TheBrassApple

We will be at Clockwork Con this weekend. We are running two panels: Multicultural Steampunk on Saturday at 4 P.M., and Advanced Multicultural Steampunk on Sunday at 1 P.M. If you come to the convention, please find us as we love meeting people in person.

We are making some changes in what we do and how we do it. First big change involves promoting multicultural steampunk. We are getting involved with more conventions by holding panels. At Oni-con 2011 www.oni-con.com and Ikkicon V www.ikkicon.com we ran our "Multicultural Steampunk" and "Traditional Japanese Clothing" panels. The attendance was great, especially at Ikkicon, and we heard a lot of great comments and input. We are continuing this trend at Clockwork Con www.clockwork-con.com with two panels: "Multicultural Steampunk" and "Multicultural Steampunk: Advanced." Our basic panel covers a wide array of topics to discuss why cultural integration in steampunk is important, how to do it without offending, and more. The advanced panel will go more in depth by covering specific cultures (about 3) and how to integrate them with steampunk. At the beginning of February, we will be at Ushicon www.ushicon.com to hold three panels: "Multicultural Steampunk," "Traditional Japanese Clothing" and "Obi Knot Tying." A month later, we will continue with four panels at All-Con www.all-con.org in Dallas: "Multicultural Steampunk," "Multicultural Steampunk: Advanced," "Traditional Japanese Clothing" and "Kimono for Cosplay." The "Kimono for Cosplay" panel will cover what it says, and is a panel originally started by Christina, The Kimono Lady www.thekimonolady.com . As we travel to the Dallas area a fair amount, we're covering this topic in that region.

Aside from panels to help spread the concepts of multiculturalism in steampunk, we created a new group on deviantArt, Cultural-Steampunk. The group is open to membership, and eventually we will have some people promoted to contributors and other admins. Drop in and peruse the wonderful creations of the members in the group.

There are some changes to the business forthcoming, but we're still finalizing the details. Once everything is settled, everyone will be told about it. No seriously, everyone. Really...

We are making our way through the crafted goods in order to prepare a decent selection for Oni-Con www.oni-con.com/main this year. We are running two panels and will have a table in artist alley. This is our first vend for a big con. Oni-con started as an anime convention. While it still maintains a lot of anime culture, the cosplay aspect has opened the door for others like Steampunk. We are very happy that, like last year, the con admins are extremely welcoming to the Steampunk community.

We plan on bringing our usual assortment of assembled jewelry pieces, but we will also have some new items. We will have:

1. Some of our Wild West Meets East items
2. A sampling of our new Steampunk kanzashi
3. New hair ornaments
4. Some papier mache masks (including the Steampunk Kitsune mask)
5. Cravats with Asian/South East Asian fabrics
6. Potentially an example of a new chainmail piece


We might have more, but that depends on how well life is kind to us and allows for the time necessary to make beautiful pieces for our fans.

Steampunk Saturdays at the Community Renaissance Market in Austin www.communityrenaissancemarket… the next few months, and then Oni-Con www.oni-con.com. Until then, it is workshop time for experimentation and new stuffs. We've been churning over a few ideas, so now is the time to put them to the test and see the results. That and we now have a mass load of leather scraps and need to make use of them.

Monday is Independence Day, 4th of July. Unfortunately, this year's weather has not provided us the moisture needed in Texas, therefore, a lot of locations have cancelled their fireworks shows to avoid burn risks. However, the weather has not caused the cancellation of the Independence Day in the 1800s celebration tomorrow, July 2, at Pioneer Farms www.pioneerfarms.org/ in Austin, TX. This event will run from 10:00 A.M. - 05:00 P.M.

Pioneer Farms is a Texas pioneer re-enactment site with five different pioneer camps, a blacksmith, and wagon rides. It's a great place to let the kids have fun and learn at the same time. This event will have live gun shows, blacksmith demonstrations, music, and more. There will be a concession stand for food and beverages, and three vendors: Vaquero Gun Leather www.waqueroleather.com/ (producers of leather holsters, belts, and more), WindPlay www.windplaykites.com/ (vendor of kites and other aerial toys), and us, The Brass Apple www.facebook.com/TheBrassApple… (with our Asian-inspired finery).

I look forward to seeing anyone from the Austin or surrounding area out at Pioneer Farms. And remember: if you see something you like, then ask about it and we'll help you acquire it.