John and Bjo Trimble. Photo: Bob Paz via Facebook.
The Silicon Web Costumers’ Guild is proud to send our best wishes to member, and fandom and costuming legend Bjo Trimble on her 90th birthday on August 15, 2023.
Bjo remembers that she met future husband John Griffin Trimble under Forrest J Ackerman’s piano, where several fans had taken refuge during a particularly crowded party. “John was in the Air Force, so he and, I traded Stupid Office Stories and discovered we liked each other a lot.”
Bjo helped revive a flagging Los Angeles Science Fiction Society (LASFS) in the late 1950s. In 1958, she put together the “Worldcon Futuristic Fashion Show” at Solacon, the 16th World Science Fiction Convention. The designs in the Fashion Show were determined by a mail-in contest and published in a booklet. This is the same Design Contest / Fashion Folio / Fashion Show format that is now used by Costume-Con. She ran it once again in 1966 at Tricon, the 24th Worldcon, where she also gave fandom a glimpse of three early Star Trek costumes. When she was the Masquerade Director for the Denver Worldcon in 1981, judging using the Division System was tried for the very first time.
Bjo also started and directed “Project Art Show”, the first modern convention art show, in 1960. its success led to art shows becoming a profitable part of most conventions, both large and small.
In 1993, Bjo and John received the ICG’s Lifetime Achievement Award for their contributions to the costuming community.
She and John are best known as part of the “Save Star Trek” campaign, which was generally credited with allowing the series to run for a third season rather than being canceled after two. They also helped with the campaign to have the first of NASA’s Space Shuttles named Enterprise. In 1982, Bjo published a memoir of her experiences in Star Trek fandom entitled On the Good Ship Enterprise: My 15 Years with Star Trek.
Bjo is also known for her dyework and fiber arts. especially in the use of natural dyes. The Trimbles, owned and operated the Griffin Dyeworks & Fiber Arts until 2015.
Congratulations, Bjo, and thanks to you and John for your many years of service to the communities whose lives you have touched.
[See “FANAC Fan History Interview with John and Bjo Trimble” in the May 2021 issue of SiW’s The Virtual Costumer.]
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