From Wikipedia:

Upcycling is a component of sustainability in which waste materials are used to provide new products. It is generally a reinvestment in the environment. "Upcycling is the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value." This process allows for the reduction of waste and use of virgin materials.

The term upcycling was coined by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, authors of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.

It's a term that my photographer friend Libby Bulloff introduced me to and I hope to make "Upcycling:" a regular feature here at The Steampunk Workshop.  If you have a cool hack for "Upcycling:" send it to Upcycling@vonslatt.com.

We bought this thing in an uncharacteristic flurry of consumerism in preparation for a huge family Thanksgiving dinner.  But you know what?  The damn thing works quite well and is really handy for spot clean-ups which seem to be the only kind of cleanups we ever do these days.

We quickly discovered that the bottles of cleaner were not meant to be re-filled, they have a lock-ring on the cap like some milk bottles, only this ring doesn't break away when you try and twist off the cap.

I've been booked for the first ever California Steampunk Convention in Sunnyvale, California - October 31 through November 2! 

I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing but there is sufficient time to put together a really bitch'n presentation and/or demo!  I'll also be participating in a discussion panel or two.

In addition, some of The Steampunk Workshop's bestest friends will be there, and by that I mean Ann & Jeff VanderMeer the editors of Steampunk as well as those roguishly appealing pirates: Abney Park!

Discounted tickets are on sale now until June 15 for $50, they will be $60 thereafter.

Abney Park posing aboard the Neverwas Haul at Maker Faire 2008 (Photo - Libby Bulloff)

I completely forgot that The Boston Phoenix shot video when they came out to the workshop to interview me! They've just put it up on their site and I've embedded it here:

If you haven't read the whole piece you should! It contains a LOT more then just me, in fact I'm in less then 20% of the written article.

I am so pleased that my home town really seems to "get" Steampunk!

On Saturday May 3, Cap'n Robert of Abney Park, Libby Bulloff of SteamPunk Magazine and I will be on  The Heather Gold Show which will be streamed live from the main stage at Maker Faire.  From Heather's site:

I am happy to announce that The Steampunk Workshop will be making a grand appearance at this years Maker Faire! For those of you not acquainted with it; "Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It’s for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things." Make magazine, sponsor of the event, has been very kind to SPWS and given us a space to create for you what we have named the Contraptors Lounge. It will be a space for Steampunk Makers, admirers, and the unaffiliated or uninitiated to meet, greet, fraternize, and otherwise hobnob with each other and us as well as see some awesome projects!

Appearing at the lounge will be the inimitable Datamancer (of steampunk laptop fame), The Legion Fantastique, Magpie and Libby Bulloff of Steampunk Magazine, Molly 'Porkshanks' Friedrich - whose work has been featured here on SPWS - as well as a several other travellers and Makers including yours truly, Meredith Scheff, and our esteemed proprietor Jake von Slatt.

Maker Faire is held in San Mateo, Ca, on the weekend of May 3rd and 4th. In addition to our humble encampment, there will be all manner of machinery, crafts, lectures, thing-a-ma-bobs, whatchamajigs, and whosawatsits to peruse at your leisure. In other words, if at all humanly possible, you should drag your bustled bootie out there and have yourself one hell of a good time!