Steampunk Road Trip – Bruce Rosenbaum

While en-route to our next destination, I’ve received this aethergram from designer and maker, Bruce Rosenbaum in Massachusetts, United States.

You may have read about Bruce in the Steampunk Museum, or Wikipedia, or half a dozen articles or so. You’ll probably recognize his work from these images:

 

 

Bruce’s aethergram reads:

Just wanted to submit my ModVic’s Steampunk Modification Design Rules to Steampunk Hands Around the World 2018

There are some general Steampunk ‘modifying rules’ that I try to stick by. If you’re not careful, you can transform an object to a point where you lose the essence of what it was — obscuring its rich history and original purpose.

ModVic’s 6 Steampunk Modification Design Rules:

1. Creatively modify primarily authentic Victorian or industrial period objects, salvage items or antiques as the basis (skin) for housing modern technology.

2. Modify objects that are in need of TLC (currently in a state of disrepair). You want to feel that you’re ‘saving’ the object and giving it a new life where otherwise it might have been left to the dustbin or trash heap of history.

Note: Please don’t modify antiques that have great value in their present condition – Steampunkers still value period items ‘as is’ and don’t want to devalue fine or rare objects.  Steampunk inventions may also include recycled items to promote environmentally-friendly reuse designs.

3. Inventions should be of outstanding individuality, beauty and exquisite craftsmanship. You want to mirror the original maker’s pride in the quality of their work.

4. Seamless blending of the period item and new technology and fasteners leading to a feeling of ‘permanence’ to the Steampunk technology design solution. Your creative design solution should feel that the object could have somehow been originally intended to house modern technology when it became available.

5. Use of cutting edge technologies within the Steampunk design. Modern technology has a limited life and it makes no sense to install technology that is already or soon to be obsolete.

6. Understanding how quickly new technologies can be replaced with even newer technologies – reversibility and adaptability should be built into the design process for future designers to incorporate new technologies into the Victorian objects in the future.

Now go find, make and recreate!

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Thanks for the tips, Bruce!

While we continue our journey, here’s a few links to read up on Bruce and his work:

bruce@modvic.com

www.modvic.com

Wall Street Journal: The Man Who Makes Steampunk

CELESTE – The Steampunk Armillary

TEDx Talk Steampunk Design: Reimagining Resilience

Boutique Design Magazine: Steampunk Dynamo

 

Follow the whole road trip on the Master Link List