Weird Emporium Show Case Video

We wanted to show case some of our products and produced this video to highlight some of the items we stock at the shop.

My thanks to Necessary Evil,  Jordash, Bares, Alchemy, Spiral and the fantastic backing track by Novus.

Steampunk Airship Combat Makes Leviathans Epic Tabletop Gaming

A whole lotta guns are about to fire. Photo: Jonathan Liu

Leviathans is a game of steampunk airship battles, featuring massive (and beautiful) airship models and a whole lot of world-building thematic elements. I’ve only gotten a little farther than the Quick Start rules but wanted to give you an idea of how the game works. The Core Box Set features ships from the British and French fleets, but later expansions will include other factions as well.


Read more about Leviathans.

Pictures of Weird Emporium

We wanted to share the interior of the shop with everyone.  It is fantastic to have a shop like this, tucked away and becoming Swindon's worst kept secret.

Steampunk and Gothic section

The back of the shop where you can find ethnic as well as more gothic and t-shirts by Spiral

Looking down the shop by the Spiral t-shirts

Some our the accessories including one of the Alchemy cabinets

More accessories and our second Alchemy cabinet

San Francisco Residential Architect Garners Attention with ‘Steampunk’ Bathroom

(c) Andre Rothblatt

The “steampunk”-inspired bathroom by San Francisco architect Andre Rothblatt has an exaggerated, even fantastical, Victorian Era feel that exemplifies the new design trend.

The modern aesthetic—simple, clean, functional—has long been dominant in interior design. But San Francisco residential architect Andre Rothblatt has recently seen the rise in popularity of a very different style, often referred to as “steampunk.” What is steampunk? It’s a look that takes inspiration from the futuristic imaginings of the Gilded Age, a steam-powered fantasy of complex piping, gears and gauges. Rothblatt recently completed a steampunk-style bathroom featuring a maze of exposed copper piping, dark subway-style tile, and Victorian wallpaper. The bathroom is featured in the current issue of California Home Design magazine.

“In this technological age, the retro style of steam locomotion has an appeal,” explains Rothblatt. “Modernism aims to eliminate complexities and embellishments, but steampunk aims to expose how mechanisms operate. It’s a rebellion against the idea that function should be hidden.”

Read the full press release here.

Bradford becomes a Mecca for Steampunk aficionados

(c)   JohnHedtke

Kit Cox is an artist and stand-up comedian... but sometimes he puts on his pith helmet, waxes his moustache, and picks up his guns to do battle with an array of weird and wonderful creatures such as air kraken, Jub Jubs and Snarks. Welcome to the world of steampunk.

Kit – or rather his alter ego Major Jack Union – is one of the growing number of people who have declared an affinity to this lifestyle/literary movement that envisages a Victorian world slightly adrift from what you may have been taught in history classes.

Read the full article on Steampunk in Bradford.

New Men's Gothic / Steampunk shirts in stock!

We have expanded our men's range with a number of Gothic, Medieval and Steampunk shirts to compliment our existing range of trousers, waistcoats and jackets.  The new shirts are available from our online shop or if you live in Wiltshire, why not pop in and meet the people behind Weird Emporium and take the opportunity to view our extensive range of rings, necklaces, scarves and bags that are only available at the shop.

We keep all of our products in stock and all on-line orders are dispatched the same day by first class post.

Medieval Shirt

Gothic Shirt

Steampunk Shirt

Steampunk ‘Hamlet’ gives bard a new look

(C) Dan Lea/IPT

Although the story is the same, the Encore Theatre Company’s use of steampunk elements does seem to cast a new spin to Shakespeare’s classic “Hamlet.”

Director Jonathan Perry and costumer Bobbi Carlson must have had lots of fun designing masks, giant puppet machines, and outfits that ranged from the Victorian age to outer space. The steampunk genre originated in the 1980s and ‘90s, and combines fantasy, science fiction, horror and steam-age fashions and design.

Read the full Steampunk Hamlet article.

The rising steampunk movement

Steampunk Family the von Hedwigs

Photo's from the DoubleTree Inn in San Jose which hosts the Clockwork Achemy convention, an event devoted to the steampunk phenomenon.

Click here to see the fantastic steampunk photo's.

Steampunk drives new science fiction genre

Image by SoulStealer.co.uk

One of the advantages of flying a zeppelin is that no one hears you coming.

Like the inflatable airships that frequently appear in its stories, the alternate history genre of steampunk quietly has been sneaking into more and more books, video games, movies and fan conventions in recent years.

Steampunk, which offers a reimagined take on the 19th century, has been around for decades, but the genre has been showing up in unexpected places lately.

Read more on this article.

Steampunk meets Captain Jack Sparrow in whimsical take on Gilbert and Sullivan

Image:  Pop Culture Geek

From the steampunk design to the extra eyeliner on the Pirate King, Stratford's take on "The Pirates of Penzance" has just enough Captain Jack Sparrow swagger to entertain a modern audience.


A clever mix of gears and other shiny metal parts finds its way into all aspects of the set design (by Anna Louizos), props and even costumes. What would be a simple musket in any other production looks like a miniature Gatling gun in this one.


Read the full article.

New Items in Stock!

We are very pleased to have received some larger sizes in our men's Steampunk range as well as some new designs to add to our growing ladies range.

Necessary Evil Serida Black Lace Top
 Versatile black lace off the shoulder top with two layers of ruffles around the shoulders and bust, loose long sleeves with an elasticated ruffled cuff and adjustable straps. Looks great with a corset or waist cincher.

Necessary Evil Circe Cardigan with Lace up Detail.
Gorgeous cardigan made of soft, stretchy fabric with a lace up detail which goes around the back of the neck and down each side. The full length sleeves are finished with a ruched, elasticated detail so they fit closely.

Necessary Evil Appias Military Shirt with Satin Front Panel. 
A beautifully fitted black military style shirt with a gothic twist. The front satin panel is completely removable and the shirt fastens underneath at the front with a hidden zip. Silver buttons on the collar, satin lapels and satin cuff details give this shirt a sharp, stylish finish.

Are you a designer of Alternative Fashion?

 by PhotoAtelier

Are you a designer of Alternative Clothing or Accessories?

Do you make your own Steampunk or Gothic clothing? We are looking for creative designers to work with us to create:

• Steampunk hats and Goggles
• Waist Coats
• Gothic / Steam Punk Dresses, tops and skirts
• Accessories for Gothic or Steampunk clothing.

Weird Emporium can offer you a sales outlet at our shop in Swindon, our on-line store and our forthcoming on-line sales channels. We can work out a buying programme and sales strategy no matter if you make one item or a hundred items!
We can:

• Buy Singular Items
• Buy in Bulk
• Offer percentage of all sales

Why not get in touch and see how we can work together? Call 01793 432942 or get in touch via The Weird Emporium Website.

Glam up your lips the gothic way

by powazny
Flickr Creative Commons

Dark lips are the new red. Here's how to carry off the goth lips trend right, reports Ismat Tahseen from the India Times.

While red lips dominated catwalks in the past, the trend that stood out in Spring is goth lips. After playing up a sense of mystery and sensuality on pret and nail colour, a brooding pout in a dark wine hue or teetering on the dark purple side has jumped into day and night chic. Runways internationally showed off vampy lips, so did celebrities at this year's biggest events so far — the MET Gala 2012 and the Billboard Music Awards 2012. Why are A-listers everywhere bringing out their darkest lipsticks, intead of favourites like pinks, browns and corals?

Read more and the Guide to getting the gothic look right.

Steampunk style at Puhoi

(c) PhotoAtelier

An assortment of weirdly dressed characters attended the first Grand Victorian Steampunk Event for Hospice at the Puhoi Village Hall.

More than 100 people – many suitably steampunk decorated – enjoyed activities such as mock sword play, Victorian games and dancing, demonstrations, fire dancing, a burlesque performance and a talk on Puhoi's history.

Read the full article on the Steam Punk Event.

Creating a Steampunk Outfit for the Cosplay Newbie (Part One)

By PhotoAtelier (Flikr Creative Commons)

A two part article on creating your own steam punk outfit by Sophie Brown.

In September I attended a steampunk convivial in my home town, naturally this required creating a steampunk costume. For someone whose sewing experience at the point of buying my ticket consisted of reattaching a few buttons to shirts, that was a pretty daunting prospect. Thanks to YouTube, Threadbanger and a lot of time on Google, I eventually managed to create a costume that looked pretty good, despite my lack of skills with fabric and thread.


Read the full article on steam punk clothing outfit.

Gothic Skirts online soon

Weird Emporium continues to add more and more clothes and accessories to its online shop.  With Hundreds of items in the shop in Swindon that need to be online we are working long hours to create the online versions!

Our range of Dark Star / Jordash skirts, tops and dresses will be online in the next few days!

In the meantime you can see our full range at the shop at the Arcade, 29c Wood Street, Swindon, SN1 4AN.