Laser Lace Letters is a series of tangible stories where you become a steampunk detective on the trail of a string of mysterious disappearances. At the heart of each story is a beautiful, laser cut cameo handmade in felt by artist Haley Moore.

The silhouettes represent seven fictional characters, and those seven people are connected by one common thread. They all had one of these unusual cameos made at a shop in London, and every one of them has disappeared.

What happened to them is too strange to take on faith; you're going to need evidence. All we have left are the objects they left behind: letters home and pages torn from diaries, newspaper clippings and old adverts, inventors sketches and photographs, love letters and suicide notes. It will be up to you to dig through the evidence and uncover their stories.

You'll come away from the experience, not only with the satisfaction of a good read, but with a wearable memento of the occasion. The cameos are perfect to pin to your a lapel, a hat, or a bag. Only these seven prototypes and a handful of others have ever been made, and now I'm asking you to help change that by pledging to outfit my studio with the right equipment.

Stories of Clockwork and Lightning

Laser Lace Letters features seven people from different walks of life, living in an alternate London where an all-woman airship corps keeps the peace, tiny robots ferry messages to secret lovers, and the rich build extravagant country homes in the sky. Photographers point their lenses to to sky for a glimpse of aethereal cities that appear in the bolt of a lightning strike. The government is building mechanical servants to free mankind from work, and soon the subjects of Queen Victoria will be the happiest and most prosperous in the world.

But tucked away in the shadows is a machine that could change everything - a device that can look into people's souls, and - if it sees fit - clip a hole in time and space just the right shape so they fall through.

Characters

Each story in Laser Lace Letters focuses on one person who fell prey to the machine.

Throughout the campaign, I'll be unveiling a little online experience for each character that gives you an idea of what their story will be like, without spoilers. So far, I've done a photo shoot, written a historical account of a murder done with tiny robots, solicited names for the Magician, and built interactive fiction out of the forms feature in Google Docs. Who knows what I'll do next!

To find all the characters' experiences in one place, go to LaserLaceLetters.com, and look for new updates throughout the campaign.

One-Woman Wonder Show

I'm a craftsperson with an undying love of story, and a tendency to take my projects to ridiculous extremes of intricacy and depth. I can prototype and write and design forever, but I can't make a project like Laser Lace on my own - and I definitely can't make it without you.

Ironically, these cameos from a steampunk world can only be made using third milennium technology. Laser Lace needs a laser cutter to go into production. We've been prototyping on a shared machine at the Dallas Makerspace, but in order to make more than a handful of them, we need our own equipment.

A felt mosaic donated to Desert Bus for Hope last year.

The laser cutter is one of my favorite creative tools, and one I've brought to bear over the last few years to make some awesome things. By pledging to Laser Lace, you're not only ensuring that this project happens - you're opening the door to a world of projects I could hardly imagine before.

NEW! Christmas Rewards!

We've added two very special rewards for those who want to give Laser Lace for Christmas. The stories won't be ready to ship until March, but we can send out some cameos in time for holiday gift giving. So, for the low price of $42, you can now order one cameo and the digital Letters, and have them arrive by December 24.

However, for $77 you can also order a special experience that will keep giving throughout the year. At this level, you'll not only get your cameo by December 24, but in March, you'll start to receive parcels containing the physical artifacts that make up each story. You won't just get the story that goes with your cameo - you'll receive all seven deliciously designed case files, one each month. It's like a subscription to mystery and adventure.

You can also get your custom wax seal by December 24, if you get your custom work specifications sent in by December 7. We will send out mini pins ASAP, but can't guarantee them delivered by the 24th.

We're now offering custom, laser cut wax seal stampers and signet rings, just like the ones we developed while designing our packages, and as seen in the award-winning Instructable. We will be doing fully customizable seals featuring your initials, message, or any art you provide.

The impression size is about 3/4" wide. Stamper seals come on a lovely wood handle. The signet rings are both ready to make a wax impression, and great for making a first impression. The band is unisex and adjustable.

When you order your seal, you'll also get a stick of sealing wax in red, gold, or silver, and a digital copy of the Letters. Larger seals (up to 1 1/2") are also available for an additional $3 shipping (the post office will require us to mail them differently).

You can add a custom seal to any other reward level by adding $40 to your total pledge.

For $25, you can get this charming little mini-cameo to wear to your next soiree. This poor fellow doesn't have his own story, but if you read carefully you might be able to find him in the digital copy of Laser Lace Letters that comes with your mini pin. You can also get the digital copy alone for $10.

UPDATE: All THREE alternate mini cameos are now available! Pledge at the $25 level to get either the original, Nikola Tesla, the Air Pirate, or the Gear Heart mini cameo! We'll send out an email at the end of the campaign to find out which you'd like.

You can also add more mini cameos to any other reward level by adding $25 per cameo to your total pledge.

For $50, you'll get one complete Laser Lace Letters story of your choice, including the cameo and story artifacts in one of these lovely packages, and a copy of the digital book.

Each story in the Letters is like an episode of a television series - each has its own internal arc, and each connects to others. While the series doesn't follow a single narrative from beginning to end, certain threads connect groups of episodes.

The Laser Lace Tales are collections of stories that share a common thread and come together to make a bigger picture. For $150 you get three cameos, three tangible stories, the digital book and the mini cameo. There are three Tales to choose from.

Of course, for some, three stories isn't enough. If you want the full experience, we've also got you covered.

For $250, you get a complete set of physical Laser Lace Letters, including all seven cameos and seven tangible stories, the digital book, and the mini cameo.

While we haven't nailed down all the details, the complete set will likely contain over 100 individual story pieces. It will be a rare and beautiful thing.

Custom Services

Several of our rewards are for custom services, including:

Cameos with custom silhouettes and any lace from our lace library.

and any lace from our lace library. A full Laser Lace portrait sitting and a new Laser Lace story starring you! This is a deeper story than most, with artifacts from the whole range of my propmaking and storytelling capabilities, using the new laser I'll soon have command of! Read more about the personal portrait sitting here.

This is a deeper story than most, with artifacts from the whole range of my propmaking and storytelling capabilities, using the new laser I'll soon have command of! Read more about the personal portrait sitting here. The "Secret Society Package" - Complete custom cameos of your art for up to 10 people.

Laser cutting services for one year!

For complete details on these rewards, read our Custom Order Specifications.

Partnerships and Other Cool Stuff

When I said I can't make this project alone, I wasn't just saying that. Laser Lace has from a number of collaborators, from both the US and the UK.

Laser Lace Letters is an official spinoff of Clockwork Watch, a magnificent steampunk transmedia project that got its start on IndieGoGo one year ago. If you thought our world sounded similar to theirs, it's because they're the same! Many members of the Clockwork Watch team have already lent their feedback, encouragement, and even their voices to the cause. You're also going to see special Clockwork Watch cameos in the future if funded, and you can check out bits of Laser Lace in the new issue of the Clockwork Watch comic, Breakaway.

This project also incorporates LaMech, a one off tangible story about a tiny robot that I created in 2010. The LaMech robots will come to life in Laser Lace, saving one life and tearing another apart.

I'm also collaborating with a number of artists, almost all of them Texans like me. They're supplying things like illustrations, advertising art, circus posters, and sketches of terrifying machines. Without these people, Laser Lace wouldn't be nearly as beautiful as its going to be: