The Challenge is a monthly design challenge put forth to various Home & Garden Designers from across the grid. This time around the challenge was Black and White themed, and I felt with all the Glam of Collabor88, as well as The Black Fair, it was fitting to post something from it.
My computer is back with a new hard drive, so it’s kind of like starting with a blank slate. It is certainly the cleanest clean install of Second Life I have done as it was the first application I installed. So there I was in-world again after my short hiatus and ready to Collabor88. But first, I had to log in as the LoveDonnaFlora avatar and transfer all the funds to Squinternet after the Love Donna Flora event. All in all, the event raised $12,619.45 to help support Squinternet’s struggle with cancer. There may be some more coming in after the event, but it is likely to be small and will, of course, be transferred to Squint regularly.
Speaking of Donna Flora, the dress I am wearing is a perfect Collabor88tion of MiaMai’s Monica Outlander and Donna Flora’s Squinternet. Again, Monica executed Squint’s vision, marrying her skills and sensibilities with Squint’s exuberant love of vintage. The result is a dress that seems to have a third collabor88tor in the mix, Gustav Klimt. The blend of fabrics were surely chosen by Squint after consulting with Klimt. And who could be a better collabor88tor for the 1920s. It’s not well known, but Klimt designed some dresses with his lover Emilie Flöge, the couturier. His dresses hung from the shoulders, without a defined and corseted waist and were very bohemian in their aesthetic.
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Last night I realized that it was O-Bon time (around the end of summer), and I got nostalgic for the festivals of my childhood. O-Bon is the Japanese version of Dia De Los Muertos, the time of year when the spirits of dead family return to visit. Much like Dia De Los Muertos, it’s usually marked by dancing, wearing traditional Japanese clothing, eating good food, and honoring family both alive and dead. Humans around the world are not so different, are they?
I saw on the Destination Guide that the Hanafusa Okiya (Hanafusa school of Geiko) was holding an O-Bon. I wandered over to Miyagawacho Hanamachi, but was too late to view any of the festivities (everyone is on Japanese time!). The sim is gorgeous, though, so I stayed to walk in the raked sand garden and tread the narrow streets in my geta.
The sim is built for traditional Japanese Geiko roleplay. I read through the rules, and it’s much more like Memoirs of a Geisha than like (insert the usual Second Life “Geisha” house here). If you’d like to work on the sim in a variety of capacities, there’s a list of open positions on this website. I’ve always wanted to be a monk at a Shinto Shrine. Hmmmmmm…
Anyway. More photos of the lovely Miyagawacho Hanamachi behind the cut!
I wandered over to LEA6 this morning, because I didn’t know what to shoot. When in doubt, LEA sims will always provide some inspiration and things to think about. This build is called Mitosis.
It tells you what it’s all about, there are three levels that represent various things in your existence. You fly up to the second two levels to experience those works. I’d tell you more about it, but these depths are better plumbed by Hybie, Honour or Acha. As for me, I’m wearing a cute suit. Continue reading
When I first heard and then read about the Donna Flora event, I cried, I really did. I don’t do it often, but it really hit me. I cried a little again, when I realized I missed the cutoff date for applications for designers.
So I shopped instead.
I have never had the opportunity to talk with Squinternet. I’d sometimes see her setting up vendors in the shop, or out and about at events. I do however know her store line personally, as I have acquired many pieces from it over the years.
Some of you may know me, or of me, some of you may not, but one thing that can be universally seen in many of my posts is my love of colour. I also love period and retro styles. Donna Flora was one of those places I could go, get a Purple/Orange/Red patterned dress, grab gold, like real looking gold jewelry(so hard to find) and come out not looking like a clashy mess.
The Linden Landscape and be dreary, and apparently full of something glowing and full bright. You can’t count on your neighbors to be tasteful, that’s for sure. Since I now have friends who live somewhere in this megalopolis, I wanted to find a beacon that would help them get to #104 Linden Ghetto.
I feel like a MEGA FLAMINGO really says a lot.
It’s from Weather or Not for FLUX event and it’s not just decorative! It’s a festive pose prop. Continue reading
I did a bit of urban exploration last night. I went to Hackberry Hall, a build listed in the “Haunted” section of the destination guide. Teleporting landed me in an enclosed Victorian-looking room with no discernable exits. I was too twitchy to solve any puzzles, so I panned out and poked around the sim until I found something to sit on… The other part of the sim is a gorgeously dank manor house that suited my Southern Gothic soul to the core.
I loved the little touches like the moon stationed firmly to the side of one of the gables, the barren trees, the little flying things… I didn’t get a chance to explore the house yet, but perhaps tomorrow. It definitely helped sooth my longings for October. Not long now, favorite month. Not long now.
I’ve posted a lot of photos after the cut!
I went wandering again last night. While my husband read to my newly-returned kid, I went poking around Roleplay sims. A few of them in the destination guide lead to busted links (including one to some Bloodlines sims, I guess they’re momentarily down?). But one of them led to Syrinx, “a rustic Viking sim dedicated to providing an authentic Viking Village experience.”
Some people live here, which is neat, although it was empty when I went last night. Maybe they were all out picking up some rustic Viking outfits from the 1920s at Collabor88? I quite enjoyed finding the little nooks and crannies built into the sim. I like the phallic standing stones inscribed with runes, and the serious-looking deer lingering around the monuments. I liked the totally anachronistic pirate ship and cave on one side of the sim (I dunno, it’s SL), and I also adored the tiny rocky islands thick with evergreens.
My other favorite part was the blacksmith area, which also had a bear hyde tanning neatly beneath a few hungry-looking birds.
Go check out Syrinx! My avatar (with camera ready) is below in her new Katat0nik jumper, and a few more pictures of the sim are behind the cut.
Collabor88 this month has caused a riot in the usual styling on the feeds. Classy, sleek lines and elegant chic are widely replacing some of the more questionable choices. I have to say, it warms the heart. Continue reading
As I was getting ready for an evening in, I realized I haven’t reminded you that LOVE DONNA FLORA ends and I mean within HOURS! There is still time to get amazing gorgeous items to help out our friend Squinternet as she battles cancer.
I’m wearing beautiful lingerie from Luxuria for the event, and sexy, girly bedroom slippers from SLink. Perfect for sexy evenings in, like I have planned. My skin is also for the event from PXL Creations. It’s a gorgeous, femme look with soft features. Continue reading