Bega District News spoke to Dr John Yardley and his assistant Idril Sekaanus (a couple from Newcastle) at Nimmitabel's Steampunk @ Altitude Festival on Saturday May 1 after they had just won the fashion contest in the group category.
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EB: Can you please tell me a little about the Doctor's costume
IS: The Doctor here has a mechanical arm because he lost his arm when he cut it off himself and the amazing Skav [another member of the Airship Sirius group] repaired it for him and gave him something that would work with steam power.
EB: What happened to your arm?
DR: It was injured in the war
IS: It was going a bit septic
EB: Can you please tell me more about Iril's costume
IS: I'm the doctor's assistant but I'm also an assassin, but it's under wraps so no-one really knows. I come from a wealthy family and I kind of just got swept off into the crew and sometimes they need a "bag man".
EB: Do you often travel around to steampunk events?
IS: The crew has been around for nearly 10 years and the Doctor is a part of the original eight or nine with the Airship Sirius group and I came when I married him.
DR: Whenever there's a steampunk festival, we're normally there.
PHOTO GALLERY: Steampunk @ Altitude 2021
EB: What's next on the calendar for you?
IS: Steampunk Victorian Fair in Goulburn, which is in October.
DR: There's also TeslaFest this year if they do run it.
EB: Have you been to Ironfest in Lithgow before?
IS: Yes, Ironfest in Lithgow is like our number one where we are always all there. There's about 20 of us in the crew but there aren't that many of us here right now because it's a bit of a smaller event. We usually camp for four days at Ironfest and have a Airship Sirius display we will run tea dueling, parasol dueling...
DR: And the Doctor attempts to save someone's life.
IS: Yes, we do skits and we are also working on doing a bit of music as well.
EB: Where are you staying this evening in Nimmitabel?
IS: We are camping just over there. Those are our genuine Victorian Era canvas chronicle tents.
EB: How do you all travel to the different events?
IS: Depending on where we are coming from, for the most part we will travel together and try to save on fuel.
EB: So you also have a workshop back behind me here, is that just so that people can come and pick and choose things to add to their costumes?
IS: This is more Skav and Beibhinn's project, in their downtime they make all of these things or purchase little things here and there. All of the fabric things are handsewn, all of the guns are handmade and same with all the clockwork things too. The stall comes with us to our events because it is attached to the Airship Sirius but it does exist on its own too.
EB: Do you ever get around in your costumes and gear in your everyday life?
DR: More and more so!
IS: If you go to any of our houses yes! You could walk in and feel like you've just walked into a room on the Airship but as for our personal clothing choices, a few of us like to accessorise steampunk-ish, but there are a few of us that don't.
EB What do you like about the genre?
IS: I love how creative and free it is. It's a very accepting genre, you can kind of get away with a lot of things in the sense that it's futuristic, it's imaginative, it's creative. I really love that most people, if not all people, make their costumes, so they're getting down, they're getting their hands dirty and having part of themselves as a part of their costume.
EB: So this leather piece on your arm is actually handmade Dr Yardley?
DR: Yes, It's made by one of our crew members. I commissioned it and he made it for me and he did an amazing job. It's all leather and handstitched and then polished and painted. It got a little bit of damage today but anyway.
IS: Yes, it happens
EB: Where do you usually get all the pieces for your costume? Do you also purchase things online?
IS: Some of us make them, I'm not wearing it now but I have a long coat that I've made. Sometimes we buy things, so from army surplus stores and then we add on to them, which is what the Capitan [another crew member] has done with the red and the gold on the ends of his sleeves. We make it mostly, but things like corsets are a little bit trickier so often early on you will buy them but then later on you will make them.
EB: Did you make the corset you're wearing now?
IS: No, I didn't make this one but I am working on another one at home.
EB: Well congratulations on your win today, what are you talking home?
DR: Some wine and some candles!