Steampunk Industrial Show, Renningers Mt. Dora, FL


Forgive me for missing our Monday zombie date, but after a weekend full of steampunkie shenanigans, I kinda felt like this:

from:  http://peterwk.tumblr.com/post/28144552201/coffee-zombie
 
I'll be back again next Monday with a zombie delight, but for now, I really wanted to share with you some of the lovely pictures I took at the Steampunk Industrial Show at Renninger's Flea Market and Antique Center on August 4th, 2013 in Mt. Dora, FL.

As you know, I have my toes in both Victorian London and Zombieland, so I carted the family an hour and a half away to Mt. Dora, FL to meet some lovely, goggle-wearing faces! Unfortunately, we arrived at the same moment as the thunderclouds so we didn't have a lot of time to look around. And, given my two little people were tired, hungry, and hot (and if you have little people, you know these are the three benchmarks that indicate a coming apocalypse), we had to steam our way through the show before we had a Griswold moment:

 
Here are is just a sample of some of the steampunk delights to which we were treated. After wandering lost around the Flea Market for about half an hour, a very kinda Wiccan woman pointed us to the Antique Center where we met the Icenogles, owners of the Airship Diamler. They were kind enough to let my children crawl all over their airship. Thank you very much!



 
Given the protagonist of my new series is an airship captain, I really enjoyed having a look at the airship and was delighted to hear they hope to incorporate balloons in the future. My children got a chance to play with a spyglass (often backward) and loved the experience.  

We arrived a bit late on Sunday, but we had the chance to peruse the tents outside before the rain let loose. There was a wide variety of fascinating tinkered items, costumes, jewelry, and antiques on display:

 
 
While the little ones delighted in eating kettle corn, I looked over the tents and meet a number of steampunk artists. No matter what aspect of steampunk you enjoy, Victorian, Regency, dystopian, dieselpunk, gaslamp, etc., you could discover something to your taste at the event. One artisan offered period and crafted items:

 
I also stopped for a moment to chat with the lovely Leslie Kill of Aunt Matilda's Jewelry Box (pictured below). She had a number of beautiful pieces of steampunk jewelry on display. One thing that attracts so many people to steampunk is the aesthetic. Steampunk is beautiful. From lace to leather and copper to coils, steampunk delights the senses. I couldn't resist nabbing a few items, including a charming dragonfly pendant by Ms. Kill and a number of other goodies pictured below:
 
Leslie Kill of Aunt Matilda's Jewelry Box
 
 
Ms. Kill's dragonfly necklace and a gear ring and charms
 
 
I missed a chance to travel through time on the Time Machine of Mr. Galvin (the toddler apocalypse was upon me), but I did get a chance to say hello to RJ (pictured below) and Roseanna Foster of Steps in Tyme Designs.
 


 
If you missed the Steampunk Industrial Show, rest assured that there will be another event in 2014. Watch the calendar at Renningers or join one of the many Florida steampunk Facebook groups, such as the Central Florida Steampunk Association or the Florida Steampunk Society for announcements.

Thank you to all the kind people at the event who allowed me to snap photos, let my children play around all your beautiful tinkered items, and to all the event organizers. It was a great event.

 
 

Steampunk fans, don't forget to stop by every Friday for SteamU; The Steampunk University Lecture Series!

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