{Furi Kuri} Travels: {Inspiration} Steampunk edition

There is something so utterly inspiring by the entire steampunk movement. Born from minds such as H.G. Welles and Jules Verne it's a genre, community, artform and way of life all rolled in. It creates a fantastical universe that seamlessly blends 1800 Victorian aesthetics, worldly technology and science fiction ideals. It seeks to recapture a spirit of invention, adventure, wonder and craftsmanship that one can't help but be excited by. I've mentioned my fondess for steampunk before (here) but lately find myself drawn more and more into the world of Steampunk.

I discovered 2 gems recently that are my current source of Steampunk inspiration:

First up is 1000 Steampunk Creations. I received this lovely book in the mail last week and am pretty sure I ignored S. Monster for the rest of the night (what? It happens). I debated whether to buy this book instead but am so glad I ended up with the choice I did.

This is page after page of carefully curated and swoon-worthy images divided into 7 categories ranging from Home Decor to Inventions with everything in between. There's a 2 page introductory and then nothing but 301 pages of pure visual bliss. Every time I flip it open, I find myself blown away by all of the creativity and attention to detail that is poured into every single creation. This is easily my new go-to when I need a little inspiration boost.

I also stumbled across this short film, "The Bird," the other day and haven't been able to get it out of my head since. It's hauntingly beautiful, a steampunk Bride of Frankenstein-esque creation that is equally lovely as it is dark.

"Bird" - A Decent Animal, Directed by Jon Balcome from Jon Balcome on Vimeo.via Epot

And just because I adore you, here are a few other found Steampunk creations of goodness:

Via Etsy Seller iRetrofone

This is a fully functional iphone dock. Crazy, right? It has a working handset, complete compatibility with USB cable and each individual iRetrofone is "hand-sculpted and hand-cast in urethane resin." Wowza that's impressive.

Trojan Horse III by Willie Bester via here and here

Next up is nothing short of a master piece. This hand crafted work of art is titled "Trojan Horse III" by Willie Bester and was shown at the Robert Bowman Gallery in London. It was painstakingly crafted out of scrap metal from cars and motorcycles and was created to highlight the 25th anniversary of the "Trojan Horse Massacre." More info can be found here