Whew....we just finished the pink and black jacket shown in our gallery for the Lady of the Manners from Gothic Charm School. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met and I am so proud that we have been able to create a beautiful jacket for her book tour.

Next month is Convergence 15 which is being held in Long Beach, CA on the Queen Mary. I've been to the Queen several times over the years and have always thought it would be wonderful to have a function there. It is a simply gorgeous boat with loads of original Art Deco mouldings, painting and artwork throughout. The ballrooms and bars are so beautiful with hardwood floors and amazing Art Deco sconces and mirrors. The whole ship takes you back in time and make you wish you could have been traveling across the Atlantic in style with the Vanderbilts.

After Convergence, I hope to be able to take a little time for myself. I've lived here in Las Vegas for nearly 9 months and haven't actually had any time to go out or meet anyone. Perhaps I can take a little time finally to get out there and have a little fun

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has left me messages and comments over the past few months. They have really meant so much to me! I have been working like crazy on my website, processing orders, working on new items and getting ready for Convergence which has taken up every moment of my days lately.

I have not been able to post much in any of the places that I normally do (here, Steamfashion LJ, Facebook, MySpace, etc). I don't mean to neglect the questions and comments posted here, but I've just had so little time lately that I haven't been logging in. If you email me at my regular email retroscope@aol.com, I will gladly answer your questions quickly.

Thank you so much for your support and wonderful comments. I promise to post more as soon as I can get some time. For now, you can see a wonderful picture of one of our new outfits on Revel here:Steamblouse and Breeches

Good god...it has been really busy over the past month and so many things have happened. Bat's Day is only 3 weeks away...

We've been working with Starborn Alchemy ([link]) to create some perfumes inspired by our clothing and we'll debut samples at Bat's Day. We are looking forward to working with a couple of other exciting artists and writers that I will announce as soon as I get things firmed up.

I've also got 2 new items that I am having made into samples and if they turn out as good as I think they will, I will post them here. One is a new Steampunk style Victorian Blouse and the other is a men's coat based on a vintage military design. I can't wait to see my samples!

Bat's Day ([link]) should be exciting this year as I'll be showing off some of our new designs, loads of new mini hats along with 2 brand new parasols designed especially for the occasion. If you get the chance, come on down to the Black Market on Saturday May 2 (noon to 10pm) as it is free and one of the few opportunities to see our clothing in real life.

If you can't get to Bat's Day, perhaps you can join us at Convergence ([link]) July 17-19 in Long Beach. Convergence will be held on the legendary Queen Mary and promises to be quite an exciting event.

Well....I'm off to get things ready. Please forgive me if I take a little bit of time answering emails only because there really is so much to do. I promise I'll get back to everyone as soon as I can!

Wow...this past month has been a whirlwind and I can't believe it is almost over. We have so many things happening in the next few months that is is nearly overwhelming:

We will be vending at Gothla on March 7th in Pomona, CA (the whole event is March 6-8). Gothla is a fushion of goths, bellydancers, steampunks, artisans and other performers. There will be workshops and live performances each of the days. Special guests will include The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Jill Tracy. The vending room will be right next to all the entertainment, so please come and visit us!

This month I will also be unveiling the Customer Referral program. For those of you who are already Retroscope customers, this will be great for you because you will be able to earn credits towards clothing when you send a friend our way! I will unveil this program the second week of March after I have most of my sizes replenished and new items ready.

Bat's Day is in May and Convergence is in July....we'll have booths at both events, so if you can't make Gothla, then come see us at one of these!

OK...so I fell off the face of the earth again lol! My god, it has been so busy the past month with Bat's Day and the holidays.

Our new manufacturer here in the US really disappointed us...especially after spending so much money to have 6 new samples made. We have decided to move on and have our current manufacturer tackle the new drawings instead. The first samples they sent to me this week were simply gorgeous and the quality was amazing.

The first new items will officially be ready for sale on our site in January. Our lovely model =silvergrey will be doing better justice to these gorgeous new things than I can with my crappy camera skills (see the new lovely things in the gallery!)as soon as she recovers from her surgery and begins to feel a bit better. Our thoughts go out to her for a speedy recovery

You may have noticed that some items in our store are on clearance. This is to help make room for all of the new designs we will be bringing to you in the new year. I am excited to see how our ideas turn out, and I hope you will be too!

Have a safe and happy holiday season!
Laura