Steampunks in Space!

If you’re not here yet – you truly should be! Last night’s Victorian Ball was lovely, with great performances, brisk polkas, soothing waltzes, amazing costumes and of course… high tea! If you haven’t bought your pass yet, we have them here at the door: $65 for the weekend, $30 today (and night) only, $25 for Sunday and variations thereof.

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The Vendor Halls are filled to overflowing with beautiful, wonderful steamy things; the Museum is soon to be open, the Speakers are warming up their voices and Miss Kalendar shall soon be brewing her first pot of tea… Oh yes, and there is a Swamp Hop and Hootenanny tonight that you truly will not want to miss! One pass gets you everywhere…

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Come join us!

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We thought about also offering seven day tickets, but as four of those days would essentially be hanging out in the hotel and walking around Santa Clara, we thought better of it. Not that there’s anything wrong with Santa Clara, mind you, and if you’d like to spend the rest of the week doing so, by all means be our guests.

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Go to: https://resweb.passkey.com/go/CWSL or call the hotel at 888-421-1442. 

Wanna pay less?? Be sure to mention you’re with the Exhibition, to get a discount!

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The date for our block rate has passed, HOWEVER –

the Hyatt staff will try to accommodate rooming requests

and will discount the pricing on our guests’ rooms if they are able.

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Dorothy Whitman

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Dorothy started doing Steam Punk art after seeing the display at the Dickens Fair a few years ago, being fascinated with the themes and the visuals. She’s been painting since she was a kid but for the first time she has an ongoing central focus: Steampunk. Quote: “I have a learning disability which has taught me to do things differently.” Dorothy is also a Nova Albion Vendor so all her works can be viewed and purchased at her vendor’s booth.

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Q: What medium do you work in and what materials do you use?

My absolute favorite material to work with right now is copper. I was really glad when the price dropped. Lots of my pieces have copper pipes, wires, nails and screen on them. I like the color and the fact that it’s been around for so long. If I can’t get the copper to do what I want I will mold polymers to look like pipe.  I run the copper pipes in such a way to lend an industrial feel to the work. I just love the clockwork-mechanical aspects of Steam Punk and wish I was a bit more on an engineer.

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For the full interview, please CLICK HERE!

From our wonderful new Museum of Curiosities Curator, Professor Joseph Max:

Thomas Willeford!

As it was with Gail Carriger, our Author Guest of Honor, I feel that listing Thomas’ many accomplishments to this crowd is a bit redundant, but here’s an excerpt from his bio:

“With degrees in physics, history, and art, it was perhaps inevitable that Thomas Willeford (aka Lord Archibald “Feathers” Featherstone) would become a steampunk enthusiast. His work blurs the precarious line between art and engineering. If, upon viewing a piece, one does not ask “Does that actually work?” he considers the piece a failure.

Thomas has been creating unique and beautiful corsets and all manner of striking Steampunk gadgetry for more than 20 years. Thomas is also the author of the critically acclaimed steampunk how-to book “Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos” (McGraw-Hill).”

Please join me in welcoming Thomas Willeford as our 2013 Maker Guest of Honor.
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Okay now, if you have a second, I’d like to say a bit more on the topic…

Steampunks come to the party for a wonderful variety of reasons. For some, it’s the books and the storytelling, for others, it’s the clothes and the costumes and for others still, well, in the words of Jack Nicholson’s Joker, “Where does he get such wonderful toys?”

By and large, people are drawn to all three elements (and many more I’m not listing here), but in my experience, most of us have one area that especially speaks to them and for me, it’s the makers.

This is why we’ve worked so hard, from the first Nova Albion to now, to create an innovative and inspiring maker track as part of our programming and have had Maker Guests of Honor all along.

Bringing it back to 2013 and this announcement, I couldn’t be happier that Thomas agreed to be our GoH. He’s vended with us since the first Exhibition as Brute Force Leather and he wrote one of, if not the, best Steampunk maker book on the market and is working on another book in the series, which should be released in time to make a wonderful gift choice for the 2013 holidays. But through all of this, Thomas is still one of us, as much a fan of the genre as one of the experts and this, my friends, is why I love Steampunks and the wonderful things they do.

So, please join me in welcoming Thomas as our Maker GoH.

We are exceedingly proud to announce that the Author Guest of Honor for the 2013 Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition will be none other than…

GAIL CARRIGER!

As someone who is part our far-flung tribe of brass and steam, I’m guessing that you’re more than a little familiar with Gail’s books and lovely presence on the aetheric winds of social media, but for the two or three of you who aren’t, here is a more thorough description:

The time has come to explore new, uncharted lands, to seek your fortune and adventure in the vast expanses of our known and unknown universe… to trip the light fandango on the dusty red surface of Mars, join a safari in the swamps of Venus, hunt leviathan on Jupiter and race your aerial chariot around the wild rings of Saturn… the possibilities are limitless, as Nova Albion presents:

STEAMPUNKS in SPACE!

The Grand Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition returns to the decadent Hyatt Regency Santa Clara in 2013 for three glorious days, April the 26^th, 27^th and 28^th. Come rub elbows with preeminent scientists and planetary ambassadors, hob-nob with famous airship captains and explorers, and of course imbibe a proper cuppa with the crème-de-la-crème of Victorian society.

We shall present the Foremost Authorities to enlighten and enrich you, provide Grand Entertainments for your amusement and edification, and fill our market stalls with Fine Purveyors of exotic artifacts, rich clothing and jewels, the newest ingenious gadgets, sturdy exploration gear and more.

If you want to offer your time and/or expertise towards making 2013 happen in a Big, Grand Way, (or even in a small, quiet way), please join the Nova Albion Volunteers Group on FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/groups/NovaAlbionVolunteers/ or send an email to volunteers@steampunkexhibition.com

Come to the Grand Exhibition of 2013

The sky is the limit, dear friends, and the heavens await!