Miriel Enfield is leaving Second Life, and I for one am absolutely gutted by this news  that was announced discreetly and without drama upon her blog as follows:

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2009
Some time in the next few weeks, I will be permanently closing the shop and getting rid of the sim.If you want anything — eyes, jewelry, pictures of the forest — it’s best to do so soon.

If you’ve read Kittywitchin’ since its inception you will be well aware that I rarely stray from wearing Miriel eyes. Nothing else has ever satisfied my requirements in quite the same way…and I’m so sad that I won’t be able to peruse the wares on display in her beautiful store anymore.

There has in my opinion never been an eye colour palette to rival the selection available from Miriel’s store. The iris colours are utterly beautiful and they’re so artfully blended that they make your mouth moisten with anticipation. Add to that the excellent menu purchase system and unbelievably reasonable prices and you couldn’t have wished for a more statisfying Second Life shopping experience. Contrary to popular belief I don’t own the entire range, although I wish I did, but I do own a selection of Miriel eyes and what a wonderful addition to my inventory they are too.
Put simply, I’m not ‘dressed’ unless I am wearing my Miriel eyes. (Big or standard for the win, as realistic were always a tad on the small side for my fancy:)

A lot of my peers in the Second Life Bloggerverse are equally saddened by this news, but it’s hardly surprising. You knew where you were with Miriel’s designs, understood that you were getting quality (you only had to look at the stunning design of her sim to realise that) and you were guaranteed great value for money. There aren’t many content creators in world who can satisfy completely such a stringent criteria, but Miriel could.

You may think that I’m being a tad melodramatic here, but the fact is we’re losing a Second Life institution that I personally wish I’d appreciated and supported more upon these pages.

I know others feel the same way, and wished that we’d blogged about her more consistently. I feel ashamed about that because I am always raving about Miriel’s work to all and sundry and now I feel as though we all took the genius of Miriel for granted. The fact is her creations (and not just her eyes although they are my favourite, but also her stunning jewellery, hair and shapes) are so good you just didn’t need to keep returning to the store to make purchase after purchase!

As I mentioned before I don’t know the reasons behind the decision to close, but it’s a fair assumption to make that it may be something to do with the current economic climate. Times are hard for all of us, and if that is the case then it’s an especially cruel irony that a lack of appreciation may well have contributed to the brand’s demise, despite it being held in such high esteem by so many people.

I don’t know when the store will close, so I implore you to scrounge up the few Lindens that you have in your pocket and go to Miriel’s sim before it disappears forever. Take photographs of the sim and revel in the area’s beauty and when you’ve sated your creative urges go into the store and splurge on eyes, hair and jewellery to your hearts content. Work as graceful as this will likely never be seen in Second Life again and such talent cannot be repeated nor replaced.

Finally, I have no idea if Miriel will ever see this post but I just want to write a message for her:

Miriel,

Thank you so much for sharing your creative talents with Second Life. Your work will always be cherished by those of us who purchased it in-world and I hope you will be comforted to know that you made so many of us very happy. For me you contributed a vital element to the fundamental development of Kitty’s appearance.
Your designs are exemplary, and Kitty (and I’m sure many other avatars) will continue to wear Miriel eyes long after the doors to your store have closed for good.
Whatever your future holds I wish you every success..

Hugs and Noms,
Kitty =^..^=