Steampunk Fashion Show

I really have been horrible about getting updates done. I suppose that's because I've been so busy painting umbrellas rather than blogging about them. Here I'm thrilled to show off the set I created for the first Steampunk Fashion Show held at the Subterranean in Chicago November 2008. I really need to get these out for a special shoot outside one day soon, since I still have them, but in the meantime I give you the few shots I do have and will follow up with a couple links to others photos.

First up Pop Brollies - Bombs Away. This design was graciously permitted by the amazing Bethany Shorb, the genius behind the Cyberoptix Tie Lab. This is one of her very popular ties. I took the design scaled it way up and hand painted it on a black wood cane umbrella.

Next, Pop Brollies - Steam Wheel. I found the inspiration for this umbrella on a turn-of-the-century steam engine wheel. Obviously the umbrella lends itself to the wheel so it seemed the natural choice for a steampunk themed fashion show. After digging long and hard for just the right way to do this, I found some schematics of a steam engine. Stripped out some excess, enlarged to near life-like scale and voila. A great design for the engineer in your life.

Pop Brollies - Carnival Stripes. I became obsessed with the idea of creating perfect wide stripes on a curved surface. No easy feat mind you, this umbrella clocked in about a month's worth of work in and of itself. I can say if I ever do this one again, it won't take as much time, but I'd guess it'd still rack up a good 40 hours solid. Never-the-less, it turned out fantastic and I'm keeping this one for myself. I love walking around in the rain with it. It's so Beetlejuice!

Pop Brollies - Silhouette. When I think of Victoriana, I immediately think of a silhouette. A classic gentleman's profile in white on a black wooden cane style umbrella. I can just imagine this umbrella along with a lady's silhouette as the perfect wedding gift for a unique bride and groom.

Pop Brollies - 1900 Gears. You can't have Steampunk without gears, but I didn't dig up any old gears for this umbrella. I scoured the net for hours to find gears from bicycle chainrings from the turn of the century. Sadly this photo doesn't quite show them off as well as I'd like, I'll have to see if I have some better photos for you. I can tell you the largest gear at the top is wonderfully sweet with heart shapes in the cut-out of the gear. A wonderful design for a valentine's day gift or just to tell someone you care enough to keep them covered all the time.

Pop Brollies - Hi Biscus. You've already had the pleasure of seeing this wonderful umbrella, but I did choose to show it at the Steampunk Fashion Show as Victorians were keen to study horticulture and often tended to their gardens. My model did such a great job in the show, I wanted to include the photo here for you to enjoy.

For some more great shots, check out the BCJ Photography site, home of the event's photographer.(Warning some images are NSFW) You can also check out the entire runway shoot on my flickr account.