Furry Fashion Goods at Farshore Shipping and Trading

Cynthia Farshore recently notified me of a number of additional items up for sale at her "Farshore Shipping and Trading" store in Sunlight Bay. The brand of most of these goods will be familiar to longtime readers: Furry Fashion.

The decision of Furry Fashion to change it's Furry sim rating to adult (which was made only after talks with some in the staff whom had concerns), was not well received by everyone as the comments after the announcement in the Newser shows. As Sunlight Bay has a rating of "Moderate," the new goods at the Farshore store allow a location for those who want to shop at an inworld location with their goods but can't or won't set foot in a sim with an "Adult" rating.

Sunlight Bay (193/217/27)

Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life Artist Bryn Oh Making Real-Life Cash From Bronze Statuettes Made From Inworld Build

One question some people in real life often ask me about Second Life is how one can make money. It seems Second Life Bryn Oh has found one way. She has sold almost thirty statues for over six thousand dollars.

In April, Bryn Oh announced in her blog that she would be making bronze statuettes based on "The Dancer," the name given to a figure in her work "The Hand." She stated that while she had crossed over her work from Second Life to real life before, "In the past it has been things like Museum exhibits at the Menage museum in Moscow, the Jewish museum in Berlin, with oil paintings of my avatar or characters ... I have, in the past, created studies for my characters in wire, wood and something called Hyrdrocal but after speaking to my friend Toy, I decided to make the jump into Bronze.  It is a big jump because it is quite expensive to do and you kind of just have to hope someone will want to buy them after you have invested in having them made."

The first model of The Dancer were made through 3D printing. From that, a wax model was created, then used to make the cast for the bronze statues, "We used the lost wax process to create a mold to hold the molten bronze.  Essentially you create a cast around the model then melt it so that the wax runs out leaving a cavity to pour the bronze into." A total of thirty statuettes, each about four inches tall were created. They were then priced in the order they were made. The first five were priced from $400 to $300 USD, the second set of five $275, the third set of five $250, and so on with four of the last five priced at $150. Bryn Oh announced in early June that the statues were complete.

Bronze casting requires some expense, so Bryn Oh was taking a chance. But people were making orders starting in the few days after the announcement. When I met up with Bryn Oh at the Second Life Birthday, she told me a told of 21 of the thirty statues had been sold. Since then, the number has gone up to 27, for a total of $6650 USD. It seems the thirtieth statuette will not be sold after all.

Bryn Oh thought she might make more bronze statuettes in the future, "I am thinking of making a new one in six months ... not sure what to make, though. I was looking at characters I have made over the years, "Rabbicorn" to "Anna's Many Murders" to "Mr. Zippers." She also had one in Sansar she might use.

Considering most of her first release of her work on sale sold, further statues should sell well. Another example of someone in Second Life going on to make real-life money for her work.

Source: Bryn Oh's Blog

Bixyl Shuftan

Faerie Crossing's Terra Firma Up For Sale

Interested in owning, or renting, a piece of land of an active and thriving Fantasy community? Terra Firma, a parcel of Faerie Crossing, is up for sale/rent. Here, one can be part of a place with almost daily events. MajikVixen, who is offering the place, describes the location and it's community.

Read MajikVixen's advertorial in Places.

The First Sims – Clyde

DrFran Babcock continues her series on Second Life's first sims. For her latest article, she stopped at the Clyde sim. Clyde was originally a combat sim, then became a spot to live on, as well as listen to live music. In her previous "First Sims" article, the place had much of it's history still intact, and offered much for those interested in seeing it. So did DrFran find a similar story with Clyde, or has time been less than kind to this original sim?

Read DrFran's article in Places.

Abbot's Areodome up for Sale

According to Daniel Voyager, Abbot's Areodome, which was saved from disappearing from the Grid last August by a purchaser, is now up for sale. The reason, the owner is unable to hold onto both of his sims.

Those interested in buying the noted airport, contact the owner.

The entrance to Abbots Areodrome is at Abbots (163, 147, 71).

Loco Pocos Up For Sale, Island to Close

After running the sucessful Loco Pocos tiny avatar brand for over two years with the help of his real-life wife Washu Zebrastripe, Damien Fate has decided to put it up for sale and close its sim Loco Pocos Island.

For over two years, Loco Pocos has been a presence in Second Life, as the makers of one of the most popular brands of Tiny avatar, as well as a fun sim filled with things to do. In his blog, Damien Fate states, “Loco Pocos has sold over 10,000 avatars and over 50,000 accessories – and that doesn’t even include all the free stuff!” Hamlet Au calculated, “With (Loco Pocos) avatars selling for L$350 a piece and accessories going for L$100, that translates to a very impressive US$35,000 gross.”

But in Damien’s words, “Those of you who have been following Loco Pocos over the years have probably noticed that lately, I haven’t been around. My career has taken a different direction as of 2010, each new job I take is moving me further and further away from Second Life, which means I have less and less time to devote to the products I love, like Loco Pocos.”

“Loco Pocos is a fantastic brand, very popular and appealing, it has a lot going for it – the only downside is my lack of involvement to keep things fresh. I don’t want to neglect it anymore, yet I don’t have the time to give it the care it truly deserves. So, with several months of thinking this through, I have decided to do what is best and move on completely. Loco Pocos, as a business, is for sale.”

Damien goes on to say, “Loco Pocos has a large existing consumer base in Second Life, all just waiting for the next accessory or avatar to hit the shelves, it also has a development kit available for budding creators to release their own line of Loco Pocos compatible accessories. ”

Hamlet Au describes Damien’s main effort these days on Circ.us, “a social media advertising house which now employs a number of staffers from the Electric Sheep Company, the metaverse development studio which had its heyday during Second Life's 2007 boom times.”

Of Loco Poco Island, it “was not just the home of the Loco Pocos mainstore, it was also host to lots of secrets and a compelling island adventure based on a fantastic storyline following visitors to the island. This experience was offered for free to residents of Second Life, with lots of games and free items to win. However, regrettably, the Island Adventure must come to a close. Loco Pocos Island will shut down on November 27th, 2010.”

Damien has asked those interested in buying Loco Pocos to email him at contact@damienfate.com.

“Many thanks to all the visitors and customers that made the island adventure available for over 2 years, now it’s time to move on. ... It’s time to give Loco Pocos the life it deserves!”

Bixyl Shuftan

Sources: New World Notes, “Damien’s Fate” Blog