Ever Want to Be an Aeronaut?

The Crew of the St. Clair Aeronauts is shorthanded for Maker Faire this year. We're looking for a few good steamy people to lend a hand. Contact me at stclairaeronauts @ Gmail . com if you are interested....

(Almost) May Day Picnic- Wicked Plants at the Conservatory of Flowers in SF

April showers bring May flowers and apparently, some of those flowers can KILL you!

The Lovely Amy G brought this exhibit to our attention and it seems the perfect place for the Annual Aeronauts May Picnic and Visit to a Creepy Location. The Conservatory is hosting a special exhibit:

Wicked Plants: Botanical Rogues & Assassins Northern California Author Amy Stewart’s 2009 New York Times Bestseller, Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities comes to deadly life at the Conservatory of Flowers this summer

The by line from their web page says it all, people:

"Paralysis, strangulation, derangement – these are just a few of the misdeeds of the plant kingdom as chronicled by award-winning author Amy Stewart in her 2009 New York Times Bestseller, Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities. And now, something wicked this way comes. Building on the fascinating plant portraits in Stewart’s book, the Conservatory introduces visitors to living examples of dozens of infamous plants that have left their mark on history and claimed many an unfortunate victim. As visitors enter the exhibition, they find themselves in a mysterious, untended yard behind a ramshackle old Victorian home. Peeking through the window, it’s clear that a crime has just taken place...."

SO, wear your Best Steampunk Black and Green (for Mourning or Victory depending on your favorite side), bring a picnic lunch and something to share, tote in a thermous of Tea to invigorate you in the presence of such evil (and because its cold in SF) and Join US....

Explorers and Scientific Gentlemen and Ladies especially welcome. We would hear your stories of daringly taming the wild jungles and dangerous gardens of the Continent!

The Particulars...

When: April 30th, 2011, Noon for lunch, 2pm for the Exhibit.

Where: San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, Golden Gate Park. 100 John F. Kennedy Drive San Francisco, CA 94118 Lunch will be on the Lawn just below the Conservatory on the right hand side, between the flowerbeds and the trees. Those meeting us just for the Exhibit should join us at the main entrance to the Conservatory at 2pm.

What to Bring:

• Friends and companions


• Small children, if you have them


• A picnic lunch


• A thermous of your favorite tea


• Your best traveling teacup


• Something to share (sandwiches and baked goods are ALWAYS welcome!)


• Something to sit on (the grass can be damp)


• Your magnifying glass


• Your camera


• $7 to get in to the Conservatory ($5 for residents and children)


• Goggles, Bustles or other Steampunk Accoutrement so we know who you are!

As always, everyone is welcome!

See photos of our last trip to the Conservatory HERE.

See photos of last year's picnic and trip to the Winchester Mystery House HERE.

St. Clair Aeronauts at Maker Faire 2011

You too can meet Capt. St. Clair and his crew! Be a Part of History....Alternate History!

We will have a area in the San Mateo Maker Faire for the StClair Aeronauts Steampunk Airmail Delivery Service.

We'll have parchment paper and pen and ink. We'll have Airmail stamps circa 1883. We'll have envelope paper and envelope patterns (we'll even have a little glue!). And, of course, we will have our fearless crew of Delivery persons in Uniform to deliver your precious messages!

So come by, and write a letter to someone at the event. You can pen a criptic message, or start a short story in the middle of the action. Make your envelope, address it and add a stamp and we'll make every effort to deliver it that day.

You'll hear our crew wandering Maker Faire exclaiming. "Airmail, Airmail Delivery for...." Just imagine your own name there and take home a memento of the 2011 Maker Faire.

Or, if you don't care to write a letter, come sit in the parlor and watch the busy world go by and bustling airmail delivery persons go about their business... and be sure to bring your camera to snap some action shots with a few useful steampunk props and members of the crew!

See Pictures of the St. Clair Aeronauts in action HERE.

See Video of First Mate, Mrs. St.Clair HERE (about 2 minutes in)

Want to see some letters from our first event? Check out Letters written for the Sunnyvale Steampunk Convention, 2008 HERE.

Summer Sewing Classes and Workshops 2011

Summer Sewing Classes, sponsored by the St. Clair Aeronauts
Learn to modify and sew your own clothes and accessories!
Learn to design and draft your own patterns!
Stay busy over the summer!

Sophia St. Clair will be offering beginning sewing and pattern drafting classes this summer in her home. All classes are for beginners and intermediate sewers. No experience is necessary. Mrs. St. Clair also has sewing machines and other necessary sewing tools but there are only 4 places in each class. Classes are $10 - $20. Scholarships are available. Please inquire if you would like to apply for the St. Clair Crafters Scholarship. Students are responsible for purchasing materials like cloth, patterns, buttons and thread. A list of needed items will be given out before each class.


Two types of classes:

BROP- (Bring Your Own Project)- Know what you want, but don't know how to make it? Bring your materials and we will make it together. I can teach you how!

One Day Workshops- Look for one day workshops on making Bustles, Bloomers, Bags, Spats and more. Even more topics on demand. Tell me what you want and I'll make a class for it! Show up with your materials and go home woth a finished piece.

Interested? Contact Sophia St. Clair to get on the mailing list, sign up for classes or find out more:

Stclairaeronauts@gmail.com
Stclairaeronauts.blogspot.com
925.787.2591

Hello to all our new Nova Albion Friends!

It was such a pleasure and delight to meet so many fabulous people!

Do drop us a line if you want to be on either or both list:

Class email lists

Events and Craft Night email lists

We can be reached at: stclairaeronauts@gmail.com

And we are always looking for new crew! Don't be shy!

Steampunk New Years Eve Tea Party 2011

Join us for a Steampunk Tea Party at our house on New Years Eve.

All the fine china hot tea and baked goods (and finger sandwiches!) you can manage and some steampunk parlor games or readings or storytelling or crafts and so on to occupy us until Midnight and beyond.

We live in San Jose, so guests would need to make their way to the South Bay, but we could probably manage some crash space. We also have two indoor cats who are super friendly but shed.

What to Bring:


Yourself
Wayward Friends and Family
Any Small Children you belong to
Something stylish And Steampunky to wear
A Tea Cup
An iPod of music you enjoy
Party games you like to play (hey, we can even keep it Historical! Wink anyone?)
Any celebratory streamers/horns/hats/etc you have hanging around (or kidnap from Target, hehe),
A plate of your favorite finger sandwiches or other savories and an appetite for tea and cake.

We'll privide tea (Black, Green, White, Chai, Roobios, Herbal, Oolong, you name it... its in the Tea Cupboard) and china teapots, the cups and saucers we have and enough baked goods to sink Amsterdam.

When: 8pm, December 31st (7pm if you want to help decorate)

Where: 501 Raymond Ave, San Jose, CA 95128

RSVP Much Appreciated. Last minute attendees, Please don't hesitate to Join us!

As Always, everyone is welcome!

Steampunk Weekend in SF in October

Looks like I am putting this together.... email us at stclairaeronauts@gmail.com if you want to be on the mailing list to get more info!


Friday, Oct. 8th: Dinner at the Basil Canteen (http://www.basilthai.com/canteen/) and then off to the DNA Lounge to see Abney Park.

We might get a hotel room for the weekend....There are also a number of terrific Bed and Breakfasts....

Saturday, Oct. 9th: We will sleep in, then wander around China Town for an impromptu China Town Self Guided Walking Tour and meet up in the late afternoon for High Tea at the Samovar Tea Lounge (http://samovarlife.com/).

Sunday, October 10th: Head off to the SF Maritime Museum to see the 19th century cargo ship the Balclutha and get pics taken in front of some period scenery! (http://www.nps.gov/safr/) (http://www.nps.gov/safr/historyculture/balclutha.htm) We might even turn the pics into Old Timey Post Cards if they come out well enough...

Let me know if you are interested in participating any any of these events with us.... We would definately need reservations for the Samovar Tea Lounge and the Basil Canteen, but people could just show up to the other events if we nailed down a location and a time....
Join us for one of them, or more than one!

Your Event Mistress,

Sophia St. Clair