Two Sets Finished

When I set out to build furniture and create a business, I went into the process with confidence in a solid building knowledge, but it has been an almost overwhelming discovery process in the areas of Second Life marketing, animations, scripting, and networking.  And like so many other small business owners since the beginning of free enterprise, I'm learning it all myself rather than paying someone to do it for me.  I've learned the joys of MLPV2.3 configuration, XCITE compatibility scripting, Xstreetsl marketing, blogging, website formatting, land management, temp rezzers, and all kinds of other things.

I'm very pleased with the results, though, and still have found the time to build.  The store has been designed so that there are six design sets:  Cole, Evangeline, Zarita, Destiny, Syriana, and The Ancient.    Each design will take up one whole wall with coordinating sets.  The Cole Series, contemporary, masculine, with a classic feel, is complete now and listed on Xstreetsl and includes a bar, bedroom, dining room, and kitchen (including washer and dryer).  The Evangeline Series was finished last night and is an absolutely stunning, modern, white collection that includes clean lines, acrylics, with black and silver accents.  In this series, there is a bedroom, dining room, living room, and a gorgeous patio area with a pergola.  We're working on listing it today.

Our first advertisement came out today and ran in the FEMDOM Magazine on page 34 http://www.femdommag.com, so I'm looking forward to the increased exposure.  I was excited to see Eloise Mureaux's house featured in the Better Homes and Dungeons article written and photographed by Noel Weiser.  She commented on the blog yesterday (thanks, Eloise!) and came into the store to look at some things.  I really do appreciate the support I've received from my friends so far, and I have enjoyed immensely reading the fifth issue of FEMDOM Magazine, seeing all their pictures, learning, and laughing too.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the next two sets.

The Evangeline Series

The Cole Series

The First Six Designs

The Syriana Living Room

The Zarita Living Room

The Evangeline Living Room

The Destiny Living Room

The Ancient Living Room

The Cole Living Room

The Beginning

Welcome to the first post of the Lavendel Design Studios blog. I'm Ravanys Lavendel, owner, builder, and designer of Lavendel Design Studios. I am a 32-year-old woman living in the eastern US who originally joined SL in October 2006 after reading a news article on http://yahoo.com when the SL population explosion hit. In real life, I work in the medical industry, and sort of just played on and off for the last few years when, near the end of last year, I made a plan to really focus on developing my building skills. I finally took the plunge recently and bought a small parcel to lay out an ambitious little shop with the hopes that things would sell and that folks would enjoy the content I've created.

I enjoy the creativity tools Second Life affords, the marketing potential, and the collaboration opportunities. There's nothing like it - meeting folks from all over the world, broadening my horizons, experiencing new things and points of view. I especially enjoy really delving into projects and working earnestly until they're completed to a superior degree of excellence.

I have a team of amazingly talented people who are working with me – Kael has an inscrutable eye for detail and a head for business. Primus has many years of real life marketing experience and has been enthusiastically supportive of everything I've tried to accomplish for many years now. Cole is a truly gifted fine artist in real life whose texturing and design skills work hand in hand with the Lavendel Design style.

Today, I'm feeling a sense of accomplishment as I've just finished the sixth and final series layout for design in the store. My personal sense of style flows with the way I think about simplicity and elegance, as our logo states, “Simplicity Defined.” Each of the six sets are modern, simple, low-prim, clean, and fresh with smooth lines and dynamic lit textures and shadows. These sets will be arranged throughout the store in groups according to design.

Looking ahead, I'll be trying to create as much content for the store as possible in the days ahead before our first major advertisement launches. Real life is a whirlwind, as it always tends to be. Times abroad and at home look tough for many at the moment, but I hope that we find comfort, creativity, and renewed passions in the quality interactions we have here in SL and in RL.