Thomas Willeford

Thomas Willeford (Harrisburg, PA) is the owner of Brute Force Studios (purveyors of quality corsetry and steampunk accoutrements since 1995) and the author of Steampunk Gear, Gadgets, and Gizmos: A Maker's Guide to Creating Modern Artifacts (McGraw-Hill) and The Steampunk Adventurer's Guide: Contraptions, Creations, and Curiosities Anyone Can Make (McGraw-Hill). His work blurs the precarious line between art and engineering. If, upon viewing a piece, one does not ask "Does that actually work?" he considers the piece a failure. Thomas' creations have been widely featured on television (BBC, Shipping Wars, Castle, Oddities), online (Wired, BoingBoing, Popular Mechanics), and in print (Bizarre Magazine, Gothic Beauty Magazine, True West Magazine). He also contributed to the design of Alchemy Gothic's Empire Collection, a line of steampunk jewelry and accessories. Satisfied customers include Rick Springfield (musician), David Silverman (The Simpsons), Patricia Tallman (Babylon 5), Virginia Hey (Farscape), and bands such as Abney Park. Thomas' artwork has also been featured in numerous museum exhibitions worldwide, including the Phoesnix Airport's steampunk exhibition, Mobilis in Mobili at The Wooster Street Social Club (home of TLC's NY Ink), and the Ashmolean Museum of the History of Science at Oxford's Steampunk. He is a consulting creator of the upcoming television series Lantern City, produced by Bruce Boxleitner (Tron, Babylon 5). Most recently Thomas served as a judge on GSN's TV series _Steampunk'd (2015)_.