words she revolved gracefully, revealing the intricate mechanism set into her back, which had so far remained concealed.

“I am, my dears – an automaton.”

Like all the other characters available from the Steampunk Dolls House, Lucy and Eve, as well as Grace and Katherine are one-off, handcrafted 1:12 scale models, made by upcycling and customising dolls house dolls.

They are currently available at £25 each. Click below to visit their links in the shop:

Lucy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/480729250/steampunk-lady-lucy-dollshouse-scale?ref=shop_home_active_3

Eve: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/494222499/steampunk-lady-eve-dollshouse-scale?ref=shop_home_active_6

Grace: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/476764086/steampunk-lady-grace-dollshouse-scale?ref=shop_home_active_16

Katherine: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/476770330/steampunk-lady-katherine-dollshouse?ref=shop_home_active_15