Maker Faire 2010

Come see me and my leatherwork this weekend at Maker Faire in San Mateo, California. I will be an exhibitor at Bazaar Bizarre, booth #56.

I will be showing (and offering for sale) hundreds of leather masks, plus selected steampunk items. Both Sentinel and the Rhino gas mask will be on display for the first time ever in the US.


I am also bringing a couple of steamy top hats. If you come to the show please stop by and introduce yourself.



For info on Maker Faire

RHINO Gas Mask: The Poster

My latest steampunk gas mask is now available as a poster on Zazzle. Many of my other steampunk creations are available as posters on Zazzle as well.

Rhino Gas Mask: Strap Design

The Rhino is my fourth gas mask. The first one—simply called Gas Mask—was the first steampunk item I ever made. Since making other styles I now refer to this design as No. 43.

Pictured above is a No. 43 showing the straps, with the buckles attached to the mask surround and the straps made up of four pieces of leather, riveted (or sewn) together. My second gas mask was Pachydermos, which combined elements of No. 43 and the canisters of my first respirator, the Bad Air Transmutator. It kept the same straps as used in No. 43.

My third gas mask was part of the Sentinel ensemble, shown above. The straps were once again similar to the first two, with slight design modifications.



For the Rhino gas mask I've decided to make two major changes in regards to the straps. First of all I have streamlined the pattern into just two pieces, seen below.



And secondly, I've reversed the buckles and straps from the previous versions. On the Rhino, the free strap ends will be pointing away from the face.

Rhino Gas Mask: The Canister

I was feeling really stuck on how to build the canister. The primary problem in my mind was getting it to fit with the look of the eyepieces and horn. Those two are both strong designs with little subtlety and no detail.


I decided that while I could keep the basic bulky shape of the canister, that I would need to build it from scratch (and not simply modify the original one), in a manner similar to the nose horn, and in the same material. Here is the acrylic and resin model, and the engraved bottom part (made of acrylic and Bondo™), which will be attached before molding and casting.

R.H.I.N.O. Gas Mask: The Canister

Yes, Rhino is now an acronym: Respiratory Hindrance of the Inhalation of Noxious Odours. Now there is a story of how the Rhino Mask got its name! Anyway, I've been thinking about what shape to make the air purifying canister, and after much deliberation have decided to stick closely to the original.

Here you can see a photo of the mask (minus its straps). The large squat tubular form of the attached canister is quite common, and strictly functional. Given that the horn nose has a strong fantasy element to it, I think that the canister balances it nicely by keeping the simpler shape.


Of course I will gussy it up some, giving it a real Victorian look with leather, and decorative reliefs, etc. Beautiful yet functional. That is the plan for now, always subject to change. Above is my sketch that I'll work from.

Rhino Gas Mask: Adding the Trim

Today I added leather trim around the eyepieces and the intake port. I also finished putting in all the rivets. I am leaning heavily toward going with the rhino look, by making the nasal exhaust vent "hornish" looking. That way it will pair nicely with Pachydermos.

Rhino Gas Mask: The Prototype

Every mask needs a name, and I am calling this one (at least for now) the Rhino, due to its obvious nasal projection.


Here is the first prototype in leather. The paper prototype showed me a lot about the pattern, but paper doesn't bend or stretch or compress the way that vegetable tanned leather does, so until I build it in leather I don't really know what it's going to do.

There are several things I'm going to change on the pattern. The surround needs to be enlarged as I didn't take into consideration the thickness of the leather (I'm using a heavier 5-6 oz weight). I placed a seam above the eyes which doesn't need to be there, so I'll eliminate that. And I've got some rivets that are too close to the eyes which need to be moved. Otherwise it looks quite promising!