Tap, Tap . . . Is This Thing On?

Well, I'm thinkin' an Official First Post should be an introduction  :)  I'm Brenda Hibbs, and have lived in the nice little University town of Corvallis, Oregon, for about 16 years.  I have always had a love of History, Art and Making, but Especially Science and Machinery (I originally moved here to attend Engineering School... another story).   The tale of the glad happenstance of my coming upon Steampunk a few years ago is told on our About Us page.  Here I think I'll expand on my reason for starting up Steam Circus.

Hubby Jim and I attended SteamCon II last year in Seattle (as our steampunk characters Raven Assemble' and Multifarious Jim, of course!), and really enjoyed ourselves.  I mean, who doesn't like to get dressed up in fancy costumes and go hobnobbing around with others of like mind?  The organizers did an amazing job of creating a family-friendly, fun and educational atmosphere that kept us going early and leaving late every day and wanting more at the end.  It was our first foray into the real world of cosplay (despite having made and sold much steampunk stuff in the previous two years).  Both my Official Mission (researching vendors and costuming styles) and our unofficial one (having FUN) were fully fulfilled!

Steam Circus was an epiphany that burst into my brain not long after our return home.  Themes!  The theme of the convention we had just attended was Weird Wild West.  But skimming through the 'Net I could see that there were SO many other themes to play with - Nautical, Airship Crews, International/Asian . . .  And no matter how I tried, I couldn't find a website that catered to that need.  I had my basic costume (my character, Raven Assemble' was a French tinkerer), but what if I were to attend a Nautical convention?  How could I change up the pieces I already had to fit in with the theme?  Or Jim's Motorcycle Rider outfit - what if we went to a Circus-themed event?  It hit me that it would be very nice indeed to have one place to go, look up various costume types, categories and themes and pick out just pieces that would fit the theme of whatever convention or event I was planning for.  Voila!  SteamCircus.com was born!
My hope for this new endeavor is several-fold:  To make available fun and unique theme-based items (as well as the usual standard assortment); to facilitate the sharing of costume ideas (complete with pictures and diagrams); and to keep our audience informed of upcoming Steampunk events, big and small.  Probably more as time goes by, and that's certainly a good start!
Future blog posts will include not just my own ramblings about my workshop, creative process and more epiphanies, but also the work of  other artists, costume ideas, creative tips & techniques, favorite movies and books, interviews, history articles and posts focusing on specific themes.  Stay tuned!