The Original Scientific Steampunk Field Test Kits were developed in 2007 simply as a novelty item to utilize some weirdly cut saddle skirt leather (very thick very hard) scraps from Jedi belts and a bag of discontinued scientific equipment and supplies found at a local scientific shop located near a downtown museum. I needed something that screamed “Steampunk” so by gluing said science stuff on to soft pockets then dangling chains with jump rings from the bottom to hold more supplies, gears, and keys. The anchor point of the design was always the metallic painted vials that were created to look like test tubes, tucked into the pocket and backed by tooled, stamped, embossed painted and/or dyed hard backs.
These kits were wildly popular, priced super low in the beginning (mostly due to the instability and the disposable nature of the idea). Little did I know, after 15 years of evolution the steampunk movement and my leathercrafting skills would mean that I would still be making new improvements, developing characters and steampunk themes yearly (these newer versions are far more detailed and durable featuring mostly sewn on and glue reinforced elements. . . or that every version would be completely unique while still keeping the steampunk elements intact.
Early on I realized that glass and metal would make these designs too heavy and dangerous to be really viable as something to carry around the waist or sewn on chest area aprons or lab coats, so I began the practice of seeking and reworking plastic tools, tubes, vials, and syringes, increasing my time investment in the ideas. This product spawned the monster hunting kits in 2011 which surprisingly increased the interest in these little field test kits. I only thought steampunk (and this product) would die a quick death of disinterest. The stories are just beginning