Second Life, Second Home

Using my extra 512m allowance to get a new Linden Home. If you fancy visiting my Aspen home then you’re welcome (I’m still filling it up, but feel free to pop in! #SL #SecondLife https://t.co/m2TzYShV44 pic.twitter.com/2ueysy9Zwl

— Ethan leSabre (@EthanLesabre) 17 April 2018

As I mentioned in my twitter feed, I’ve moved back into a Linden Home and opted for an Aspen home. I’ve avoided them in the past because of the wasted vertical space. But now I’ve found that Juelia Denimore has created a loft extension, I’m very happy. It’s somewhere comfy to just avoid all the work that I’m still doing over at the leSabre Press office.

100% Awesome

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

 

With Thanks to the Fallen Gods

As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve been looking for a good mature male skin. And I’ve found a couple (in case you missed it, I like the Steve and King skins). But I wasn’t enamoured with their sci-fi/fantasy potential. I’ve seen Fallen Gods Inc before (they created the breathtaking Delta at FF2016). I hadn’t considered them as an option because they were so high fantasy.

I have my default human avatar now though, and so the options for my fantasy looks are much less constrained. And that means I can enjoy myself!

I bought the Adam Mesh body last year when it was looking like classic avis were going to go the way of the dodo. But I couldn’t quite get into him, shapes didn’t work as dramatically as I was used to and the clothing options were quite limited. Sure, I had a huge amount of control over my alphas (which was a revelation), but the restrictions were just too big of a jump.

I’ve always used Android since back in the days of the G1. And I’ve always opted for the stock version. Always that is, apart from one hellish year when I used the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Touchwiz was beautiful, the phone looked great, but Samsung had locked down the options. And to update it I had to use their proprietary system Kies. Which meant plugging it into my computer.

That reminded me a lot of the Adam body and Omega appliers. I know that Omega isn’t proprietary, but it was still something in between me and the look that I wanted.

But why did you choose Adam then? It wasn’t a whim, I looked at the main ones, Aesthetic, TMP, SLink and Adam. I couldn’t see myself in the Aesthetic body as it was too bulky. Every image I saw was of some big muscle bound bodybuilder type, and it just wasn’t my idea of the way I wanted to be seen. TMP seemed a bit too different with their hud and on comparison between SLink and Adam, Adam won out on proportions.

So my Adam body sat there in my inventory while I carried on with my classic avatar. I’ve been watching the mesh bodies for a while now, and while it’s clear that Aesthetic is winning the race, SLink and Belleza aren’t giving up just yet. I’ve been using the SLink feet for a long time, because no matter how much you try, the system ankles and feet are awful!

Now finally I’ve been trying out the SLink Mesh Body and playing with the skins and appliers from Fallen Gods Inc. And I must admit that it’s been great fun. The ease of the SLink appliers and range of clothing available have made my experimentation interesting (and a little expensive!)

So here are some of the looks that I’ve acquired over the last couple of weeks. And you might be pleased to hear that I’ve also been dusting off my old Adam avatar!

 

(Ethan is wearing clothing by <MK>, Gabriel and Fallen Gods in these pictures. Designers that he has discussed before, but not these specific outfits. The featured image is the standard SLink skin blended into his default Redgrave King avatar.)

ADAM Mesh Body:
Blog
Marketplace
SLURL

SLink Mesh Body:
Blog
Marketplace
SLURL

Fallen Gods Inc:
Blog
Marketplace
SLURL

 

Sexy Boy

I rarely discuss the sensual side of SL, but I’ve been a fan of Mat Kungler for ages now and felt it was about time that I covered his creations. His clothing is primarily geared towards gay men (although he’s recently branched out into women’s clothing too).

I get a Tom of Finland vibe with some of his clothing, he creates hyper-sexualised clothing that (even when creating versions of femininity) leave the wearer feeling masculine and attractive.

He doesn’t appear to have a Marketplace store, but you can find his Blog here and his Flickr stream here. If you want to buy some of his clothes he has an Inworld Store (SLURL).

Ethan’s Picks – MoM Nov 16

The Men Only Monthly event is open again and there’s a focus on Autumnal clothing – and there’s some really nice stuff in there. After buying my favourites I popped back to my home in Jsindo and took some pics for you. My picks from this round are the following three:

[sYs] D-Zero

Hypnotik Beige Coat, Scarf and Plaid Pants

Ascend Fur Vest

(From left to right):

[sYs] SLURL/MP
D-Zero Jacket – MoM
D-Zero Pants – MoM
D-Zero Boots – MoM

Hypnotik SLURL/MP
Coat Beige – MoM (Includes Colour Change HUD)
Casual_Pant.yellow – MoM

Ascend Fashion SLURL/MP
Ascend Evan Fur Hoodie #A – MoM
Ascend Classic Cargos Solo Black Tartan – MP

Draughtsman

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 pictures  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?

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Details and SLURLs (my comments in italics):

One Décor – Wine & Beer Fatpack – LI57 total, L$1750 – I bought this, beautifully detailed set (and it includes the shabby cabin as well as the décor).
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) – 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) – 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, 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. 😉
Newchurch – Alpha Industrial Dining Set – LI15, L$375 – It’s pretty, but too high an LI for what amounts to a picnic set with a screen in my opinion.