"Shining Star" wreaths for charity

The holidays are about giving, and what better way to celebrate than with a gift donation to charity? The "Shining Star" wall wreath will donate 100% of the proceeds to SHINE: a fundraiser for Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders)



4 Colour versions of the wreath are available. The striking colour and decoration combinations are created with high quality textures. The permissions allow for you to give the wreath as a gift to a loved one.

Price: L$100, ALL proceeds to charity

SHINE/MSF: SHINE is a seasonal Second Life fashion fundraiser for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to providing health care to those in need. doctorswithoutborders.org

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Le%20Zoo/207/218/23

Winterfest Wreath submission/SHINE

I entered the Winterfest wreath competition sponsored by Linden Lab, with proceeds of the chosen wreaths going to Kiva.org. Kiva is a not-for-profit microlending website which allows donors to select disadvantaged entrepreneurs to receive funding to start their own business, or expand into new markets.


My wreath is called "Shining Star" and the theme related to hope, light, and wealth/prosperity. Hence the silver and gold colours. There's no sculpted prims, it's all carefully hand-textured.

If the wreath is NOT chosen as one of the 6 for Winterfest, I will still have the wreath (in several colour combinations) available for purchase with proceeds going to SHINE: A Fundraiser for Medecins Sans Frontiers.

This will be the third annual SHINE event. Designers can participate by submitting limited edition items for sale with proceeds going to charity. They can also create a unique, one-of-a-kind outfit for auction, again with proceeds going to charity. I'm planning to try to do both but may only have time for the limited edition - perhaps a nice piece of jewellery?

If you're a designer and would like to participate in SHINE, please contact Oryx Tempel, who is managing/organizing the event this year. Thanks Oryx!

Yes, I am still making stuffs. :)

Pictured above: black leather tight pants with side zipper, to be released.

While I haven't been in Second Life much lately, I've been feeling the need for a creative outlet again and have been logging in to work on some fall fashion.

I also have some upcoming news about OPIUM products, which will be posted here.

<3

I made pretties.

"Cassie" hoops
Matches the popular OPIUM Everyday layered bangle set. Copper, silver, and gold metal hoops on an earring hook for a classic look.
(L$60)


"Lynda" chandelier earrings
Dangly earrings with delicate crystal drops and inset crystals for a feminine look that works with both casual and elegant, more formal style. "Lynda" earrings come in gold metal with pink, orange, or yellow crystals, or silver metal with aquamarine, peridot green or amethyst purple crystals.
(L$100)


RFL EXCLUSIVE LIMITED EDITION: "Lynda" in "blood"
The "blood" version of "Lynda" is a darker take on the candelier drop earring style. Blackened metal with ruby red crystals. This version is ONLY available for Relay for Life 2009 and proceeds benefit the charity.
(L$150)


NEW IN THE LUCKY CHAIR:
Exclusive version of the "Lynda" earrings in silver with clear crystals
New letter every 10 minutes

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Le%20Zoo/207/218/23

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Other news: I'm 100% fed up with blogger and will probably be moving to Wordpress on my own server. When I move I'll let you all know so you can update links/feeds. :)

Our double standard

EDIT: Um, none of this makes sense to anyone except me. Read at your own risk. I was VERY drunk when I wrote this, and while I was trying to make a point about fair use of legitimately purchased items, I don't really think it was made. I'm still thinking about making SYNERGY bases open/free though.

Dear the internets,

You may remember me, from years ago, as part of a league of The Sims independent content creators, who got sick of our stuff showing up everywhere.

Do you remember That's Life? Of course not. That was the nail in the coffin for me, when I saw that things I created were part of an unofficial "expansion pack" for the Sims, distributed by (FOR SHAME!!!) Amazon and EB GAMES...

Then you remember the Sims 2, and the general fiasco that was the Exchange? I did so enjoy seeing my creations show up so often attributed to other designers, over and over again. I never wanted a dollar for the time I spent understanding texture mapping or 3D, I just wanted CREDIT to Alaska Smith...

Someone mentioned Second Life to me at one point, in the context of "I hear they have IP protection here"... so I joined.

Something recently happened that changed my mind about our double standards. Now, I will fight to the death for artists rights to protect the things they create, myself included. Not only that, but the CUSTOMER'S right to EDIT said creations. My livelihood depends upon it.

But what happens when a Recording Industry gets too big for its britches and decides how legal owners of music can deal with their own downloads? Today I purchased songs legally off iTunes, and was informed I could PAY MORE to buy unlimited licenses. Sorry but, THE FUCK? I thought I just made a personal CHOICE to PAY for a LEGITIMATE download of music... and after all that, I have to pay MORE to send a friend the song I like???

I would NEVER deny someone the ability to let a friend try out a demo of a skin I made, nor would I ever expect to pay more for the right I enjoyed for YEARS by making cassette tapes of bands I liked.* Fuck you all. I understand the balance between making money as an artist, but the leechy sponges in the music industry are going to kill the music industry until all we have left are the pre-recorded sad little pre-made pop-stars. As I've said before, listening to Lady Gaga isn't much different from getting an STD.

I welcome comments. In the spirit of keeping knowledge and artistry open (and in drunken spite against the RIAA, I must admit) I am tempted to a) release the bases to the SYNERGY system as flattened .png files for everyone and b) Like, shit, all I need is an auto-tune and good abs, let's rock the charts since the RIAA is too busy PERSECUTING legit music owners to notice when independents own their ass...

K I got rambly, blame the vodka. What else is a blog good for... I had a point in there somewhere about how LL dropped the ball with regards to creators rights but also customers rights, and how the RIAA is trying to fuck over iTunes... DCMA is just one person's word against anothers... etc...

* Back story: In my country, there is a tax paid on recordable media, and in balance, we can't be sued for DISTRIBUTING copyrighted media. Which means mixed tapes are awesome. A store FULL of mixed tapes, less so.

Lucky Chair Prize: Corkies sandals

Platform front, thick heel, cork sole, with thin criss-crossing straps. These shoes are non-sculpted so you can imagine how annoying it was to make them look okay. The only way to get the blue, yellow and green versions is to keep checking the Lucky Chair... one of the prizes is all three versions!

OPIUM Everyday: SLURL

This is part of a little project I'm working on to update/contribute more to newbie & freebie spots. A white version, along with a complete outfit including jewellery and a dress, is going in my Free Dove box. Because OPIUM Everyday items are so affordable, it only makes sense to market to new players who need nice quality basic clothing. :)

In defence of Second Life's modelling industry.

Some recent events affecting virtual model agencies and magazines have gotten press, and attracted a lot of negative comments about the model industry in SL in general. While I don't know enough about either the Aspire or the RUNWAY situations to comment on those, I do want to talk about some of the general attitudes that have come out from commentators.

Attitude #1: All modelling agencies in Second Life are a rip off that feed on egos.
My response: That's just an insult to hard working members of this particular industry, who often work long and hard for virtually nothing. In the time I spent with Metro, I swallowed the cost of land every month, I did models' books for nothing, I trained everyone with drop-in workshops for free, I paid for the website and blog out of my own pocket. If a show was free/for charity, I collected gift cards instead and distributed it to models so they at least got something out of it. I pulled THREE all-nighters during my time with Metro, to write show scripts and make sure everything went perfectly. It was easily the most tiring and thankless job I can imagine ANYONE having, and the reason I stuck it out so long were the friendships I formed and the joy of seeing it all come together at the event. Rip off? None of my models were made to buy ANYTHING to join Metro, and I hope it's been a valuable learning experience for those who stayed a while and worked. As for egos, you'd be amazed at how little drama I've dealt with in my time as an agency owner.

Attitude #2: SL modelling is a joke, anyone can do it, it's easy, just walk and pose.
My response: When you're sitting in your seat as a non-physical avatar; without moving your camera around, trying to load inventory, or load animations; you STILL manage to BITCH ABOUT THE LAG AT THE EVENT AND SOMEHOW BLAME THE EVENT PRODUCER/VENUE. How do you think the MODELS feel??? It is NOT easy. Neither is forming a perfectly proportioned avatar that DOESN'T look like everyone elses, styling an outfit in less than a day without any L$ in your pocket, or finding poses that don't look like ass with the stupid system skirt. Your attitude is an insult to anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes preparing for a show.

Attitude #3: Designers are stupid to hire models and should just use bots or something.
My response: The SL modelling industry, whether you like it or not, provides (for the most part) classy, non-adult-oriented employment for female avatars. Aside from content creation or clubbing, there really AREN'T any other options out there. I'd like to see this industry thrive because it is so closely tied to content creation. Aside from the fact it recirculates currency, hiring models should be seen as a business investment. You may make the money back from a fashion show in sales during/after. But you'll also have a bunch of avatars noted for their sense of style wearing your clothes afterwards, telling their friends, showing them off, blogging them, etc. Word of mouth is STILL one of the most effective means of advertising in Second Life, and you WON'T get it from bots.

As a designer, before you start to think about hiring a modelling agency to do a show, you should think about the bigger picture. How does the fashion show fit into your larger promotional plan? If it doesn't, it's not really worth doing (unless it's an expo show with multiple designers, I have had good results from those).

The best reasons to do a fashion show in Second Life:

• You're releasing a new line and want to debut/preview it to press/friends/update group/whoever before it comes out
• You're collaborating with another designer for a project and have a themed event planned
• You're a shopping mall owner and want to bring traffic and show the tenants you're serious about promoting them

What should you consider before choosing a modelling agency in SL?

• There are a LOT of agencies in Second Life. Pick one that you've at least heard of, that has shows to its name, and a more-or-less positive reputation.
• Do NOT go with a generic event location or one that is ugly/badly textured/full of ad boards. You want to be the focus, you want something as unique as your product.
• Ask to pick the models!! Ask to see them before they go on the runway!! Don't let your stuff be represented poorly (ie, non-fitted, tinted things not matching, etc). Note, though, that you forfeit ANY right to have your stuff look perfect if you pass your stuff over the day before the show.
• If you can afford it, DO go with a video. Up to 70 avatars will view your fashion event in world before the sim crashes. An INFINITE number can watch it online.

In short, quality, reputable modelling agencies exist, that work hard, and are able to bring new customers and positive promotion to your brand. Anyone who says otherwise is just full of sour grapes (failed model?).