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 invited Gogolita over to play WAR and eat cakes last night. The Liason Collaborative’s THE GARDEN is opening up today and Cory Edo of Trompe Loeil has released a Vintage Diner style kitchenette that’s adorable. Continue reading
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
As the three year 100% coverage of my laptop nears its expiration, my computer has needed repairs yet again. This time it will get a new hard drive. Meanwhile I am locked out of Second Life®, but I have to at least appreciate that it died while under warranty, not after. I thought I might share some articles I have written recently for AVENUE.
The June issue of AVENUE focused on Pride events and the Stand 4 Love campaign. Several people shared their coming out stories and many creators from the LGBT community were highlighted.
One of the creators highlighted was Zib Scaggs of Zibska. I wrote this profile of her focussing on her rebellious creativity and spirit. I discovered we shared a love of ska, a love she incorporated into her store name and I incorporated into the article, Rebel In Me.
My other article focussed on Froukje Hoorenbeek, the furniture and home builder who produces many gay-friendly furnishings. Talking to her, I discovered she creates a story that inspires her builds. She shared her process and it was fascinating. Of course, I called the article The Storyteller.
The July issue of AVENUE was full of bright tropical colors and some fabulous style shoots that made my shopping list overflow. I did two stories, one on Akeruka, the skin and shape store, and one on another home decor store, floorplan.
Talking with the skinners KaoZ Koba and Agony Helse of Akeruka, I learned that they visualize whole characters, so I imagined a scenario bringing their cast of characters together in a dramatic situation in the article Akeruka: Skin Deep.
In The Stuff of Life, I profiled Tegan Serin of floorplan. She’s one of those people who helps us turn our houses into homes, making the stuff that replaces the sterility of perfection with stories, personality and life.
So please, check out my stories and the many other great articles at AVENUE.
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!
PXL Creations has released a beautiful Vintage KATE skin for Collabor88 this month, complete with great pencil thin eyebrows for a true retro look. There are four variations to the lips, and there are actually “regular” eyebrows included but I was feeling very 1920s this morning. Continue reading