Eric Freitas' Clocks

Growing relentlessly in the mind of Eric Freitas lies a realm of dark mechanical curiosities and horological contradictions. In this world gears are harvested and mechanisms are alive with the organic repetitions of nature's machine. Balancing carefully between creative conception and logical execution, this world would slowly be brought to life.

So starts Eric Freitas' biography on Etsy. The work, incredibly, outshines the statement.

Beautiful, wierd, hand-machined -- this not just art attached to an existing quartz movement, but a fully realized working pendulum clock out of brass and rice paper. The particular clock's inspiration is based on the calligraphy of the numbers:

This is my fifth fully mechanical clock. All of the parts were machined by hand, and many of them carry a design congruent with the calligraphy used for the numbers. In addition, a strange and uncontrolled style is introduced to offset the structured nature of the gears. No.5 has a one second pulse and a 'dead beat-style' escapement. The seven swivels out of the way to expose the winder, which needs to be employed about once a week ( 8 days ). Adjusting the timing of the pendulum is easy, and if done correctly this clock will be accurate within a minute or two a week.

Another one (quartz rather than mechanical) I'm not sure I'd ever want to see strike midnight:


Eric has 2 clocks for sale on Etsy -- the first one above and a more economical one based on a quartz movement. For a full history of his work -- many are no longer available -- you'll want to view Eric's flickr stream.


Isn't it clever and elegant how the numbers become the decorative elements here?

His workmanship is utterly amazing.

Thanks to the blog at Coilhouse for pointing these out.

Airship Chandelier, anyone?

At 1stDibs. This seems to be made almost entirely of small glass beads. Circa 1960.

I can't quite tell who spotted this first, but I found it via Kaboodle.

More airship posts.

Restaurant Style Interior Design

This simplify design is suitable for the corner of restaurants, common people liked to spend their time longer in simple place, such as small restaurant, hotel bar and other simple room in everywhere.

Keith's Steampunk Study

Reader Keith says "I hadn't realized how steampunk it had gotten until I converted the photo to black and white," about his study, and sent along some pictures for us to enjoy.

I found the hammock outside at an antique store at the end of the summer and they didn't want to store it. It was $150. It is a tapestry like fabric, fringed on the sides with a built in pillow stuffed with what feels like straw. Quite comfortable for reading with the cat on my lap.


The press was in another store listed as a wine press. It is wooden and very solid. I personally think it was used for bookbinding or something along those lines.

The certificate is actually a framed letter and envelope from 1900ish. It is from a brewery to a customer discussing a shipment and a pending tax on beer that is coming into effect soon.




On the light:I found it at home depot as an accessory light for a ceiling fan. Mounted on its own it adds a steampunk touch.

I love how this study reflects the inhabitants interests -- I'm guessing Keith is a home brewer, without even asking (a very steampunk pursuit, with all that turning water & grain into beer with pots, copper tubing, and large glass vessels...). My favorite part is the hammock -- who would have though to put a hammock in a study? Yet it's a comfortable spot year round, and great for visiting friends/spouses/kids.

I think this study illustrates how you can go about building steampunk style simply. Let your interests (which one assumes leans towards the antique and DIY, if you are attracted to steampunk) dictate your choices. Switch out just a single element like a light. One step at a time, and before you know it, you'll be surprised by how steampunk it's become.

Want a hammock of your own? Victorian Trading Company has a similar one for $199.


The light is what really makes this room steampunk -- and the good news is that this style is easy to find. Here's one in the same vein from lightingdirect. I love it -- wire encased, nautical looking -- gets you simultaneously an antique and industrial look.

The Thieving Magpie -- Cabinets from Found Objects

Corvine's Calling

Roger Wood of Klockwerks sent out links to his favorite artists. I was taken by these cabinets by Richard Dunbrack of The Thieving Magpie. Each piece's description includes the original parts "provenance", i.e. "early eel spear" "Victorian house fragments" or "iron gate fragments"

The Midnight Pantry

They remind me of something you'd find in the Weasley's house in Harry Potter -- mundane artifacts turned into something fantastic.