Explorations of Second Life by Ethan leSabre
Spring has sprung over at the leSabre Press Office and I’ve set out the first seasonal area in the main square. So please, feel free to pop over. But be careful of the bunnies, they’re only little and worried about being trodden on! And you never know, if I’m around, you might also get me as your waiter at the Diner!
(And don’t forget, although I haven’t posted on it for a while – the Proud Ankylosaur office is over there too, if you want to find out more about Ankylosing Spondylitis.)
This is a post that I’ve been planning to write for way too long. You know those designers who just make an impact on you so much that you can remember what you first saw by them, as well as when and where? Well, one of those is Plato Novo.
It was just after the tragedy of the Pulse Orlando attack and I was searching for the donation booth to put out for people. Looking through the MP listings I saw some dinky Orlando Sconces by a store called %Percent. Of course, I had to go and visit!
And I can honestly say that I don’t regret that decision one iota. Plato creates an eclectic mix of furniture and decor ranging from retro mid-20th C. through to upcycled and recycled household items.
Her customer service is fantastic, she’s friendly, helpful and just a genuinely nice person. She has a subscription group rather than an SL one (which is ideal for me as I live at the limit of my group slots!) and doesn’t spam in any way shape or form.
Basically, %Percent is one of those stores that demonstrates all that’s good about Second Life. A passionate, imaginative and creative person making beautiful things at reasonable prices while also helping to create a feeling of community.
So why not go and visit her store?
%Percent
SLURL
Marketplace
Blog
Flickr
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve consolidated all of my parcels into one. The leSabre Press area can be found further up Route 9 from the old site in Ling (where I’ve left a small stall for redirections).
I’ll have a tour of the new Proud Ankylosaur site and Ethan Explores space later (as I’m currently working on Liberty Rising and Liberty Alpha Station), but I wanted to give you a tour of my new home first.
The house itself is the Acorn Family House by CHI(T). With a small entrance hall leading to a spacious open plan living/dining/kitchen area, heading down the short corridor takes you past the laundry room to the garage and then out to the garden.
Back inside the house and upstairs, you’ll find my bedroom, with a small closet, the games room, bathroom and TV room. Stepping out of the games room or bathroom leads you to a small veranda overlooking the back garden. Jumping down into the garden and turning 180Ā° leads into the garden store room. The garden has a large water feature with yoga mat, spacious seating area with barbecue and a small dance pavilion with stage.
Further storage can be found in the cellar, with a small door leading to the repurposed bunker, an underground bolt hole ready for the day when Mr Trump accidentally presses the wrong red button when ordering his coke…
I’ve been writing this blog for a while now and just noticed that I’ve never actually taken you for a tour of my home in Jsindo. So here you go, this is where I escape to when I want a bit of quiet time.
The decor changes with the seasons, so at the moment, as May is Walk Your AS Off month, the balloons and changeable decor are in blues and oranges. Pop round later in the year as I celebrate hallowe’en by decorating the garden like nobody’s business!
I visited Draughtsman today. It’s a new sales event focusing on architectural design in particular. There’s around 20-25 merchants in the event. I’ve taken quite a few picturesĀ but must admit not everything piqued my interest enough to buy.
If you want to go and have a look, then here’s the SLURL for Draughtsman (which I love – the sim is called Time Travel!)
So, what is there in the first round?
Details and SLURLs (my comments in italics):
One DĆ©cor – Wine & Beer Fatpack – LI57 total, L$1750 – I bought this, beautifully detailed set (and it includes the shabby cabin as well as the dĆ©cor).
cheakypea – Wander Sofa Set – LI43 total, L$1050 (PG) L$1350 (Ad)
Wazzer Works – Industrial Set – LI17+ total, L$1050 (total, sold separately)
ninety (MP Link)Ā – Tacos Place, LI35, L$250 total – I bought this as well, I don’t have anywhere to use it at the moment but I’m sure that I’ll find somewhere!
ionic – A Strange Day – LI9, L$400 – I didn’t buy these as I have a lot of sheds, these are very pretty though and only 9 LI!
Astralia – Victorian Greenhouse – LI30, L$299 – A detailed and beautiful build, I currently use the simpler Provincial Greenhouse by [DDD] but if I were to create a Victorian themed parcel then this would certainly be considered!
ChiC Buildings – Sunrise Beachhouse – LI86 (+extra for footpath & lighting), L$950 (+100)Ā – I had high hopes for this one as it’s beautiful outside. Inside however I found to be quite plain, only one room and a really thin mezzanine. The doors were also very low for a tall Avi like me.
Meshworx – Rodeo Shop D – LI124, L$3200 – For quite a small floorplan on only two floors this feels like a high price and prim count. It’s beautifully detailed though.
epia – Downtown Bricks – LI46 (inc Doors), L$1250 – This is a rather simplistic store, single floor (although there are other floors, but only accessible by TP,Ā with very low ceilings), not what I would usually expect from epia.
Sayo – Birdcage Gazebo – LI40, L$400 – A high LI for a gazebo, however detailed, I decided this one wasn’t for me.
Galland Homes – Hanover Barn – LI73, L$495 – I was really excited by this, thinking that it would be a home, unfortunately it’s a standard barn – again, beautifully constructed but a mezzanine or other use for the high ceiling would be nice.
Pillows – Tiny Little Home – LI??, L$300 – I tried to find the LI, but no ability to select the item in world (it’s in multiple parts) and no info at all on the signs, it’s a pretty and small build.
Stockholm&Lima – Community Table – LI9, L$300-L$1800 – I like, I tried to buy the basic version as Ethan Explores’ new parcel is in a G Rated sim, but it didn’t let me buy it. I’m going to have to pop to the store to grab a copy.
Violetility – Quaint Cottage – LI50, L$325 – Less a cottage and more of a large shed, this is a super detailed distressed building and I love the string light details…
Big Bully – Grid Pavillion – LI26 (inc Furniture), L$?? (the Buy Now item didn’t work) – this is a really interesting and unusual build and I really like the concept.
Panavia – Fagas Winter Trees – LI10, L$199 – It’s a (relatively high LI) tree, pretty, but I wouldn’t want to waste the extra prims that I could easily save. Then again, I don’t build woods.
Blue Sky – Propeller Set – LI Variable, L$ Varies – This is a gorgeous set. I really wanted to buy more but I couldn’t work out how it would fit in any of my aesthetics, so I just went for the coat rack and pictures. š
Newchurch – Alpha Industrial Dining Set – LI15, L$375 – It’s pretty, but too high anĀ LI for what amounts to a picnic set with a screen in my opinion.
Autumn is my favourite time of the year. The leaves, the weather (rain – I love the rain!) and Hallowe’en. This year I’ve been playing around a lot in my gardenĀ (feel free to visit if you want – you’re welcome to make use of the facilities!),Ā and I think that I’ve made a good way to show off some of the best of SL. So here’s my standard garden:
Trees & Bushes:
Mesh Plants by Reid Parkin
Leaves, wooden pathways, Mountain Lodge home, and barn:
DDD – Dysfunctionality Designs
Garden Tool Shed
Velvet Whip & Ginger Line
TARDIS (6LI Mesh Prop)
Damaged Goods
Rain
Ante Flan
Clothing
FATEwear
Umbrella
Land Of Nodd
I also set up a bonfire for the 5th of November and a Remembrance Day monument for 11th November and Remembrance Sunday.
So, after the success of the SwagBags,Ā MadPea have released another mystery crate. It’s the same price as the SwagBag (L$1,500 before release, L$3,000 after release) and it’s filled with great stuff from some of SL’s Top Designers.
This month’s theme was “November Rain” and the designers really ran away with the theme, designing everything from gazebos and umbrellas to set pieces and furniture to cuddle up and watch the rain through the window from. They’re all absolutely beautiful, however – one word of warning, quite a few of them will eat up your extra prim allowance that LL have provided us with!
Anyway, let’s get some links to the designers:
:revival:
.random.Matter.
8f8
Cheeky Pea
[keke]
[Schultz Bros.]
ARIA
BackBone
Botanical
{anc}
GOOSE
Ex Machina
Pewpew!
Raven Wood
Second Spaces
So, the November SwagBag came out a few days ago and I completely forgot to open it. I rather like this one, it’s not my usual type of purchase, but it works really well with the new look that I’m giving to the Ethan Explores site.(SLURL)
The building is the Dark Corporation Boardwalk Shop, but everything else is from this month’s SwagBag. The theme for this month was Man Cave (and I think that you’ll understand why it’s not my usual thing). And there wasn’t much clothing in the box.
There was however a fantastic selection of dĆ©cor from some really big names (you’ll see who in a second!) And I must admit, although I loved the others, I think I’m going to get more use out of this one than any of the others. The items aren’t just beautiful, they have some fantastic poses attached to them, not just the usual sitting, there’s a lot of longing available in this set!Ā But first, let’s get the pictures:
Drot – Harvest Hair, Breath – Man caveĀ knit shirt, Etham –Ā Lazy Days Pants, 22769 [Bauwerk] MancaveĀ Lounger chair & sidetable, Ā Thor Mancave set with fridge, sofa, coffee table and more, and last but not least, Pewpew! Bat Bed and Flag.
This poem is very well known, not just because of the film “V for Vendetta”. It’s a poem about the Gunpowder Plot, when Guy Fawkes and a group of Catholics planned to overthrowĀ (Protestant) King JamesĀ VIĀ and theĀ government.
They were going to do this by blowing up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament. The plan was actually led by a man called Robert Catesby. Guy Fawkes was the explosives expert and was going to set off the explosion and then escape to the continent.
The plot was thwarted and the group arrested and put to death. Since then Brits have celebrated Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night every year on 5th November. For the first couple of years this was by law, although now it’s just a tradition.
To celebrate it in SL I wasn’t able to find a guy (I have an old no-copy one made in the days of flexi prims, but that’s not great on a bonfire). So I asked in the Homestuff Group (it’s a great group if you’re looking for help and advice on Decoration) and had a few suggestions I opted for the Fyreworks Bonfire – L$250Ā (It’s NC I’m afraid) with the Bad Katz Mesh Scarecrow – L$145, Land of Nodd Mesh Guy Fawkes Mask (Free) and the Bad Katz Fireworks (L$400).
I think it turned out OK…
Isil Designs is a fantastic shop for a clean, futuristic look in your sci-fi creations. And Beth Delaunay is a charming, friendly and all around lovely person. I’ve been using her Callisto and Europa desks for a while now, as well as some of her other furniture. She’s just created a whole new set for the Arcade gatcha event and it is a thing of beauty (yes, the light shining off the computer screen is actually reflected!).
It’s called Science! and is a small research station that matches the same style as her other creations. There are 3 rares available in the set, and if you send them to her she’ll exchange them for copy/mod/no trans. It’s a fantastic little set, and I can highly recommend it. This is the first (and probably last) gatcha set that I’ll recommend, and that’s simply because I don’t do gatchas. But there was someone in the Isil chat who got my dander up, so I ended up buying it in the Marketplace.
I don’t regret it at all (especially as it gave me an excuse to buy this funky Science t-shirt from Dankest!), although I do hope that the gatcha fad runs its course soon, as I’m tired of being worried that I’m going to lose one of the items. Thankfully Beth has agreed to swap all three of the rares for Copy/No Transfer versions if you send them to her.
Isil Designs:
Blog
MarketplaceĀ
Inworld SLURL
FlickrĀ
Ethan Explores 