Gaslight Expo 2018

It's time for another photo gallery! I went to the Gaslight Expo in San Diego with my sister and niece. It was a lovely event, but the drive was really long. There was a really good selection of steampunk merchandise in the form of clothing, books, crafts, and all kinds of inventions. The Expo had several interesting panels as well, but we needed to leave early and beat some of the traffic. You'll have an idea of the merchants, costumes, and shopping by checking out my photos. As usual, I'll give a commentary and post some useful links. Have fun! 

I have no idea who created this item, but it was super cool. Perhaps, it's supposed to be a steampunk time machine. 

Believe it or not, the Fire Prevention Services had a booth with steampunk lamps. I guess you never know who will attend these events. 

I've encountered this vendor before. Moonlight Wares sells leather goods and costume accessories on Etsy. One of these days, I should order a teacup holster. They're ultra cute and a great addition to steampunk cosplay. I'll leave a couple links, so you can check out more of their merchandise. 
-www.etsy.com/shop/moonlightwares
-www.moonlightwares.com

Holly Rosing is a regular at steampunk festivals and Comic Cons. Steampunk readers primarily know her as the author of a graphic novel titled Boston Metaphysical Society. It's a fun paranormal version of steampunk. The series seems to have a splash of influences from Ghostbusters and X-Files. I bought her companion novel to the series called Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets. It's fun to have a mixture of novels and comic books, so this was a good opportunity. I always enjoy running into familiar faces at these events. 
-Twitter: @MHollyRosing
-Facebook: www.facebook.com/bostonmetaphysicalsocietycomic
-www.bostonmetaphysicalsociety.com

This steampunk fan had a great costume. She was a very animated lady too. It's worth mentioning the Expo's island theme. Here's the basic story. We took the Nautilus and sailed to an island where everyone partied all weekend. Sounds like a blast, right? This outfit worked with the island theme perfectly. 

I found a great merchant for people who create their own costumes. Blue Bottle & Lackin sells various accessories that you can add to any outfit. These items would be good for steampunk and any form of cosplay. Take a look of my photos to see what's going on. 
-www.bluebottleandlackin.wixsite.com

A couple of my favorite steampunk ladies had a booth at the Expo. Michelle Lowe is a fellow steampunk author. She's been releasing quite a few books in her Legacy series. I actually bought her third book titled Legacy: The Underground. If you enjoy reading steampunk novels, try out her series. It's pretty fun and interesting. I was also glad to meet Miss Elaneous again. She makes metal jewelry and bookmarks. You'll always find her dressed for the occasion at any steampunk event. I'll leave some useful links to their social media pages. 
Michelle Lowe
-www.michellelowe.net
-Twitter: @michellelowe_7
-Instagram: Michelle_Lowe6
Miss Elaneous
-www.instagram.com/miss.elaneous

I thought these guys had a cool post-apocalyptic vibe. This gentleman's sword was amazing. A steampunk fan could go on a zombie chopping spree with that weapon. 

Cynthia Diamond is a fellow steampunk author I've met a few times before. She's a really fun romance author who writes about the steamier side of steampunk. I'm not sure if the pun was intended or not. Take your pick. If you want something different, give her books a shot. Her writing actually has a lot more substance and character development than the typical romance story. Cynthia shared a booth with another steampunk author named Marie Andreas. This was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting her. I purchased her novel called A Curious Invasion: The Adventures of Smith and Jones. It's an entertaining steampunk adventure with vampires, aliens, and all kinds of oddities. I'll leave useful links, so you can learn more about both authors. Colleen Archer was also part of this group. I've met her at earlier steampunk events as well. She's the owner of Wyng'd Lyon Creations. She makes custom clothing for various types of cosplay, including steampunk, Ren Faires, witches, vampires, etc. Colleen also sells jewelry, decks of cards, art prints, books, and some licensed merchandise. You can purchase her products directly through the Wyng'd Lyon Creations website. 
Cynthia Diamond
-www.cynthiadiamond/author.com
-Twitter: @CinsDiamond
-Facebook: Cynthia Diamond Author
Marie Andreas
-www.marieandreas.com
-Facebook: Marie Andreas-Author
-Twitter: @MarieAndreas1
Wyng'd Lyon Creations
-http://store.wyngdlyon.com/

It looks like a I screwed up a little bit with this one. I'm pretty sure this vendor is Brass Menagerie. However, I can't find any online links. These gentlemen create mechanical critters that would be quite suitable for any steampunk event. Some of their creations are kind of like puppets that can be manipulated by hand. Hopefully, I'll run into them at another event. Perhaps some of you guys are familiar with this retailer. If they have an official website, I wouldn't mind if someone mentioned it in the comment section. At least you can enjoy some pictures. 

We ran into Dude Vader again! He's a member of the Star Wars Steampunk Universe  cosplay group and a super swell guy. These guys attend nearly every steampunk festival and Comic Con in Southern California. Needless to say, they're a busy group. Dude Vader went all out with his costume. It's a combination of Star Wars, steampunk, samurai, and island themes. You're a bold man, Dude Vader. My niece and I took the opportunity for a brief photo op. 
-www.facebook.com/StarWarsSteampunkUniverse/

There was a historical group who displayed a lot of interesting items. Some of their items were contemporary merchandise, artwork, and whatnot. However, they also had real devices from the 19th century. One of their members showed us a few items that were invented by Tesla and other innovators. I learned a lot of useful information about electricity. Retro futurism at its finest. Their stage name appears to be The Hatefish Crew. Imagine a super submarine with a crew who embraces speculative fiction. Sounds like fun to me. I suppose they might be a cosplay group, but their thematic material seems more like a reenactment group. You should check out their website. They have a really interesting story. 
-www.hatefish.com/

Okay! That's the end of my photo gallery and comments. I hope you enjoyed it and saw something a little different from my previous posts. Watch out for my photo gallery of the Los Angeles Comic Con in a few weeks. I'm also going to attend more events next year. So, there's going to be plenty of steampunk and pop culture in the future. Leave any comments that you have about my photos. You're a great audience and come visit my website again next week. Bye!