Specials Guests at teslaCon
Meet our special guests!
At TeslaCon, North America's premier immersive steampunk convention, our special guests are more than just speakers or performers. They are inventors, storytellers, makers, and visionaries who bring the world of steampunk to vivid, crackling life. Each year, we are honored to welcome remarkable individuals who share our passion for creativity, alternate history, and the boundless spirit of adventure.
Fox McCarty
Trained Historical Tailor and Dress Historian
Fox McCarty (professionally known as Michael McCarty) is a trained historical tailor and dress historian whose work bridges scholarship and hands-on practice. He completed a seven-year apprenticeship in the Tailor Trade Program at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where he was trained in 18th century English tailoring techniques grounded in original garments and archival research. His research spans the 5th century BCE Hellenistic period through the Victorian era, with a focus on how changes in industry, technology, and social identity shaped men’s fashion in the shift from the Enlightenment to the Industrial Revolution.
Fox has examined and documented extant garments throughout the United States and Europe, using this research to reconstruct period methods of cut and construction. His historically accurate garments have been displayed in museums around the world, and he continues to teach and speak on historical clothing, tailoring, and material culture. He shares ongoing research, historical reconstructions, and process-driven tailoring work on Instagram at @malibudarcy.
Teri E. Lloyd
Master Costume Maker and Educator
Specializing in executing technically difficult designs, Teri Lloyd's greatest desire is to share her love and vast knowledge of sewing with all sewists who desire to increase their sewing expertise. She has been sewing more than five decades, creating beautiful clothing per clients' desires and Designer’s exacting specifications. Teri also has extensive experience as a sample maker and pattern tester.
After moving back to Wisconsin in 2010 Teri changed things up a bit and added sewing costumes for Theatre and Entertainment. She has worked with Dos de Tejas Pattern Company; in Costume Shops in NYC, FL, Poland, China, Canada; and on both domestic and international productions, including: Cirque Du Soleil, Funny Girl, Devil Wears Prada, Madonna Madame X Tour, Hamilton The Broadway Musical, Star Trek - Spock, Victoria Secret, Death Becomes Her, Lempicka, New York City Ballet, Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, Disney On Ice, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Marvel Universe Live, Sesame Street Live, Disney Live, Madonna Rebel Heart World Tour, Madonna Music Living For love Video, Nuclear Cowboyz/Cowgirlz and over 35 productions at The Fireside Theatre.
When not working in NYC with Mio Guberinic Designs you will find her teaching garment constructions classes at the Electric Needle in Madison, WI.
Ryan Jay
Film Critic, Television Presenter, and Oz Historian
Ryan Jay is an entertainment journalist, critic, emcee, host, and Oz historian. He appears weekly on the NBC-TV affiliate in Milwaukee, WI, and is nationally syndicated on radio by Premiere Networks. On the red carpet at movie premieres and events, Ryan has interviewed many of Hollywood’s A-list celebrities. For over a decade, he was featured as a member of the Fashion Police in Us Weekly magazine. As an Oz historian, Ryan presents across the country about The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, Wicked, and related titles; he received an honorary lifetime membership to the L. Frank Baum Historical Society in New York for his academic advancement, preservation of, and dedication to all things Oz; and was honored to have his handprints and autograph inducted in cement at the Oz Museum in Kansas, just below those of Jerry Maren (the middle Munchkin of The Lollipop Guild).
Ryan has worked as a television producer on major pop culture and entertainment programming for networks including Bravo, Showtime, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, TLC, and more.
Karen Brown-Larimore
Professional Costume Designer
Karen Brown-Larimore is an accomplished costume designer with over four decades of experience spanning opera, ballet, theater, and national touring productions. Holding an MFA in Costume Design from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BFA in Technical Theatre from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she has built an extensive career with leading regional companies, including Madison Opera, Madison Ballet, Forward Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Northern Sky Theatre, and Opera for the Young. Her original designs span a remarkable range of productions, from classic operas like Orpheus in the Underworld and The Turn of the Screw to contemporary musicals and world premieres such as Dracula for Madison Ballet.
Beyond her regional work, Karen has an impressive background in national touring productions, having served as Wig and Hair Technician for the Phantom of the Opera National Tour and Wardrobe Assistant for The Little Mermaid National Tour. Her creative reach even extends to product design, as she has created original costume prototypes for the American Girls Collection at Pleasant Company. A longtime member of IATSE Local 251, Karen brings deep technical expertise in pattern drafting, corset construction, wig design, and crew training, making her a versatile and highly sought-after designer across all facets of theatrical costume work.