Monday, March 7, 2011

Mer Betta loves Darwin

You've seen it before. You're driving along in real life and then you follow a car or an SUV or a truck with that witty evolutionist's response to the Christian fish symbol.



Those things always make me smile.

But growing legs is an everyday occurrence in Second Life. And even mers love to dance cheek-to-cheek in the moonlight under a canopy of stars. But does a mermaid have to lose her identity when she's swept off her tail?


Introducing....

Mer Betta™ Simplicity-LtBlue mermaid gowns

The first of (hopefully) a long line of Mer Betta On Land mermaid gowns. It comes in thirteen colors.

A very contemporary design incorporating details from Mer Betta tails. If you look closely, the fabric has a hint of scales throughout, and the "ruffles" are made of betta caudal fins, specifically, the caudal fins of the Mer Betta RFL2010Owain tail that went on sale at last year's Relay for Life.

At long last, Mer Betta ventures beyond the beach and goes far inland. How's that for Darwinism? ;)


But, wait! Hold your seahorses!

It won't be available until March 12, when the Fashion for Life clothing fair opens. (See below for details.) And two of the colors (RFLOwainLavender and RFLOwainOnWhite) will be available only until this year's Relay for Life of Second Life fundraising season ends.

Mer Betta will be in TWO Relay for Life events this year:
  • March 12-22 is the Fashion for Life. This is the first year that Mer Betta was invited to participate in this event, so it's a big deal for me.

  • April 2-12 is the Fantasy Faire. I am sponsoring the mer sim again this year as I did last year.



Back in Sirens Mer Mall

Mer Betta is back in the Sirens Mer Mall. It's under new management. I've met with Matisse, one of the owners, and he's a funny guy, so I'm gonna stick around there for a few months and see if he could bring up the traffic to make it worth the rent.

Go check out what I did with the booth there. It's the same way I did the booth at the Female Tribe mall. I might do the booths for the RFL fairs the same way; I haven't decided yet.


Getting organized in social media

Because of a book I'm writing and a new RL venture I'm starting, Opal is no longer anonymous and I've had to reorganize my social presence. It's a big mess, but, suffice it to say:

Friday, January 14, 2011

The economics of rentals

Sirens Mermaid Mall has been sold. I received the group notice today and my prims have been returned. The new owners say that they will reopen the mall again in the future. I don't know if I will go back.

Mer Betta started at the Mermaid Mall in 2007, when it was still owned by Akasha and Duck, and I will never forget their generosity. But the Mermaid Mall has switched hands twice since then, and sales there have been very slow. I've pulled out Mer Betta from other locations as well, where the return on investment was negative or too low.

I thought of moving the main store to a new location as well, but I have been too busy with other things, so the new location is only half-done. Therefore, the main store will remain in Dunbeath for now, and I may even move my Ms.O.Lei-ny store in the same location.

My apologies for not having new products lately. Real life health issues and a real life project have been taking up more of my time. Hopefully, I'll find time around the spring to work on Series 6, or at least on new add-on packs.

I hope your holidays were joyful and that your new year is starting bright.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

More winners!

Well, there weren't many responses to the YouTube and the blog contests. Apparently, people prefer to buy. ;)

Anyway, if you entered the YouTube contest or the blog contest, you win! There are six entries in the YouTube contest and three in the blog contest. So, still a multiple of three. :D

And the winners are:

YouTube contest:
* Merewyn Farshore
* Blue Alderbury
* Melvin Starbrook
* Duchess Steadham
* Mz Marville
* kyota Spitteler (Kyota, you already own everything in the store! I have no idea what your prize would be!)

Blog contest:
* Merewyn Farshore
* Blue Alderbury
* Melvin Starbrook (Melvin got the name wrong, but, what the heck.)

Congratulations, everyone! If your name is in both contests, you get to choose two add-on packs.

Please send me a notecard with the following information:

Your name:
Choose from:
___ Byzia Mutation Alpha
___ Byzia Crescent Intimates
___ Byzia Merkini+Bettakini
___ Halimede Mutation Alpha
___ Halimede Crescent Intimates
___ Halimede Merkini+Bettakini
___ Lilaea Mutation Alpha
___ Lilaea Crescent Intimates
___ Lilaea Merkini+Bettakini
___ Melite Mutation Alpha
___ Melite Crescent Intimates
___ Melite Merkini+Bettakini

You can view pictures here.