Brandon Mull, local tattoo artist and proprietor of Water Street Tattoo, is also a “Steampunk” and techno-artisan. Brandon creatively transforms everyday household objects into works of art and technology. One form of his creativity is Steampunk, which is a creative genre that combines science fiction with Victorian aesthetics.
There are two notable Steampunk creations in his shop. One is a “ray gun” made from an old metal ballcock from a toilet and the tonearm from an antique Victrola. The other handiwork is a pendant made from antique clock gears and hands.
Brandon loves to repurpose everyday things around him. This desire to transform objects to serve another purpose extends to his family dwelling. When he enlarged his home, he used items from old houses that were torn down to make room for the current DHS building.
He has rooms full of parts and household items to use for his creations. He has a lamp that is an engine valve cover for the shade, and the base is a brake rotor. He created a pair of lamps for children. He constructed his artist’s light box by utilizing overhead light diffuser and some led light strips and a wooden frame. The bodies of the lamps are constructed from wooden alphabet building blocks.
He had some unused flat panel TVs and used them for computer monitors. But the coolest, IMNO (In My Nerd Opinion) are the technological works of art that are his artistically designed sound systems, which he sells at his business, at 10 S. Water St.
My favorite has to be the 1937 Electrolux vacuum cleaner transformed into a self-contained sound system. In this instance, he incorporated a “woofer” (for bass) and a tweeter (for higher frequencies), an amplifier with a Bluetooth receiver powered by a rechargeable battery pack.
Coming in second, is an old RCA receiving tube caddy (the kind I used many years ago), turned into the same kind of self-contained sound system. He has crafted these systems using suitcases, steamer trunks, cigar boxes, and many other vintage treasures. His current project is an old portable phonograph case which will house the sound system that he has designed.
Like any artisan, he is constantly refining his craft. His newest enhancements to his creations involve including a 3.5MM audio jack to allow devices, such as a Smartphone, to be directly connected to the sound system. The current creations power off automatically but he is incorporating a mechanical off- and-on switch in future designs.
I was given a tour of rooms filled with electronic parts, old vacuum cleaners, suitcases, mechanical and electrical devices of every description. I realized this was “Nerdvana.”
Brandon will take these speakers, wires, coils, batteries, widgets of all shapes and sizes, and will use his imaginative wizardry and skilled hands to create masterpieces of art and technology.
Brandon invites you to come to Water Street Tattoo to see and experience the coolest techno-art sound systems around anywhere. (Christmas is coming, folks.)
