Reflections of a Shopkeeper: Location - Style and Aesthetics

For a long time now I've have a small corner shop at Juicy and specialized in wedding rings and custom jewelry.  I recently have taken an interest in larger builds including residential structures, furniture and landscaping.  I found that my tiny shop was bursting a the seams and I decided to take a sizable parcel on the corner of the sim. As I venture forth on my journey into shop-keeping I'm finding plenty of challenges and surprises worth sharing. And so I begin a new segment entitled: Reflections of a Shopkeeper.

Location - Style and Aesthetics:
I started out a bit anxious to get into something big and as soon as Gogo, my landlady, said she had a space available I grabbed it.  However I didn't take a lot of time to think about how my shop would fit into the location.  It was a nice corner lot with a good view. But it was sandy and beachy and my shop concept is (will be eventually) a lush green garden. I really struggled to make things work, but the build just was not "clicking" for me. I mentioned to Gogo that i loved the grass she had put in for the Juicy Birthday event and she should keep it.  She suggested that I move over to the Juicy del Mar sim.  It took me a few hours of deliberating because I had already put Landmarks in everything and pasted my SLURL everywhere.  But I stood at the Juicy del Mar parcel for awhile and realized it was where I needed to be. The moment I rezzed the first prim I knew I had made the right choice. And so I present to you: Queen & Co. @ Juicy del Mar:


If you're thinking about opening a shop or moving your shop it's so important to consider not only the pricing, but the environment and location. The parcel I have sits on a green landscaped and somewhat whimsical sim. It works so well for me, but I know others that would be much better suited to a completely different style. Take a little time to find something that fits your aesthetic. It will make your experience so much more enjoyable.  You'll also save yourself time and frustration if you can find the right location first time around because you'll avoid having to update slurls and LMs everywhere.

I think people like stability in their shopping so try not to make a move too often.  HOWEVER, if you're not "feeling it" then find something else. There's no reason to make yourself unhappy. Shop-keeping doesn't have to be and should not be all about the L$s. You've got to enjoy what you're doing and where you're doing it and choosing the right location is a great start towards success.  Right?

Gratuitous Piccy: Dancing at UFOWATCHTOWER with the Star Trek Crew

I have been using flickr for over two years now. Most of the pictures I take are from snapshots in-world and once in a great while I'll make an attempt at some photoshop fanciness. Consequently I have very few pictures that get a lot of action. When I do have a picture with a lot of view I can't help but to wonder why. And so I give you this:

It is a picture of me dancing at UFOWATCHTOWER with the Star Trek Crew. AND, it got 91 views in less than a day. That's a lot of views. I can only imagine that it is either the "UFO" or the "Star Trek" and if that's the case I'm moving to outer space.

I made a FANCY Slurl! and you can too!

I made a fancy slurl for my shoppy!! And if you click here you can see the result.

YOU can do it too if you're so inclined by using the soooo easy SLURL builder. It will create a slurl that directs people to a location inworld and allows you to customize the slurl to include a title, a picture and a short message.

You'll need to have
1. The slurl information (here's a Torley post on slurls) for the location you desire
2. A URL for the picture (if you don't have one you can use a photo hosting site. i like flickr.) , and
3. A few words to include in the description. (generally you'll want to arrange them into a cohesive phrase or sentence.)

This is what the fancy slurl maker can do:


And if you click this link and use the slurl in-world you can click on this:


Or buy one of these:

special thanks to Mr. Gauge Laville for dangling his own fancy slurl in my face and inspiring me to seek out my own.

Pearls of Wisdom: It's OK to take a break.

Last night I was busy in SL diddling with some builds in my workshop while in RL I was tending to a creature recovering from the flu. In the midst of it all I received the most uncomfortable notice "XXX has dissolved your friendship." This is a strange feature included in the Emerald Viewer and while I find it interesting to know when I am dropped from a friends list, it leaves me wondering, "Wha?! What did i do?!" I deliberated for a few minutes and decided that my relationship with this person was important enough that I could not just let her go. I sent a quick IM to her letter her know and we had a conversation for a few minutes.

As it turns out she recently lost a dear loved one. And, as a result she's taking some time to evaluate her priorities and set her lives in order. For the moment SL just isn't very high on her list. And so she was engaging in some SL cleansing. I've done this so I am familiar with the process. It usually occurs when a person becomes disenchanted by SL or the people in their SLives. Thier profile gets cleaned of all but those that are the very closest, their friends list is pared down to a minimum, land is sold off, and in some cases inventory is purged. (ugh, i'm squirming just thinking of that extreme.) Often the external internet presence is also given a once over (i.e. plurk vacation, flickr accounts gone private, blogs put on hold.)

It astonished me that in our conversation she was very careful to assure me that it was not anything that I had done. Her words were laced with guilt for leaving friends behind in SL. I could sense the tug she felt between her desire to experience more in her RL and the obligation she felt to the friendships in her SL. My heart goes out to my friend and to others like her that feel torn between the two worlds. I'm not sure there is anything but experience that can teach a person how to cope in that situation, but I can assure you that it's possible to have both lives.

For those of you that are taking a break. It's OK. RL comes first. You're not abandoning anyone. We know this is hard for you and we'll support you in your decision.

For those of you that have a friend taking a break. It's OK. RL comes first. You're not being abandoned. This is hard for your friend that is leaving. Make sure they know that you support their decision. Let them go in peace. Please.


Queen & Co. Crying Plant #1
Available here.

Gratuitious Piccy: +blacklisted+ in my own garden

Mr. Gauge Laville has created the most prettiest gardening attire ever! Available at his shoppy here. The colors are gorgeous and vibrant. oooh, and the cut of the bra and panties is unique and sexy. Get you some!!
Glitterati pose: Breast Cancer Awareness - Singles 6 - Available here for 0L as part of a campaign for...yes, Breast Cancer Awareness.

Happy Belated Rezz-day _____ !

I just realized that the first time I ever rezzed an avatar in Second Life was October 15, 2006. I'm a little stunned that I'm still here 3 years later. Perhaps at a later date I'll reflect more on what that 3 years means to me. But this post is for my darling first avatar. I won't tell you her name. Maybe because for as open as I am in SL, I like the idea of having at least one thing that I keep to myself. She spends no time in world, and the few friends she had are long gone, but it would not be right to let her 3rd rezz-day pass without some acknowledgment of her existence. Happy Rezz-day darling, see you next year.

And here she is, enjoying one of her very first days of Second Life, on a floaty at a nude beach. Perfect.

Queen & Co. Skybox - Skully-boo!

I made a cute lil' skybox with super low primmage (37) and small enough to fit a 512 parcel. It's got delicious colors and in the spirit of the season I've pasted skeleton heads all over it. In addition, there's a gorgeous waterfall wall that falls into a small sparkling pool. You NEED this! It's available in my shop and I've marked it at 5oL through the 31st.