Oh noes!

I've been taken hostage by a heck of a headcold, thanks hubby and all the rest of you at the callcenter!  While a cold or flu usually comes and goes in a matter of just 3 days, this one is lingering around and making it very difficult to get anything done without having to stop for a nap.   Hopefully it will get over with soon so I can get back to work on all the lovelies I had been working on before.

Ideas Abound!

From Ladies Lace gloves to Leather Lawnchairs, my brain has been working overtime while my poor drafting hand tries to keep up.  There are several new sketches and patterns tacked up to the walls of my crafting room (dreadful, white on white place that it is,) and I have begun to sort out materials for each.  In particular I have what I believe could be a revolutionary new idea for footwear that I can hardly wait to reveal (but will because otherwise someone else will steal it away before I can finish a prototype.)

Hopefully that means in the coming days I will begin to integrate the new stock into the etsy store.  In other news, we are looking at purchasing a website that will allow us to later break off from etsy should popularity stick. We are also making tenative plans to attend the Phoenix Comicon event coming in May as this year there will be a steampunk fashion show.  Not to mention that hubby and I have never been to comicon before and just cant wait to go rub elbows with the other geeks and nerds of the area.

Ah, but that may be looking too far ahead.  For now it's back to the combination sewing/time machine.  As it only ever seems to travel forward (in increments of hours at that) I'm sure I'll be back again soon.

A New Agenda, in a Romantic New World

It has been pointed out to me numerous times that the name Alchemic Artisan brought to mind not the person selling brightly coloured yarns and fabric, but instead images of a dimly lit tinkering room full of copper and brass, where a person in neo-victorian dress squinted at tiny vials of this and that, fitting together bits to make something beautiful and useful. While I myself have always had a certain fondness for the romantic, imaginative world of Victorian europe and her grand sense of adventure and discovery, I thought it just a personal remnant of curiosity, not something that othe people cared about.

And then, one fateful trip to a thrift store showed me differently. It started with a red leather coat my husband simply had to have. It ended with me stitching up a vest in a dimly lit workspace and tailoring some pinstripe pants to fit him. Suddenly I realized that Steampunk could be more than a wish for adventure, it could be real, and I could make it so.

This sudden notion was further inspired by the varied interest and excitement we received as we strolled down the street in our new fare. Many grand complements were imparted to me on the magical transformation of my husband, the grunge-hippy, into this handsome adult that stirred the imagination. And I realized, this new world I had fallen into was much too grand Not to share.

So, the shop has been re-imaged, new business cards have been ordered, and the blog has recieved a facelift (from this point forward all my Non-Steampunk crafting, such as the T-Yarn and other random projects, will be on the new Fabricated Transmutations blog!) and soon enough, once the Arizona rain stops and I can begin to take pictures again, The Webstore will be full of leather, lace, ruffles, and pinstripes to delight any Neo-Victorian!

~Kirial