Thomas Willeford
Thomas Dean Willeford V (born October 29, 1964) is a steampunk writer, artist and maker . He is known for his work appearing on television and for his book Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos .[1] He lives and works in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , doing business as Brute Force Studios.[1] [2] [3] His steampunk subculture persona is Lord Archibald "Feathers" Featherstone.[3] [4]
Early life and education
Brought up in a Victorian house with a "mad scientist" grandfather who worked for DuPont ,[5] [6] Willeford was educated at University of Maryland, College Park , Shenandoah University , University of Delaware and the University of Oxford .
Work
Thomas Willeford in his Studio.
In 1988, Willeford became interested in steampunk and began working on pieces that combined his love of engineering and art.[7] He created the steampunk arm worn by Nathan Fillion in episode 3.4 of the television series Castle .[6] [8] His work has been displayed at the University of Oxford's Museum of the History of Science,[9] at the Steampunk Bizarre Experiment,[10] the Penn State Berks Freyberger Gallery,[11] at Nemo's Steampunk Art & Invention Gallery[2] and at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation,[4] [12] and has been featured in Popular Mechanics .[13] He is a contributor to Bruce Boxleitner's Lantern City [4] and was a judge on Game Show Network 's Steampunk'd .[14]
Willeford was a guest curator for the Steampunk U exhibit at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania.[15]
Awards and recognition
Airship Awards 2013 – Community Contributor – Nominee
Balticon 19 Masquerade – Best Marvel Comic Re-Creation (Nightcrawler)
Balticon 20 Masquerade – Journeyman Costumer – Honorable Mention
Balticon 29 Masquerade – Best in Class: Novice
Balticon 48 Masquerade – Best in Show
Comic Con International 2014: Costume Contest on the Marvel Stage – One of a Kind: Iron Man 1889
Darkover VIII Masquerade – Best Presentation (X-Men)
Eeriecon Masquerade 2002 – Master Class: Best Leatherwork ("Gargoyle Knight")
EveCon 5 Masquerade – Most Dramatic
NYClone 1986 Masquerade – Chairman's Appreciation: Re-Creation
Philcon 50 Masquerade – Craftsman: Most Humorous
Rovacon 10 Masquerade – Best Comic Book Character
Starburner 2011 Award for Contributions to Steampunk
Steampunk Chronicle Readers Choice Awards 2012:[16]
Best Maker – Individual
Best Mod Weaponry for Lady Clankington's Little Death Ray
Best Dressed Male
Best Non-Goggle Accessory for Superior Replacement Arm
Best Costume – Individual Original for the Clockwork Girl Outfit
Best Non-Fiction – Nominee
Steampunk Chronicle Readers Choice Awards 2013:[16]
Best Maker – Individual – Nominee
Most Influential or Inspirational – Nominee
Steam-Hunk – Nominee
Steampunk Person to Watch in 2013 – Nominee
Technicon IV Masquerade – Best In Show
Unicon 84 Masquerade – Best Recreation
Numerous International Costumers Guild (ICG) Awards
Bibliography
Filmography
Television
References
^ a b Kelly, James Floyd. "Create Your Own Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos" . Wired . Conde Nast. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ a b Hornyak, Tim. "Breathing apparatus" . Cnet . Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ a b Pho, Diana M. (September 20, 2012). "The Dynamics of Ideology and Consumerism in Steampunk Subculture". In Taddeo, Julie Anne; Miller, Cynthia J. (eds.). Steaming into a Victorian Future: A Steampunk Anthology . Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-8586-8 .
^ a b c "Bruce Boxleitner's Lantern City: Contributors" . Lantern City . Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ Strickland, Ashley (14 December 2011). "Thy fearful gadgetry: Steampunk's mad scientists" . CNN . Retrieved 4 September 2018 .
^ a b Hatmaker, Julia. "Steampunk in Harrisburg: Thomas Willeford is the midstate's mad scientist" . Penn Live/The Patriot-News . Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ "Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos" . McGraw Hill. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ MacFarland, Joe. "Steampunk-ier than Justin Bieber" . Ebay. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2013 . - Pinchefsky, Carol. "Fashion's Biggest Trend in 2013–2015 (as Predicted by IBM)? Steampunk" . Forbes . Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ "Steampunk: Contraptions + Devices Extraordinaire" . Hamptons.com . Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ "The 2010 Steampunk Bizarre Experiment" . Steampunk Bizarre 2010. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2012 .
^ "Freyberger Gallery presents STEAMpunk!" . Penn State. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ "Totally Hot Artistic Opportunities" . Massachusetts Cultural Council. Archived from the original on July 1, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ "Top DIY Costumes from Comic Con 2010" . Popular Mechanics . Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ "GSNTV / Steampunk'd / judges" . Game Show Network . Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
^ " "Function Goes Punk": Steampunk U Exhibit" . AACA Museum. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2017 .
^ a b "Steampunk Chronicle Readers Choice Awards 2012" . Steampunk Chronicle . Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2013 .
^ Lamar, Cyriaque. "Buy Nathan Fillion's steampunk cybernetic arm from Castle" . io9 . Retrieved March 22, 2017 .
^ "Harrisburg mad scientist: 'If you've got $250,000, I can build you a 50 foot tall robot' " . Penn Live/Patriot-News . Retrieved March 22, 2017 .
^ Odd Folks Home , Amazon, retrieved March 22, 2017
^ "Steampunkd" . GSN TV . Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2017 .
External links