Are you looking for something fun and interesting to explore?  If so, consider dipping your toe into the world of Steampunk.  It’s a fascinating subculture with festivals all around the country, and well worth your time and attention.

What is Steampunk?

In a nutshell, Steampunk is future-past.  Imagine what the world today would look like if the transistor had never been invented.  Instead, the world continued to develop to where we are now. But to make all the technology we enjoy today had been based on steam power.  That, at least, gives you a good idea of what the movement is all about.

You see people dressed in fabulous Victorian era clothing, and armed with props that are all made with gears, lenses and levers.  There’s even a whole school of interior design that’s based around the Steampunk idea.  You can find local artists in many parts of the country that make all manner of household goods, “Steampunk Style.”  It’s so distinctive and beautiful to look at that it’s hard not to love it.

Here are a few examples:

As you can see by browsing through some of the items at the other end of that link, from a design and aesthetic perspective, Steampunk incorporates a very Old World feel.  Lots of ironwork, heavy use of gears incorporated into design concepts, and the like.

Household goods made with the Steampunk aesthetic in mind tend to be as beautiful as they are durable.  These aren’t flimsy, cheaply made products, but rather, built old school style, and meant to stand the test of time.

Steampunk in modern technology

Many fans of the subculture have even gone so far as to “Steampunk up” bits of modern technology, including:

Again, the thing you’ll notice right away is how distinctive these pieces look.  They’re absolutely beautiful, while retaining 100% of their functionality.  You don’t have to settle for the cheaply made stuff flooding our modern world!

If that’s not enough to convince you to give Steampunk a closer look, let’s talk about fashion.  Check out this page for some examples.

As you can see, these are stunning pieces, and sure to get people to notice you!

While it’s true that the Steampunk subculture isn’t for anyone, if you love history, and especially alt. history, have always had a fondness for period clothing, and can’t stand living in what is increasingly becoming a disposable world, filled with cheaply made disposable goods, then Steampunk has a lot to offer.

Granted, the clothing you’ll see may not be suitable for everyday wear, and you might draw some strange looks if you tried to go to your 9-5 job dressed in full Steampunk regalia, but you have to admit, the overall aesthetic is both lovely and striking.

Even better, it’s fairly easy to get into modifying everyday items. You can make your own Steampunk style goods if you are a do-it-yourselfer. This makes it a great way to explore two different subcultures at once.  The bottom line is, Steampunk offers a virtually unlimited canvas to ply your creativity on. It is well worth your consideration!