oh those nutty Faberges...

In the realm of things created down through history, I've always been drawn to objects and creations that exhibit creativeness, intricacies and a genius mastering of mechanics. Steampunk has always appealed to me because it touches upon all those things. You have the beauty of the mechanics (which really is an artform unto itself), the insane creativeness and intricate work. During the 1880's, to my mind, this was exemplified by the work of Carl Gustavovich Faberge and the House of Faberge.

Peter Carl Faberge was the son of Gustav Faberge who founded the house, and his son took the notable Jeweler's house to unfathomable heights under Czar Alexander III. Like Heron of Alexandria, Faberge created some of the most intricate and amazingly crafted pieces in history.

Here's the caveat; As much as I enjoy works of art that incorporate those three things that I absolutely adore.. I find Faberge eggs.. gaudy.

Seriously. If you gave me the option, I wouldn't own one. Okay, I might own one but only for the amount of time it would take me to get ahold of Christie's Auction House. So when a customer a year ago compared me to Faberge (I'll not deny it. I was absolutely thrilled when he called me the Faberge of SL (and it's not that I agree with it, I don't. There are far more detailed and intricate builders than I.), it gave me an idea. Here was a perfect opportunity to put my own craftmanship to the mix and create a Faberge-esque creation. So I started making actual eggs that were tiny, intricate, and were extremely animated. Some eggs, the key is the animation. Some eggs, it's the detailing. All of them are the same size (the egg portion), and all of them are completely different from one another. I've tried to make them all operate uniquely. They all open differently, have different tunes, some turn, some have flowers..

They're not reproductions of Faberge, but they are all made with the same genuine care and love for the genre (minus the insanely bright colors, bling and precious gems). I hope to do more and make this an entire line.

My Capalini Ornate Egg series

To Hunt or Not to Hunt...

There is always a hesitation on my part when I am asked if I am going to participate in this hunt or that hunt in Second Life. This is usually followed by an awkward silence as I try desperately to think of what to say. No, Capalini Fine Furnishings does not participate in hunts, for several reasons. Mainly, I don't have time to create something specifically for a hunt and I don't want to just.. plunk something out crappy and say "Here.. this is for you."
I don't appreciate it when merchants do that when I'm hunting and I won't do it to people I would like to court as customers. So last year, when several of my friends prodded me about speaking to Perryn Peterson about a possible Steampunk Hunt, I was dubious. After speaking with him and going through my usual excitement of showing stuff off, I actually agreed to be in the hunt and was pleasantly surprised at how high the quality of all the merchants was. It really felt that the merchants involved were desperately trying to showcase what they really felt steampunk was. I thought it was a marvelous success. Since then, I have participated in every single Steam Hunt, which .. this is the third one, currently going on. I am STILL impressed with the quality of most of the merchants and find that I am still pleased as punch to be involved.



This time around, I made two offerings just for the customers that will be sold after the hunt. I was going to do this big behemoth steampunky aether chamber because I wanted the whole "HOLY COW" effect when the hunter rezzed it, but it was finally prevailed upon me I probably needed to do something more usable. So my two offerings (pictured here): A fobbed watch that chimes a music box melody and keeps time, with ticks that can be turned on and off..



And a wind up key. Now, the wind up key is very special. I'd been looking for a way to combine my music boxes with a wind up key, because my wind up keys always actually work. You can "wind" them up, and you as the avatar will perform a lovely little ballet dance, much like a wind up doll. But it doesn't seem very sensible if there isn't any music. For this hunt, I achieved what I'd been thinking of. Hours of revising scripting and coming up with an old standard "I wanna be loved by you" in music box format, paid off with a very intricately sculpted key. That plays music. I gave it to two friends who promptly went off in giggling fits playing with it.

I'm all about interactivity.

Now Perryn has asked me about his newest hunt.. The SILK ROAD..

Hmmmm.. what victorian asian thing can I come up for it?