Fabulous Weekend at the Springfield VT Steampunk Festival!

www.shennashepard.com
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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:

Frederick the Great, my newest Giraffe assemblage was a big hit!

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.

I purchased my two corsets from Capes and Corsets.  They were very busy throughout the fair helping customers and vendors get outfitted for the fair!  Their website is:  www.capesandcorsets.com.

Marcia Hayden Hendrick, who can be found under that name on Facebook, hand makes gators (to put over shoes or boots) and corsets.

Keith Maillette sold flashlights made from 50 caliber bullets (talk about repurposing!), bird houses/feeders, and bracelets all using alcohol dyes.  He designed his own hat and necklace.

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!