It’s hard to mass produce craftsmanship

Posted by on November 25th,2009

Many who would seek to profit from Steampunk without practicing the culture themselves  are often frustrated that they can’t put “Steampunk-in-a-box” and sell it on store shelves.  As many of our readers know;  a top hat, goggles, and a waistcoat do not a steampunk make.  It is what inside that defines the culture.

That doesn’t stop folks from trying though.  After you click the continue link there is an example of people trying to sell you Steampunk, and actual Steampunk.   Let’s see if you can taste the difference:

gela

What you see above is a protective skin for a mac book sold by GelaSkins.  GelaSkins is a fantastic company that has many beautiful skins for everything from laptops, to ipods, to kindles.  They hold up really well and their steampunk line isn’t limited to just laptops.  However fantastical those may be, they pale, in my mind, to the craftsmanship displayed by well known Steampunk artists Von Slatt and Datamancer.  FYI for those familiar with Datamancer’s work please do click that link. I don’t think we’ve covered that keyboard before and I WANT!  For those who haven’t clicked yet, see below and go back and CLICK!

ergo6

As you can see the quality seems to be lacking in the mass produced product.  Granted the skins are about 20-30 USD and I’m sure these projects were a little higher.  I make this comparison because even if one wanted to spend 100-300 USD for a mass produced Steampunk product I just can’t find one out there.

Until I can go to a Steampunk Sears catalog and have it look like this I think I’m going to have to hire someone to craft my items or make my own. (Link courtesy of Toxel.)