Have Laptop, Will Travel...

Los Angeles Awaits

As indicated on my other blog (see The Broken Doll in the sidebar) I am preparing to make one of the biggest moves of my life. I leave for Los Angeles in 2 days to try to locate a place to live and a temporary job until Second Life can once again support me. Within a few short weeks I will be completely transplanted to the other side of the country. Seems more like an alien world at this point.

This means I will be slowed a bit in my attempt to re-invigorate the business here in SL. However, nothing has changed you can be sure. My plans remain the same, and as soon as I am settled back into a halfway decent routine, i will be picking up where I left off, designing lots of new scuplted outfits. I am very hyped for it. But the move must come first. :3

At some point after the move I also plan to redesign Temenos once again. So, feel free to start letting me know any complaints, praises or ideas concerning the old build and the current one to help me better know how to re-design the sim. All feedback is welcome.

In the meantime, as things are in flux, you can always follow the progress of my insane life and the move on the other blog. If you were so incline. Which I am sure you are not. :p

Wish me luck. I am gonna need it. @__@

Sale Extended - One More Day

Like it says, I have decided to extend the New Release Sale on the Version II redesigned Voodoo Neko skins another day! The response to the newest skins has been amazing, and I wanted to allow everyone an extra day to grab up their favorites before the regular prices arrive now that I have all the fatpacks and bundles priced and up as well.

So, tell your friends and get them out there to take advantage of the current 25% off sale before it's gone!

Teleport Now!

P.S. -

Guys...I haven't forgotten you, so fear not! The girls may have gotten theirs a bit earlier, but I would never leave my furry male friends out in the cold. I started on the redesign of the male version today, and will have your skins up as soon as I can manage. Just hang tight a bit longer! :3

NEKOS! NEKOS! NEKOS!

NEW RELEASE SALE @ ~ Voodoo ~ at Temenos ! :: November 14th, 2008

Voodoo Neko Skins :: Version II -

Yes, the long-promised Version II release of my totally redesigned neko skins are here! Eight skin tones available, including a new darker black, and a lighter grey. Each skin tone has been reworked to make each more unique than before. Each skin tone has three versions available for the release: Leopard, Tabby, and Tiger. Yes, the Tiger striped skins I promised ages ago are finally out. :3

I have greatly expanded the makeup options, with over 30 available makeup combinations per skin style. In addition, each skin purchased comes with a second eyebrow option for free, as well as having both natural and shaved pubic choices this time around.

I have, as well, reworked the old neko ears and tails with new textures to match these Version II skins, and included a basic set with each skin free of charge.


One Weekend Only! 25% off! -

To celebrate finally finishing these skins , I am releasing them for the first weekend at 25% off the regular planned price. But, only for the initial Fri, Sat, and Sun. That's Nov. 14th thru 16th only...then the normal prices will arrive. So drop in and grab up your favorites now while they are on sale!

Just a few samples of the dozens of makeup designs up:


Available now on the 3rd floor of the Boneflower Building at the new Temenos Place. From the Telehub you can use the "Nekos" teleport option under the Jungle Voodoo name to jump straight to the area. :3 Or use the SLURL link below to hop straight in!

Teleport Now!

- Zoe

Temenos Place - New Store Kinda Open

Yeah, I am back from the dead...or maybe the undead. Sorta anyway. After a bit of a stay in the padded room, I have crawled back to SL in the last few weeks and tried to get a few minor things done. Admittedly, it's not much yet, but something is still a huge deal to me considering.

Anyway, Teiko managed to set up the new store build she had begun last year after a lot of changes and moving stuff. I had to sell off all my other islands and just held onto the original Temenos, so the new build had to go up in place of the old one instead of on it's own island. Still, after a series of messes and lots of fucking up on my end, things are finally set up and all the products are moved from the old location on top the volcano down to the new blue glass store on the beach.

There is a lot of work still to do on the build to make it how I want, and to finish filling it up, but its a start.

As part of trying to jump start the neglected and failing business that supports my sorry ass and that of my kids, I have marked down most of my older stuff...meaning most everything I make anywhere from 20-40%. Not much new up yet, but that is the next hurdle to get myself over.

Raven Pennyfeather's Rfyre store is expanded and displayed more prominently in the main tower now, and I have begged and whined to other merchants whose work I like and who I consider friends to set up in some of the additional store space the new build offers, including soon, the Loony Bin by Malady Loon, and perhaps Pain Toys. :3

New teleporter system is up and working. Hopefully it isn't too confusing.

Now to try to beat some creativity and motivation into my thick head and get some long overdue new products out... *sigh*

- Zoe

Where is Zoe? Update for August...

Yes, it's been since May that I last posted on the blog, but no, I am not dead or anything...though some may wish I was. I have never been much of a blogger even at the best of times, and recent months haven't been that great, so I usually stop and say..."I should post X or Y on the blog," then sigh and ignore the thought.

Even when my more energetic and aggressive peronas tend to be in charge of things I rarely remember to update the blog as much as I should, but when the lazier, more fucked up personas are running the show even that rare desire to post goes out the window. Just no energy for it at all. I will of course keep trying my best, but if i seem to fade away at times and not say much, just know it's likely cause I just don't have the motivation to sit down and say anything much. Not because I am dead, left SL or aren't releasing stuff. Though sometimes releases suffer too when I get far down in the cycle of my depression.

I have been working a fair bit, even if releases have been rarer than they should be. I am juggle a few dozen projects at once and at the same time taking a step back to ponder how to simplify the processes, brands, and stores my DID messiness has gotten me into to something a bit more manageable. So, lot of higher level management idea pondering going on for possible restructuring.

At the same time I have also started construction finally on the new store design where Boneflower, Jungle Voodoo, and most my other stuff will move too soon. the sim is open (Temenos Island...right next door to Temenos), so feel free to take a look and offer suggestions and ideas. It's a departure for me, but one I settled on and like...very modern, very artsy sorta build with blue glass and large open spaces, a skyscraper, and more. The design will offer about 16 times the space as my current store area above the volcano at Temenos, and hopefully be much easier to use and locate products in.

One thing I am doing with this build is to try to design it to look it's best with Renderglow turned on...since the Lindens have mentioned that eventually, after Windlight goes live, renderglow will be added to the main viewer rather than being an option in debug. For those who have never used the renderglow option (it is basically a Bloom effect you see in many other games), you can test drive it now from the debug client menu: Client -> Debug Settings -> Renderglow -> True. (You can also change the look of the renderglow effect using the Renderglow strength, resolution, etc settings.) You will need a video card that supports it, and not all do, so if you try it and crash, just leave it be or upgrade your video card! the effect in world is tunning, but will require some changes to how many people build and display merchandise as Renderglow turns any texture set to "Full Bright" into a glowing, shimmering light source. The images below are just samples of the early phase construction of the new store...still a long way to go.

Temenos Place -

At Midnight...

At Noon...


Distant view at Sunrise...


Main Entrance between Building One and the Tower...


View from inside the Central Plaza...


Looking down on the Central Plaza at Midnight...


The view from the Volcano top at the current store...


Once the new store is finished and everything is moved, I will concentrate the majority of my efforts on version 2 of my neko skins, ears, etc. But I will continue to release small batches of stuff along the way as I work on the bigger and longer projects.

I actually have put out a couple new things since I last blogged but failed to have the energy to mention them here...so I will do so later just so people know what went up at the store in recent weeks. More info on the new build and eventual store move will also be forthcoming as we near that time...my personal insanity allowing...

R.I.P. Dolltopia

This is a hard announcement for me to make, because I put so much effort and several months into the Dolltopia sim and had a lot of hopes for it being a cool, safe and innocent place for people in Second Life like me who needed a better view of childhood to experience the wonder and joys we should have had in this imaginary world. Unfortunately, under the current climate of sexual ageplay witchhunts that seem to run the risk of inadvertantly targeting innocent child avie users or sim owners, I don't feel I can afford to risk the ever-changing policies and currents of Linden lab's whims on undefined rules and standards by operating any sim catering to adults playing child avatars, no matter how innocent the idea or how strickly enforced my rules. So, as of this time, Dolltopia is dead even before it opens.

I think it's very sad really, after reading so many comments from people on the official blog post about the German news expose, and Linden lab's resulting policy changes and actions. I myself, am a child abuse survivour as I have mentioned here before. Though Zoe is short compared to the 8 foot amazons running about SL, she is not a child avatar...but I do have a child avie alt. Like many grown adults who choose to play a child avie at times, SL allowed me to try to experience an innocent, carefree renewal of a childhood that for me was very violent and horrific at times. playing my child alt was liberating, safe, comfortable and very therapeutic. It allowed me to create a new childhood for myself that replaced the one I never had.

The vast majority of adults who play children in Second Life do so for I think similar reasons. Just based on my talking to those I know personally. yet, in the comments to the LL Blog post, I saw so many people asking LL to ban child avies altogether, and questioning the reasons why we as adults might want to play one...with the assumption being we are all perverts and take part in sexual activities, which is simply as far from the truth as you could get. I feel victimized all over again now by these witchhunters and by Linden lab and their media-craze induced ever-shifting policies that they will not even define for us. It's sad that in the name of supposedly protecting abused children, they re-abuse many of us that were abused children by taking away a very helpful means of healing after our destroyed childhoods. I will no longer feel safe even logging into my child avie alt now.

With no clear written legal policy on what is acceptable conduct for innocent roleplay of innocent child avatars and what is not going to be acceptable, i just can not feel safe running a sim like Dolltopia, even though it was designed to offer the sort of safe haven, therapeutic place for people like me to heal that is the very opposite of what LL and the ageplay witchhunters claim to be aiming for. If someone comes into my sim and propositions someone, will I be held responsible for running the sim, even though it's PG and has a strict covenant against any sexual behaviour by anyone, period? I can't say I have any faith in LL to fairly decide my fate in such cases, so I will avoid the situation by keeping the sim closed and killing the idea entirely.

I am not sure if I will continue making doll avatars either. I saw far too many people use the term "doll" in the same context as child avatar recently as they expressed opinions that LL ban them entirely. I may have to err on the side of caution there as well, and drop The Heart of a Doll brand for good.

While I am 100% for stronger laws in life to prevent child abuse like happened to me, and happens daily to millions of children around the world, and while I feel its a good idea for LL to be strict on anything from casinos to sexual ageplay inside SL that could compromise the platform legally...I feel the current method of handling the issue...namely a total lack of written legal policy and guidelines for legitimate businesses to follow and feel safe that they are acting within...only feeds hysteria and witchhunts, and causes people like me trying to offer positive views and options for child avies in SL to run like hell to avoid the loss of our businesses and income if LL decides to shift their unwritten policy in the wind of media attention as it has shown it is want to do.

If Linden lab ever wakes up and decides to start operating like a legitimate business platform developer, and starts stating ALL policies in clear legal language for business investors here to follow, i may reconsider Dolltopia. But for now I can't risk being involved with anything oriented towards children in Second Life, no matter how positive it was going to be. My apologies to anyone who may have been looking forward to the Dolltopia sim.

Temenos Island is Dead! Long Live Temenos Island!

Fine. Sue me for the silly title. But, it's true...the old Temenos shopping area, with all it's stores is going away. because...everything is moving soonish to the new and improved Temenos Island.

Temenos is a year old or so now, and I have watched and learned, listening in carefully to all the customers over the last year as they shopped and complained about things at Temenos. There have been numerous issues and things needing improvement I have learned in this time. I created what I thought was a very simple and intuitive teleporter system...but sadly most people were confused by it, and it rarely was used, and often bitched about. So...that will be totally revamped. When I designed the temple shopping area, it seemed I had soooo much room to expand. But a year later I am so cramped and out of room I have curtailed many new releases just for lack of a place to put them. So...obviously the new store needs to be hugerish than this one. people complained often...usually by shouting while standing in the central lobby...that they couldn't find whatever they came to buy. I will try to make the layout far more user friendly and also add more ways to find information on where things are located. Temenos has always had 5 floors, 4 of them housing shoppes...however, I have found that most people rarely find the stores on the upper floors, which is clearly a problem of both design and information. The new store will be mostly on a single level, so as to eliminate that issue. And those are just a few of the major issues I have noted with the old build.

So...after deciding I surely needed to have a bigger, better designed and simpler store, I decided I just couldn't part with the current build on Temenos. Which meant, I had to buy a 5th island and build the new store there and move everything. This approach has advantages and disadvantages. the big disadvantage...not including costs...is that when moving any store there is a small percentage of customers who may not find you again. In this case, since the new island will be right next door, and share the same keyword in it's name (the old island is simply "Temenos", and the new will be "Temenos Island"), and since the old build will remain with a landmark pointer to the new store...I think this is a minimal concern. hell...you should be able to see the new store from the old...unless your draw distance is set at like 10 or something. The big advantages are...i get to keep the cool old build with Mount Sy'kirra...one of the few volcanos in all Second Life, and not have to disturb the roleplay areas I created around the island, from the pirate cove and neko tree village to the Japanese temple sanctuary. I am too attached to these builds to want to let them go just to expand the store. So they get to stay this way.

Temenos Island will sit right next door to Temenos, and the two landmasses will be connected to form a single island that continues to share the jungle ruins theme. The new store complex will cover much of the new sim and should leave me and the other stores I have invited to have lots of room for future expansion. The overall style of the stores will remain based on the "jungle ruins" look from Temenos, but will be revisioned to be more simplified and easier to navigate.

I have ambitious plans for a detailed scripted directory system that shows where everything is, and can even teleport you to it...assuming I can make my poor scripting skill manage it. LL recently broke my old teleport system that used warpPos anyway...so definately time for a new one.

If you have ever visited or shopped at Temenos, and you have ideas or suggestions, gripes or bitching about what was wrong with the build or what could be improved...I would greatly appreciate your imput, either here at the blog or in SL. I ordered the island last week, and I was shocked to see they delivered it already...but put it in the wrong place. So...as soon as I can get them to move it where it belongs...I shall begin work on the new store complex.

Following the opening of the new Temenos Island stores, I have a whole slew of stuff I plan to release, including the newly revisioned and repainted Neko Skins version 2, and lots lots more.

The old temple store build atop the volcano in Temenos will be converted into a combination roleplay area, and live music club most likely. Yes, I am deaf, but live music seems to be a big thing in SL, and I always wanted to try making a small club that is not a glitz-filled, flashing lagfest of lightshows and scripted 'sploder balls. I have hired a club manager for it, and we are brainstorming ways to make it more of a true social gathering spot without the gimics. If it goes over great...if not, then who knows. But, any ideas or suggestions in that area are also welcome.

So...look soon for more announcements about the coming opening of the all new and improved Temenos Island!

Zoe Llewelyn is ~ broken ~

It's been quite a while since I posted anything, or even since I released or worked on anything new in Second Life. So long...over three long, long months...that some people seem to have thought maybe I died. Well, sadly for them, no, Zoe is not dead, nor even horribly maimed. I am, however, quite ~ broken ~ in more ways than one.

Now, I know that no one comes to a fashion blog to hear the designers whine about their problems as if we are different in some way from the rest of the fucked up people out there...so I will spare you any rambling on the exact nature of my issues, and just say that I have a lot of them. So many that over the years, I have taken to considering myself one of the most fucked up, insane, and broken people I have known.

Why do I mention this now, in this blog, and after 3 months of silence? Well, the reason is two-fold. Firstly, it is why I have been away, hiding, and not working, releasing new stuffs, blogging here, or even logging into SL for weeks at a time. Holidays are not fun for lots of people, and I am among them. But as bad as the "holiday season" is for me, the first few months of the year are worse for me and usually result in me going into a deep, uncontrollable tailspin for a while. All due to my issues and fuckedupedness. Secondly, because when I finally did come back from my period of insanity, and started working again, I decided to finally design some of the dark, gothic, industrial, punk influenced fucked-up type clothes and accessories that I like most at my heart but have sorta avoided making yet in SL. Since this new style didn't really seem to fit with any of my current brands...guess what nutty Zoe did? Yes, she created yet another new brand name and clothing line...

The new store, ~ broken ~ is thus named after me. It represents me better in some ways than any of my previous work, and to be honest it just speaks to where I am in life at the moment: fucked up, angry at life, struggling, and quite broken inside.

So...here is the post to officially announce the newest store, brand and line of clothing, skins and accessories:


So, what does ~ broken ~ offer that my beelion previous brand names didn't? Something angrier. if you like your clothes made of leather, metal, spikes, broken glass, sheer materials, torn and dirty, edgy, shocking, and with a bit of a bite...~ broken ~ may be for you. It's highly inspired by my many real life interests and influences in style and clothing over the years, from Punk to Gothic, Industrial, Grunge, Vampires, and just about anything else fucked up enough to catch my dark, scary little mind's eye. yes, there is even some anime influence in it...but not the cutesy anime stuff.

The new ~ broken ~ line carries both male and female outfits and accessories, and will soon also sport gothic skins for both sex. Yes, indeed, you heard me...stuff for guys too. I have made a point, after a year of comments and suggestions from male customers and friends, to start designing more of my outfits to either be unisex, or have a male counterpart. There are plans down the road for hair, AOs, and anything else I feel is fucked-up enough to place in this brand.

The ~ broken ~ store is located temporarily in the volcano, under the lava at Temenos Island. There are a few signs with teleporters around to find your way there...or if you feel crazy enough, just jump into the lava. You will find it. Eventually, ~ broken ~ will move to its permenant home on the Isle of Damnation, just north of Temenos...but that is a ways off.

Dolltopia Update

I know it's been far longer since my last blog update than I had intended, but I have been working on the sim of Dolltopia the last month or so, and I am rather the obsessive type. =P

No, unfortunately, Dolltopia is not finished or ready to open yet, and isn't likely to open before Christmas as I had originally hoped. =( It's been a LOT of work, and I have been at it feverishly, but there is still a lot to do. Not to mention, the deciding factor in my difficult choice to delay open of the sim itself...most the other stores and store owners I have offered space for in Dolltopia aren't ready either. So, we will keep at it and open when it's actually done.

I do plan however to open a temporary store for The Heart of a Doll before Christmas to allow people to get the dolls I have made so far if they wish. That much I can definately do.

So, although Dolltopia is not open yet and still under construction, I thought I would give a small peek at things as they are so far. The pictures below are some of the attractions in Dolltopia as I have them built now, all made from scratch just for this sim, using a lot of custom painted textures (part of what is taking so long on this place...so many seperate builds and so many textures for them).

For those of you who may not have heard about Dolltopia before, the sim is designed as a child, toy and doll friendly and oriented space where the joys and wonders of childhood can be relived, roleplayed, and the wounds that many of us experienced as real children can maybe be healed just a little. It's a PG sim, and designed as a safe and positive space for all...but I do plan to keep it that way and have a theme and rules in mind to facilitate that.

I have a roleplay background story written up for Dolltopia and the Queen of Dolls which I have also begun writing as an actual children's book I hope to publish, and I will be posting more on the story before the sim opens. The castle is the home of the Queen of Dolls and the Great Child, the village below it is the main store and shopping area. There is a doll school where dolls learn how to play with children, and a doll hospital for dolls that got played with a bit too roughly. There is a dock and a boat that brings dolls and children to and from the island, and a train that runs around most of the island. We have a doll adoption center where child avatars can be matched to dolls, and a lighthouse, and even the Isle of Misfit Toys of the west coast of Dolltopia where dolls and toys that are a bit...different...live and can be found.






Once the sim opens, and the businesses are running well, I hope to start holding or organizing a number of events and roleplay opportunities centered on children and dolls and toys as well. So many ideas, so much excitement...so little time in a day.

Excuse the First...

Umm...yeah, I haven't been very good at updating this thing yet have I? I suppose I could give you some good excuses, like being too busy making new content to blog, or real life craziness, or something, but instead I will just give you the truth...purple alien kittens of Doom kidnapped me and wouldn't let me blog. Really. I mean it.

Either that or I have been lazy and not sure what to say, like usual.

But! I plan to make blogging my work here a new part of my daily life and activity! No...I mean it this time. Wait! Come back, I promise! I am serious even...please?

Really. I plan to be offerring up blog posts at least once a week or more when I release new stuff. I will force myself to do it the same as I now force myself to walk in the park every day. Well...most every day. It will become a part of my new releases habit. Honestly. It will.

So, watch here for new releases, and other general insanity, thoughts and excuses in the furture. They will arrive. Yes, really.

Welcome to my Insanity...

Welcome to the first episode of my adventures as a fashion designer in Second Life...

I have been meaning to do this...start a blog that is, not design in SL...for some time, but always seemed to get side tracked. Other things came up and there was just never the time I felt I needed to devote to it. What has changed now? Nothing really. I still feel I don't have enough time in a day and my mind is as scattered and insane as always; but I finally realized that there just simply would not be any better time waiting down the road. So...here I am.

What will I write about in this blog, you might ask? Well, I know blogs are pretty well over-done and the idea is old hat. Sure, other people will have better, smarter, flashier blogs about Second Life and SL fashion. And perhaps I will offer very little here that is of real worth. But...I do offer one thing that no one else will be able to give you: the world of Second Life designing as seen through these two eyes. Okay...so maybe that isn't worth 2 tarnished pennies, but hey, it's all I got!

Truly, this blog is as much for me as it is for anyone else. Yes, I want people to read it...else I would write it on tissues and shove it in my shoebox with the rest of my scraps of ideas and thoughts jotted on weird things...but in point of fact, I start this blog because I need to write again. I need to get my thoughts out of my head and on paper...err...screen...pixel...whatever. I live too much in my head and always have. My thoughts can become a toxic waste poisoning my mind if I don't get 'em out from time to time, and a blog is a great format for that. Now my thoughts can be toxic waste that poisons YOUR mind too. Great isn't it? =D

In addition to random musings, rants, and utterly off the wall weirdness, you can also expect to find lots of mispellings, bad grammer, naughty words, and other oddities. Umm...I mean that you can expect to also find various announcements about my Second Life businesses, Boneflower Designs, Jungle Voodoo and Temenos Island here, along with posts on new releases and rambling excuses about why something people asked for isn't done yet. But in reality the advertising of my stuff and the advertising of stuff from other designers I like isn't the focus. Nice, yes, but not the focus. I am writing about my adventures...and as such you might well expect excitement, cliff-hangers, and lots of adrenalin. Not sayin' you will get those things, just sayin' you might expect 'em. =P

So, welcome once again to the adventures of this humble Second Life designer, and I hope you like what you read and enjoy coming back here often to soak up some new bits of insanity from my twisted little mind...