Madame Askew and The Grand Arbiter, prominent steampunk artists, tea mavens, and leaders of what they describe as The Temporal Entourage, announced the winners of the third annual Tippy Golden Teacup Awards in an online ceremony on Friday night.
The awards recognize steampunk luminaries in multiple categories, and I am pleased to report that yours truly, Stephen Beale, editor of The Steampunk Explorer, was honored with the “Connoisseur de Communitea” award, recognizing “bastions of community building” in steampunk.
“From his work supporting Steampunk artists to his exemplary reporting on events to his stalwart defense of Steampunklandia from scalywags, Stephen elevates Steampunklandia and creates a kinder, more generous Steampunk movement,” stated the award certificate.
In her remarks during the ceremony, Madame Askew alluded to last year’s coverage of the fallout surrounding the Wicked World’s Fair in Pennsylvania.
As the ceremony was streaming, I was covering The Edwardian Ball in San Francisco. However, I took advantage of a time portal to offer a brief, pre-recorded acceptance speech.
The previous recipients of the award were entertainer Freddy Prinze Charming in 2023 and artist Gabby Isabel in 2022. Isabel is also chairperson of CONpossible, a convention in the Atlanta area.
This year’s other honorees were as follows:
Bibliomancy Award: Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear.
This award recognizes a literary work featured in last year’s Temporal Textual Talks book club.
The Grand Macaroni Award: Artist and costumer Tony Ballard-Smoot.
This award honors an individual who “embodies not only the sartorial elegance of a dandy but also our Steampunk CommuniTea ideals kindness, inclusion, and gatebusting.”
Textile Transformer Award: Bianca Hernandez Knight.
This award recognizes a “Sewist” who has evolved “their own costuming skills and projects this year. They should not only embrace our ideals of kindness and creativity, but also be on a journey of discovery and learning with their sewing.”
Brass Forge Award: Charles E. Mason II.
This is a maker award, recognizing “individuals who are not only forging props for every generation but are also forging communities that will stand the test of time. They elevate not only the ancient Arts of Foamery but also inspire their fellow makers.”
Dynamic Duos: Steampunk Lady Scientists Danaus & Sidonne.
This award recognizes “a steampunk partnership who has brought a singular magic to the CommuniTea.”
Tea Maven of the Year: Tea Punk Teas.
“Every year, we must have an award honoring those who bring us tea, the absolute pinnacle of sustenance for us and our community,” Madame Askew stated. This year’s honoree has been “providing the most scrumptious teas for well over a decade.”
The Altogether Altruist Award: Christine Holt of the Tea Scouts.
Madame Askew described her as a “powerhouse” of the Tea Scouts and “an absolute abundance of joy and kindness and enthusiasm.”
In case you’re unfamiliar with the Tea Scouts, this is “a group of Steampunks and Time Travelers who strive to provide a positive CommuniTea for like-minded adventurers to have fun, inspire creativity, foster philanthropy, and, of course, drink tea,” Madame Askew states on her website.
The Steampunk Advocacy Award: Airship Ashanti, the multicultural cosplay group from Cincinnati.
This award recognizes “creativity, vitality, outreach, ingenuity, [and] kindness that inspires us as creators and members of our group,” said co-presenter Eve Riot. “I think this particular group is amazing. They really do promote diversity and equity and participation and joy in every event that they do or attend.”
We featured Airship Ashanti in Episode 11 of our video series The World of Steampunk.
The Golden Katana Award: Ian Peterson, “Butler Supreme” and head of the organizers’ Tea Team.
This is a special award that varies each year: In 2022 it was the Golden Hatpin Award, presented to Andie Ruiz, followed in 2023 by the Golden Bookwyrm Award, given to Bill Bodden.
“The Golden Order represents what we believe to be the peak of our organization, The Temporal Entourage,” The Grand Arbiter explained. “We have built a beautiful system, precariously on a house of cards. It’s quite stunning, but precarious, and it’s only held together through the love, compassion, patience and understanding of the community around us.”
The ceremony, which streamed on Zoom, is now available on YouTube. Learn more at MadameAskew.com.
