and then, depression set in

Listen--as much as I am capable of deluding myself for decades, there comes a time when stark reality slaps me across the face and I have to admit that it's just not working.

This is one of those times.

In conversation earlier with the lady who has generously donated space to both Autogenic Alchemy and Lady Disdain, we decided jointly that her continuing to fund at least the Lady Disdain part of the equation was madness--I haven't sold one thing, not one thing in six months. And before that? I sold two dollarbie mirrors. And that was it for the last six months before that.

(I don't count the charity efforts; they do sell, but as they don't make anything I can donate towards rent...)

So today, I've taken down everything I had for sale in the store, the store itself, and killed Lady Disdain Creations, the store group. There is more than a touch of sadness to this, but let's be honest--I wasn't putting out new things even on a monthly basis, and my heart really hasn't been in it for the last year.

So...end of store project. I fail as a merchant.

I will be putting up one or two items on the Marketplace, but I don't expect sales there either. That's just the last sputtering stubborn intent of my merchanting ability, which, as I have regretted learning, is pretty much nil.

It's been...I won't say fun, but it's been something. And now, it's all over but the actual funeral.

Y'all excuse me, I'm going to go kill things on City of Heroes for a while, where I at least feel somewhat less ineffectual.

the new store is out!

I know. It's shocking. Especially shocking considering I was going to take June and do this big promo, and make lots of new stock, and restart my business with a big bang...

...Yeah. That didn't so much happen.

However, today, things happened! For one, I put the custom store down:

(from the Lady Disdain album)

This is just the outside, and it's also the build I contracted out to the designer behind De Baza (that's the SL Marketplace link, not the in-world-store link, but that will still give you Sphynx Soleil's name, and how to get in touch with De Baza in world). It's an odd store, but I want to be clear that that is not Sphynx's fault; Sphynx does lovely, affordable, spacious builds targeted to specific needs (and did I mention the custom work?). Me, I wanted something specific, but tailored to my...um. Design ethos?

Which this build is. (MUAHAHAHAHA...err.) I mean, I got exactly what I wanted. I love this thing.

Unfortunately, because I've been so busy, I've only had time to do a couple quick new products:

(from the Lady Disdain album)

Because they're pretty quick makes, both of them, and also, because they're both targeted for specific communities, I'm only asking a Linden each for them. On the right is the Caledon Sun wall mirror, and on the left is the Winterfell Star wall mirror.

Both examples are full-bright, to see them easier; the sold versions are not, but can be easily made to be full-bright, if that's what you want.

The rest of the store is, yes, still empty, but I have big plans!

Or, well, at least plans. Which is better than I had before!

Happy July, everybody!

well, hell

Here we go again.

Back in September, I managed--somehow--to injure my knee really, really badly. Having no access to health care--and being too stubborn to go to the ER and incur tons of debt--I stayed home and rested, as much as I could.

This meant three things: lots of bitching about the leg (obviously); lots of bitching about resting (obviously); and lots of staying off my main computer (so I missed all but one hunt I'd been committed to be in, and totally ended up spinning out on the second annual Wear Grey charity event, which really hurt).

Fast forward to now. I--again, somehow--did it again. The lesson from all of this? For the love of all gods, don't swivel your body if you're not in peak condition. Because the two times I've swiveled and not actually just turned in another direction? I end up getting freakish sports injuries. The hell. Seriously, the hell.

So, back on the netbook. And again, the timing is direly ironic: because after the first of the year, I wanted to tear down the big tree and get back to the natural world: which for me, means mushrooms. Decor, seating, large, small, I'm going to be investigating the concept--when, that is, I can stay on the main keys long enough to do some graphics work and some building.

Feel free in the meantime to check out the main store while it's still up; furniture items, I think I'm going to be moving back to a skybox, and there's going to be no real order at first. But I'm going to do my best to keep the lower parcel just fungus, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

Hopefully, this injury will heal faster!

all things must pass

I'm leaving the haunted house up until November 3rd; so if you haven't seen it, and want to, go through it before November 2nd! There's around eight hundred prims of haunt, there, that the land owner would like to have back at some point. (My gracious thanks to the lady in question, and to Solace Beach in general, for hosting the haunt.)

In the meantime, I'm contemplating new designs for frocks, but I've decided my first priority is to track down the store texture sets I was plotting out, and finish them. Woefully past the season of spooking, but I will be putting them out. Look for the finished sets in November, on the second floor of the Treehouse of Doom.

And that's all for now. Ta!

I made a group!

Why yes, I have lost my mind, why do you ask?

*cues lightning and thunder*

See, this all started because I came in to the shop to change the Midnight Mania board. (By the way--if you're reading this, and you got a package from my Midnight Mania board last night, contact me? It sent out something bizarre that shouldn't have been in there and I'd like to fix that.) It's now changed from the Bloody Carni outfit to the Darkest Carni outfit:



but that's ancillary. To the group news:

There is now a board in the main store on an easel. Perky red text floats above it if you aren't rezzing sculpts that quick. Touching it should give you this message:

[04:57 PM] Lady Disdain Group Join Board: Yes, this will take up an in-world slot, but do consider it. My Subscribe-o-matic systems aren't functional at present. Just copy this line out of local chat and join up!
[04:57 PM] Lady Disdain Group Join Board: 3fbf40da-5457-7a56-c6de-d23640c054fb

It sits between the Sukkot kit and the fireplace. If you have the group space (and I know, a lot of folks don't), consider coming down and joining up. It'd be a kindness to me, and I promise, I will endeavor to make it worth your while.

In the meantime, I'm contemplating Sukkot animations for the Sukkot kit. Would that be blasphemous? Because technically, they're only supposed to be held by Jewish priests, right?

Or can anyone shake the lulav bundle? Inquiring minds and all that...

all alone, flesh and bone, evil carved in stone

I break with established tradition because I am pairing this with an entry on the Train Wreck. This was too good not to announce in both places.

The past week, I have been spending nearly every hour possible in Twilight Tears, building a haunted house. It's named "Hunt House" partially because I wanted something simple and memorable, but also because, with very few exceptions, what I didn't create on my own, I acquired on various sim-wide and grid-wide hunts. While there are items I've bought in there, even some of those items I bought while on grid-wide hunts.

It's also a hunt on its own. There are fourteen (I tried for thirteen; I went one over) pumpkins to find and buy in the house. There are three levels to search. It's a Linden per pumpkin not because I'm wanting to make money--I won't--but because I did put a bit of effort into everything I put out.

With every pumpkin, you get the pumpkin you see (included in its decorated shell) and an item. Warning to the arachnophobic: Spiders are involved in the prizes! And the house, sort of. I'll explain.

Two of the hunt gifts are spider silks; they're all prim-based, because the spiders are talented, hand-trained Chechoslovakian clinging spiders: Primmatica adhesiva, in natural orange, and in specially bred pale, glowing green. There are also four variants of the spider crown.

In addition to those and to the pumpkins themselves, there is a bloodstained clown dress (that I may be inspired now to make additional versions of!); a box of radiant moss textures (you can see examples on the first floor of the house); a box of glowing light beams for spooky ambience; the rest are things I've had up in the store, but don't any longer.

Oh, one more spider thing--the clown dress? Comes with glass spider eyes.

You start here:



Yes, it's a door, standing in a field of black grass! I was amused by the concept of the cornfield with a door, but it struck me that it worked better as just a door, fairly unhidden.

It has an "ENTER" sign above it, that might help. Also a pumpkin tree. And a grave with floating ghosts.

(I love the grave, actually. Click the mound of earth--you're a zombie! Click the headstone--you get to float with the ghosts!)



Each level is a mini-maze; or maybe just a maze of corridors. You'll be going in the right direction, you won't get lost unless you turn around, and in general, if you've heard the sounds before, you're going backwards. It's not that confusing.



Some of the props used in the house are also for sale. If you just want the prop itself (mostly collider sound panels), just buy it when you find one you like. If you'd rather have the sounds full-perm for your own creations, drop me a notecard, we'll work something out. Nearly all the sounds I have--and all the sounds I used in the creation of this house--I either created and imported myself, or I got from royalty-free sites and imported in.



Go up level by level until you reach the attic. And there, you will find a lovely Victorian lady...who still thinks she's alive. Poor dear. But she's very loquacious, and just...dying...to talk with you. Something terrible happened to her, after all...

(There's a door to the side that will let you come back down to the main store, so you don't have to retrace your steps. And if you haven't gotten the gift for the Unknown Hunt, stick around and pick it up.)

I'm looking forward to this. I may tweak some things, as I said, but really--it's open, it's live!

Well...in a sense.

Come join us. We'll be waiting for you.

A few brief announcements

The yard sale is still going strong while I finish up the haunt on the parcel just in front of mine. (More to come on that later; I'm not done yet.)

And new in the store today: a Sukkot kit. Sadly, I have been working on this for three years, and I'm finally realizing--it's just never going to go anywhere unless I put it out. So, if you come by, and are interested, here's a list of what's in the box:

* a small and large Etrog. These are modifiable and copyable, but not transferable.
* a sharp-tipped and blunt-tipped 12-inch-long lulav; these are also mod/copy, no trans. The texture is handmade and based off of bamboo (I've also tossed in a young bamboo texture, also hand-drawn.)
* a mid-green Aravot; I have other colors of willow that I made up, but this one seemed 'accurate'. Ish.
* three different textures of Hadassa, myrtle branches; this includes two different shades of single branches, and one tricolor texture of three branches combined.
* a palm branch, in case more than a stalk is desired.
* three different hand-drawn etrog textures.

All textures are full permissions. I would prefer that you send people to the shop to get their own copy, but I've also made the box itself no copy/no mod/trans, in case you're looking for a friend.

I've enclosed a note in the set, and a picture of some of the items is on the box. I have no animations, no gestures, and really--I think it needs more, but in a pinch, I figure this will work, so...there you go.

It's a freebie. Partially because to me, the set is not complete, and I feel squeechy charging for something that's not all there; but also, because this is an important part of Jewish religious faith, and I'm not Jewish. I'll charge for things from my own religion; I figure that's fair. Not sure about the ethics of charging for someone else's faith...

Anyway. That's about it. Oh! And the Unknown Hunt has started! Remember, my prize has been moved, and the hint is now "Going up?" Come by the store to pick it up.

There's a male and female prize in the hunt box, as mentioned. Enjoy!

oh, come on now.

Group Notice From: The Unknown Hunt

OK so some of you have hidden your hunt items early. 2 days early. I need you ALL to move you hunt item. Why? Because if people have already been to your store they will know where the hunt item is!! That defeats the purpose of it being a HUNT! Please move it ASAP because Ronnette will be doing a walkthrough TOMORROW. This is why I told you to PUT IT ON YOUR SIGN! I'll also need new hints.
Thanks. Evelyn

Okay, so, because I'm efficient--and I want people to find the damned thing--I have to think up a new hiding spot and a new hint, and man. It irks me, it really does. And all my old objections about grid-wide hunts come surging to the fore.

So, I am "re-hiding" my hunt item. The new hint is "Going up?" If that doesn't help people locate it, I will gladly take IMs and notecards.

*grumbles and wanders off to move the hunt prize and build more on the haunted house*

introducing Hauntine!

I know, I know, nothing's up now, but I promise, by the weekend, there will be! And in the meantime, my hunt gift for the Unknown Hunt is live in the store, so you can start that hunt on the 9th, or come by and pick it up early.

What you'll be getting:

This is a very simple, casual outfit, that's much the worse for wear post-zombie apocalypse. I made it for guys--and believe me, without the aid of sales at Nightshade (for the skin) and Discord Designs (for the hair), I wouldn't have been able to pull a male avatar together. Since, you know, I'm not a guy.

(Bizarre side note: I essentially took my base shape, switched the gender, made him taller, then tweaked here and there until he "looked right" to me. Then I tracked down the Nightshade skin and decided on black hair, and...realized what "looked right" to my eyes? Was young Asian male.

(Miss Neome tells me it doesn't surprise her, but--considering I'm also not Asian? Is kind of perplexing to me. Still, I think he looks good--young, and fey, but good--so I'm happy with him for occasional male-avatar needs.)

Now, on the fun side? I made the top and the jeans for guys, but they look pretty decent on girls, too.

Next up: Hauntine in green:

Last Friday, Twisted Thorn Textures had a texture hunt, and tossed up some similarly-themed Halloween fabrics in various prints, stripes and solids. They went together wonderfully for a set of dresses, and I'm definitely planning more with the series. In the meantime, this is the Unknown Hunt prize for women: it includes a dual-layer cocktail-length flexi skirt, bloomers on two layers, a striped corset, self-stockings, and two versions of the off-the-shoulder top (one with the fingerless gloves, one without). It's a fun little dress, and it's yours for the finding (along with the Zombie Hunter outfit).

Want more information? Drop by the store. Consider going for a dip in the pool...

In the meantime, I made two other versions I plan to put out for L$100 each, Hauntine Orange:

and Hauntine Purple:

They came out great, too. They'll be up in the next few days, so check back!

a tree grows in Twilight Tears

Yes, friends and neighbors, I discovered I do still have the haunted treehouse from my art-sim glory days. So, in defiance of protocol (but after checking with the lass what owns my sims), I am popping it up as the main store. I'm going to keep the yard sale going for a bit longer, but everything will slowly be coming down and either going into my inventory, or going up on the walls.

If you port in and think things are in a bit of disarray, this is why. I am making great sweeping changes on the business end of things, and this is all part of that.

I still haven't decided yet if I'm changing the name. But if I do, this blog will still stay as the shop blog. Therefore.

Give me a week or two, I'll have more things out. In the meantime, the only thing new I've added is changing the Midnight Madness board to the Dark Carni demi-Victorian gown, and adding a second set of veves for the Virtual Haiti Relief campaign. I've also reduced the cost on both sets, so now, you can get either set for L$120, for six different veves (for a total of thirty textures in all, five per lwa) in each set, or both for L$240, which is still over half off what I had them priced before.

And all proceeds from those vendors go, as stated, to Virtual Haiti Relief.

Coming up: If I ever get it done, two mummified skins for the Unknown Hunt; at least one dress, if not several outfits, for Wear Grey for a Day; a voudon doll skin for the Voodoo Hunt; and whatever I think of for the Hunt for Roleplay hunt. (Though those last two may fall apart, I haven't yet applied.)

Check back if you're curious! And slowly, things will start to make more sense in the big empty tree.