The lovely ladies from Erinbank now stock my Steampunk Pendants. The shop itself is full of wonderful items, with such an eclectic mix, its such an experience just to wander about within.
Do drop in for looksee: Erinbank, 196 Bellair St, Kensington
Otherwise, you can see lots of other things at KAIJ on Etsy.
Just a quick caution, this post is nothing to do with hair, hair clips or fascinators!
Hiya, sorry I havn’t posted in a while, I’ve had a few pressing problems. HOWEVER…
I am so enamoured with the steampunk style I had to include the work I’ve been creating lately…these pendants are Russian watchmovements chocablock with Swarovski crystals.
I’m looking for a new online site to feature them…stay tuned.
For now see my work at Etsy: KAIJ. Let’s see where these take me!
Thought I’d drop a line about my new do-it-yourself range of crochet flowers. It comes in the form of a kit with the instructions, the wool, hair clip and a vintage button. You can find these at Onabee: 200 Bellair Street, Kensington. Of course, the instructions will allow you to make loads of flowers in the future, using your own wool.
KAIJ Crochet Flower Instructions
KAIJ crochet flower kit
Thanks again for stopping by….you can see more of my crochet, brooch and fascinator work at Etsy: KAIJ
Thought I’d drop a quick line to let you know that my work can now be found at Willow: 173 Union Rd, Ascot Vale. This is for all of you that have been asking: where can I pick up, touch, handle, take a closer look at your work?
At the moment there are only hairclips and brooches available, whilst fascinators are available during the Spring Racing carnival.
Here are a couple of brooches and hairclips that you can find at Willow:
KAIJ brooch hairclip
KAIJ hairclip brooch
KAIJ brooch hairclip
Thanks for stopping by, you can see more of my work at Etsy: KAIJ
I want to share another fascinator commission I created recently and my lovely client kindly consented to include her image. Isn’t she just stunning.
1 KAIJ Custom Fascinator
My client1 found the black and white turkey feathers herself and conveyed that she wanted more black with a splash of red, so here’s what I came up with. The turkey feathers2 form a circular shape with the black stripped Nagorie placed loosely on the ‘corners’. The Nagorie look as though they have been placed randomly, however, each feather had a specific job. Some were placed closer in so they appeared shorter, whilst others were curled and left longer to appear wispier. I also included 3x white biots and they really set off the whole piece. The red crochet flower3 has a steampunk striped vintage ruby-jewelled watchmovement with 4x Swarovski crystals of black, red, grey and diamond. The fascinator has a spiral base with a slide comb.
I’m thrilled at how it turned out and my client was too. Thanks for visiting again, you can see more of my fascinator work at Etsy: KAIJ.
2 KAIJ Custom Fascinator
3 KAIJ Custom Fascinator
Hi there one and all, I had quite a few people ask me what fascinator I would be wearing to the races and thought I would share it today. I went last Saturday to the Emirates Stakes Day at Flemington. You know, 2011 was Flemington’s 151st Carnival! The roses were just stunning this year.
The fascinator has crochet (naturally) in orange for the rosette flower with a Russian vintage watchmovement decorated with Swarovski crystals and the flower was surrounded with black coral crochet. It also has a crin wave at the back – might have to use more of this (slippery to work with, but gives an incredible effect). Just in front of the crin are biots that have just a hint of curl. To finish it has some ostrich for a frenzy effect. The photos only show the side and top view. From the front it looks like an all black fascinator – showing the black crochet and with a touch of ostrich falling over the side of the face, but then when you turn – wow this splash of stunning orange.
These photos were taken before I added even more ostrich and I haven’t decided whether to include the photo of me wearing it yet (with the front view)….thinking…
KAIJ my own fascinator
KAIJ my own fascinator
Thanks again for visiting, you can see more of my fascinator work at etsy: KAIJ
I’ve had a lot of people ask me about Steampunk, especially in Aust (Melbourne) as this style is relatively new here compared with the rest of the world.
I tried to find an ‘Oxford’ type definition without success so with a bit of Googling I have come up with my own interpretation:
Steampunk is influenced from the ‘steam’ era (Victorian era) and is swayed by many areas including writing; such as those works from Jules Verne or H.G. Wells (Journey to the Centre of the Earth or The Time Machine) and technology; steam power replaced horse power (e.g. steam engine, complicated machinery and the pocket watch); and of course the fashion (Those long sleeved, high necked, corsetted long dresses).
Here are some of my favourite images of Steampunk Fashion, these will give you a better idea of this inspiring style:
Image courtesy Bound By Obsession 1
Instead of wearing the corset hidden away under the dress, Steampunk has offered this stunning corset1 by Bound by Obsession to be worn on the outside as a fashion item in its own right.
Those long lacey sleeves of the Victorian dress have been replaced by the lace cuff2 such as this stunning example by edm designs.
Images courtesy edm Designs 2
Of course you can’t go past wearing something on your head, here’s a stunning top hat3 by House of Nines and another interpretation4 by Midnight Agenda with my own interpretations5, 6 using the inside of a watch (watch movement) as the focal point on the Fascinator. You can see the influences in each piece and each has its own interpretation of the Steampunk style.
Thanks for stopping by today, you can see more of my fascinator work at Etsy: KAIJ
Image Courtesy House of Nines 3
Image Courtesy Midnight Agenda 4
Steampunk Fascinator by KAIJ 5
KAIJ Steampunk fascinator 6
