www.shennashepard.com What fun I had as a vendor at the 2nd Annual Springfield, VT Steampunk Festival, Sept 23-25, 2016! The weekend was filled with festivities all located at the Hartness House Inn shown below: Steampunk is defined in the dictionary as: "science fiction dealing with 19th-century societies dominated by historical or imagined steam-powered technology." I like to think of it as the Victorian age meets the technological future. H. G. Wells' Time Machine and War of the Worlds as well as Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues under the Sea are good representations of steampunk literature. The original owners of the Hartness House mansion were James Hartness (September 3, 1861 – February 2, 1934) and Lena Pond Hartness (August 28, 1865 – March 18, 1933). Mr. Hartness was an executive and governor of Vermont (1921-1923). He was a bit eccentric, with interests in aviation and astronomy. In 1910 he built the Hartness Equatorial Turret Telescope, one of the first tracking telescopes in America. He built the telescope several yards away from the house and, because he didn't want to walk outside in winter to look through the telescope, he built an underground tunnel from the house to the telescope. This unique history of the Hartness House made it the perfect venue for this steampunk festival. With approximately 30 vendors selling various steampunk style products, there was something for everyone at The Trader's Bazaar. Here are photos of me and my booth: Here are photos of some of the other vendors: AuraLynne makes exquisite Victorian-style hats and corseted outfits. I particularly loved the ensemble that she's modeling in this photo. The hat that I am sporting in my photos I purchased from AuraLynne last year. Her website is: www.auralynne.com. Jess LeClair, from Adventure Awaits! is a true artist with an MFA. She designs fabulous and humorous steampunk-style cards such as these shown here. She also designs jewelry and etched wood boxes. Her website is: www.AdventureAwaitsMe.com. My new friends, Marcel and Alison Dion, from Artistic Anachronism, make all sorts of Victorian-inspired jewelry, including these fabulous and authentic chatelaines. These are intended to hook onto a woman's pocket or belt at the waistline and often would have sewing necessities such as scissors, a thimble basket, needle holder, and magnifying glass. I am hoping to have one custom made by Alison! Their website is: www.ArtisticAnachronism.com.
Here are photos of customers and vendors enjoying themselves: Aside from shopping, the weekend was filled with various fun events such as parlor games, absinthe tasting (a potent green aniseed-flavored liqueur, originally made with the shrub wormwood), a burlesque show, various musical bands, afternoon tea, steampunk-style board games, and talks on astronomy, how to create a costume, and Steampunk 101! Thanks to all the event coordinators (particularly Sabrina Smith), vendors, customers, volunteers and Hartness House Inn staff who helped to make this a really fun experience!
2 Comments
9/26/2016 01:25:48 pm
Wow! What great weekend! Shenna had SUCH a great collection of art at this show! Loved meeting Shenna ag as in, and meeting Joe for the first time!
Reply
Shenna shepard
9/26/2016 01:55:49 pm
Thanks Alison!! Had a great time with you and Marcel!!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI am 58 years old, a wife of 27 years, a mother of a wonderful and independent 20-year-old daughter, a clinical psychologist who treats adults in private practice, and last, but definitely not least, an artist. Whew! That was a mouth full. My passion is creating one-of-a-kind whimsical sculptural animals, dolls, and cake toppers (with a little multi-media collage thrown in for good measure). I hope you enjoy my creations as much as I enjoy making them! Archives
September 2019
Categories |