Steampunk Gift Ideas
Here are some nice, mainstream steampunk gift ideas. By mainstream, we mean subgenre, but readily available to those who are more shoppers than makers.
You should, by now, be quite familiar with steampunk culture with its DIY steam fashion ethic, gadgets, dandyism and mad scientists’ laboratories. The key element is fanciful vintage industrialism, based mainly on steam machines. Despite the fact that steampunk roots go back to the homonymous literary genre, it has spawned a totally new subculture and lifestyle. Thus, steampunk stuff is not only perfect for movies and literature with its inventively visceral properties, but it also works for bringing it into your home, onto the street or sharing with friends as gifts. Can you imagine the delight on your steampunk-obsessed fellow’s face when they unwrap a present box and behold a new pair of machinist goggles? It’s nice to have crazy ideas about gorgeous gifts now and then. Never give them what they ask for. Give them what they need.
Steampunk goggles
Steampunk goggles are a key element in the wardrobe of any self-respecting steampunk afficionado. If you know someone who is eager to lay their hands on these (or even one who’s never considered the idea: even better), now is the time to show your attentiveness and care by a rather novel means. Goggles range from the sturdy and simple to ornate, and some have tinting properties if you’re lucky.
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Pocket watches and fob watches
Photo: 4.bp
To complete the look and tell the time in style, a pocket watch is pretty essential. These exquisite, elegant mechanical gadgets match perfectly with top hats, goggles and suits. Steampunk ladies can attach pocket watches to their Victorian corsets, blouses or vests to bring a more aristocratic and simultaneously adventurous spirit to their image. When hunting for kraken, no-one in Atlantis can hear you scream… but you always want to know what the time is. It might, after all, be tea time.
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Steampunk laptop skins
This laptop is designed and constructed by Richard ‘Datamancer’ Nagy, well-known in steampunk circles, and is considered to be a masterpiece in steamwork. Whoever said laptops are required to be sleek pieces of plastic? Although the piece is not currently available for sale, Datamancer has announced that he is ready to start building and selling ornate laptops. Don’t waste a single second – be the first to get a unique piece that will bring steampunk aesthetics to your home and lift the spirits of you or your friend every time they see it.
Alternatively, for a quick fix you can get steampunk laptop skins all over the place. To quote Withnail and I , “they’re selling hippy wigs in Woolworths…”
Buy steampunk laptop skins on Amazon
Steampunk mobile phone or cell phone
Because you use a mobile phone so often throughout the day, the minute you get one that’s been modded you’ll feel saturated with the ethos rather than just applying a superficial steampunk gloss to yourself. Fortunately, there are many models of steampunk cell phones available online as well as tutorials showing how to modify a cell phone to attain the steampunk look by yourself. Although, if you’re not familiar with delicate crafting and would like your phone to not only look nice but retain its functions, it’s usually better to buy one direct or approach the professionals.
These are just a few of the more mainstream steampunk gift ideas out there. And by mainstream, we’re by no means insulting goggles or pocket watches – we’re just saying they’re readily available. If your friends are eccentric, they’ll love them. And who isn’t? And who wouldn’t?
What’s the time, Mister Wolf?