Tag: Bazar

Kitty FINALLY Blogs..THE HOME SHOW 2013!!

Kitty FINALLY Blogs..THE HOME SHOW 2013!!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 1 Comment

So, The Home Show.  OK, I’m late to the blogging party for this one, profuse apologies galore, BUT better late than never!

You have until the end of the month to enjoy this event, eleven days to be precise, and enjoy it you will. Take ample Lindens, because as you stroll around the beautiful Culprit designed sim-build you are sure to find many items to tempt you to part with your lovely virtual cash.

By now there are plenty of posts listing the wares from each vendor, so I won’t do a rundown in that sense.  What I will do is share my favourites with you, why I like them, and why I think you’ll like them too.

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First up, ORGANICA.  I’ve long thought that I didn’t have enough hanging plants in my virtual home, BUT they can be a bit primmy and some of the more ‘old-skool’ designs that are to be found for sale on the grid can look pretty naff. Organica provides however, with a rather wonderful array of hanging and potted plants especially created for the Home Show.   I especially liked the ‘Hanging Ivy Planters’ and the ‘Hanging Bamboo Herb Planter’.Snapshot_013

The Bamboo Herb Planter has found a place in my home in front of my writing desk,as you can see above,  and it looks great against the window.  It also offers up a little privacy against the neighbourhood too. Incidentally, the plants that it features are rosemary and sage and it has just 1 LI, which is very tidy indeed.  (I imagine in real life it would smell amazing too!)Zinnias_001

ZINNIAS is always a huge favourite of mine, purely because of the zinging colours and patterns that Zinnia Karu deploys so effortlessly into her designs. Her work mixes  Mexican  and South American styling with modern shapes and patterns to great effect. If you’re looking for something extraordinary, check out the Quetzalcoatl wall shelf, which will really brighten up a dingy corner , it features a pot-plant and maracas, everything perfect in detail and aspect.  I am totally love with the chilli pepper tree so much that yes, it’s in my virtual home.   The fabulous ‘Sol’ Patio Sofa looks just as good indoors as it does out, and check out the Neo-Urban fire bowl. I’m also using this at home to brighten up some decking and chairs and it makes for a beautiful evening outdoor ambiance.Zinnias_006

The ‘Sydney’ sofa at MUDHONEY  is beautifully constructed and textured and is exactly the kind of sofa I would love to sink into in real life. It just looks so bloody comfy, and is textured beautifully. The animations are excellent as always too, and there are singles and couples poses to enjoy.   The Addison Chandelier complements it perfectly and is a brilliant modern take on the traditional Chandelier shape.  I loved it so much I found a home for it in my kitchen (trust me, it really works!)Zinnias_007

MICHIGAN’S SHACK has every gamer’s fantasy catered to with a fabulous retro gaming sofa, arcade cab, table and wall art.  (This is the kind of furniture I’m sure my beloved would love in real life.  In fact, he has 24 arcade machines already so I sort of wish he had those in Second Life and this furniture in his real one instead!)

My winner though has to be BAZAR. Yes, I know it seems like this blog has become the unofficial Bazar fan-club, but in all seriousness the work created by Ria Bazar Mavendorf is just astounding to me,  and that is why I keep featuring it. That’s all there is to it, I’m a fan and her work really excites me.  Ria has some new releases to be found at the home show which really are astonishing, I couldn’t love them more if I tried!

The ‘Toronto’ sets  feature natural wooden furniture coupled with modern prints and accessories to create a contemporary look for the home. Each piece is lovingly crafted and menus for texture change options (light, dark or natural wooden finishes) and animations are utilised to the full.Zinnias_002At the Home Show 2013 you’ll see the Toronto bedroom, Study and Arts and Crafts room displays are waiting for you to wander around and experience them to the full. All of the items are beautifully presented, and on the walls you’ll see a listing of the land impact for each item.  Rest assured that every single piece is bloody wonderful and unique in its own way. For example, the Arts and Crafts room features a drawing table, pots of paint, a designer’s mannequin and canvases primed and  ready for you to create upon.  If you need some ideas you’ll find prints from Leonardo Da Vinci and other resource materials on the shelving unit ready to inspire you.

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When you’ve finished your crafting for the day it’s time to retire to your  Toronto bedroom.  This is stylish and functional with  quirky elements like the bedside cabinet which features suitcases incorporated into the design, so clever and really effective!  The bed features a four poster frame and a colourful choice of bedding options.  There’s a clothing rail and vanity table to complete, with decorative pieces like artworks, vases and a stylish mirror.

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If you can’t sleep then time to hop off to the study for some late-night blogging. The Toronto Study features all the essential elements that you need, and more besides.  Desk, shelving and seating all tied in with the Toronto theme and embellished with great extras such as a working clock, plants, cabinets and PC.  All of these gorgeous sets work beautifully together of course, because they all adhere to the same theme, but elements of each one can be used anywhere in your home to great success.

It’s at this point in the proceedings that I’d like to point you in the direction of my FLICKR account, where I have a set featuring some of the home show items that I’ve mentioned, and more besides. You’ll see work from Bazar, Mudhoney, Trompe L’oil, Zinnias and more besides, and I hope you enjoy taking a look at my virtual abode. I love it, it makes me really happy I must say!

Finally, I’ve said many, many times before on these pages what really gives your virtual home that realistic touch are the knick-knacks, so keep your eyes peeled because you’ll find an epic selection dotted around The Home Show.  I really adore the DIGS ‘Ferryside Driftwood Décor ‘wall hanging and the matching tray décor too.  There are some fab gacha prizes to be won at NOBLE, and look out for the seashell bottles, lamps and other assorted oceanic goodies which are ideal for jazzing up the bathroom at home.  CULPRIT screams colour, and has some dazzling drawer units, shelves and photo frames that would be suited to a colourful, kawaii style home, or even a virtual toddler’s playroom.

There is a lot to see and enjoy at the event and it’s not too busy now because of some other events that you may have heard of are currently attracting a lot of attention in-world. (Like Food Fair for example, that’s another Culprit build too.  Oh, and let’s not forget Hair Fair and Shoe fair and ALL THE F*CKING FAIRS!! Ahem!)

If you’d like to know more, take a gander at the official blog which features lots of information about the event, including maps.  I’ll see you there, I’ll probably be asleep on the Mudhoney sofa again..hmm, so comfy! 

Bazar Floria Dining (Avatar Blogger Crossfit Challenge(Entry 26 of 30))

Bazar Floria Dining (Avatar Blogger Crossfit Challenge(Entry 26 of 30))

by Lisa Millar ♥ 1 Comment

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(Click on the picture to enlarge and have a closer look at the table layouts!)

I swear I’m not a one woman Bazar appreciation society, I really do, BUT when Ria Bazar Mavendorf keeps dropping awesome on the grid then I’m going to rave about it. 

A few weeks ago I blogged the Floria bedroom. I instantly fell in love with it, and it’s still laid out in my house looking awesome. I’ve added a few pieces to it to compliment but I can honestly say I’ve never been happier with my virtual sleepy-place.

So when Ria sent me a box called ‘Floria Dining Room’ I kind of had an inkling as to what the contents would be. If they were in keeping with the bedroom, then there would be romantic lines and feminine touches brought together with grace and class. I wasn’t wrong. 

Floria Dining has the same styling as the matching bedroom, and features a table, chairs, chandelier, dresser and a potted plant.  Like the bedroom before it the furniture is colour change, so you get TONS of options for your Lindens, although it has to be said that the pink and blue colour schemes that are included may well prove to be too much for some.  (They were for me, hence I haven’t photographed them!) I do get the feeling that they will go down very well with the Lolita crowd, and leaving the pastels to one side you still get plenty of colour options to play with including dark and light wood, black and white solid colour and complimentary striped colour schemes too.

The dresser is elegant and includes tableware and glasses.  The chandelier matches the sconces in the Floria Bedroom and is just the right height for an intimate dinner party setting.  The light can be turned off and on, and is also colour change too, a thoughtful touch.  The potted plant is, to be honest, a little disappointing.  The pot is great but the plant isn’t anything to write home about especially.  But that’s a minor quibble, because on the whole this is a quality dining set and that’s proven when you sit at the table to begin your feast.

The table can accommodate 2, 4 or 6 persons. It’s menu controlled, and you have a choice of tea and cake, wine or coffee. When you rez your selection the table comes to life and it’s a sight for sore eyes. It’s beautifully decorated with linens, cutlery, flowers and foodstuffs depending upon the setting.

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There are candles, and cheeses and oh my goodness you should see the chocolate cake!! It’s utterly resplendent, incredibly posh and luxurious and the whole ensemble works beautifully in both a formal home setting and a more modern environment.  I absolutely adore it, and the visual feast is enhanced by the animations that you can select from the chairs, and of course you’re automatically issued with cutlery, glasses and all the tableware you need to attach to your avatar and fully live the dinner party experience.

The’ Floria Dining Set’ proves yet again that Ria Bazar Mavendorf is a thoughtful designer because she always adds quality finishing touches to her furniture items, and each time she issues a new release it leaves me longing for more.

I’ve become so enamoured with the brand that I confess it’s made me greedy, but when creative work is consistently this good it’s to be expected. I’m wondering now if there are going to be further additions to the Floria series, such as a Living Room and Bathroom ,and if there are I can see them proving to be exceptionally popular with individuals whose taste in Second Life home furnishings is a little more classical than contemporary…

BUT as I said previously  it does work in a modern setting. For my pictures I actually rezzed my absolute favourite skybox, ‘Apartment C’ from Commoner.  This build is based upon Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment from ‘Sex and the City’ and it’s a fabulous dwelling.  It is beautifully open plan, with kitchen and bathroom included, along with a closet to absolutely die for. (If you’re a fan of the show it’s a must have!) I rezzed the Floria Dining Room in the skybox, and just added a few cat prints in Barnesworth Anubis’s  fabulous ‘Four Frame Grid (Oak)’ et voila! A stunning look for formal dining in a casual setting, and I love it.  What do you think?

Click here to teleport to Bazar to experience Floria Dining for yourself!

STOP PRESS: There is indeed a kitchen too! WEEE! 

 

The Cutout Chair Series from Bazar (Avatar Blogger Crossfit Challenge(Entry 19 of 30))

The Cutout Chair Series from Bazar (Avatar Blogger Crossfit Challenge(Entry 19 of 30))

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Image(Cutout Chair No.1)

You know there’s one thing I really,  REALLY love about being a blogger.  

It’s when you’re lucky enough to have a designer drop a package on you to preview.

Those moments as you open the box and start to rezz the contents as you speculate what marvels await your earthly gaze. It’s a TANTALISING feeling, it really is.

I was chuffed  to receive a surprise from Ria Bazar Mavendorf today, and it floored me.

As regular Kittywitchin’ readers are by now well aware, Ria’s one of my favourite creators, so I was in effect receiving a package from one of  my virtual heroes! A rare privilege indeed.

So because I’m already accustomed to Ria’s style, I wasn’t worried about the contents of the parcel, because I know that Ria is an excellent content creator, hence my returning  to her store, and why I happily live in her Arizona House.  Suffice to say as a customer I am confident in Ria’s designing capability, so I knew that whatever was hiding in the box would be a ‘wonderful thing’.

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(Cutout Chair No.2)

Turns out it was three wonderful things that are her latest releases,  the perfectly named ‘Cutout Chairs’, and readers, I love them. They remind me of the chairs we had in school; one sheet of bonded plywood on metal legs. They were chairs that we used to pick at and scribble upon and stick massive globs of gum underneath.  (We were pretty disrespectful of the equipment in school, it has to be said. I’m not proud.) In fact they’re so realistic that as soon as I saw these chairs I could almost smell them, you know? They look perfect in every detail that they evoked that sense for me, and even had me recalling the sound those metal legs make when scraped across the floor to antagonize a teacher! How’s that for a real-life memory triggered by a virtual creation? (Awesome!)

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But of course what make these chairs far superior to the real thing are the cut-out designs within each one.  They really are rather special indeed. Chair number one features an elegant  female silhouette, with the female figure gazing at a butterfly.  Chair number two has a vibrant, modern motif that to my eyes is reminiscent of tribal tattoo designs, and chair number three appears to be the most traditional of the group, bearing a pattern that suggests  a modern, rounded take on a Fleur De Lys theme. It’s a little Art Deco too, and out of the three I think this one is most suited to traditionally styled homes.

Ria could have crafted these mesh marvels and fitted them with a bog-standard sitting animation and they would still have been leagues above their peers.  Instead she’s gone the extra mile, and you’ll find that each one is stacked to the brim with animations, something that Ria is incredibly generous with in her builds.

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Not only do you have nine male and nine female animated sits in each, but there are eight couples poses and seven ‘misc’ poses too, and of course they’re all great fun. The misc poses include wearable props for all kinds of chair based activities such as knitting, embroidery, surfing the web, browsing  a tablet, drinking coffee and reading a magazine. Every pose is perfectly realised and the props just add that extra touch of authenticity to proceedings.

I had so much fun posing using these chairs, but they’re much more fun with a friend, so I enlisted the help of Jez so that we could test out the couples animations. It was at that point that I realised that while the singular poses are good,  these chairs really come alive when couples use them together! 

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You will create some lovely romantic scenes together with this furniture.  The animation sequences feel very loving and proved really enjoyable to use as a couple.  I played around with them, as you do, and to my joy I discovered that if I used the poses as a single, with Jez using the couples poses, we could create even more interesting scenarios. If you’re in any way interested in Second Life photography and modelling then  these chairs should find a place in your home, without a doubt.

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And speaking of photographs, if you’re blessed with a strong enough graphics card the results will  prove extraordinary if you use windlight settings heavy on shadows. Alas my graphics card isn’t *quite* good enough, but I did the best I could for the photos on show here, and I do hope I’ve done the chairs justice. 

What else can I tell you about them? Well, each chair comes in a variety of wooden textures (Brown, Dark, Light and White) and they will probably go on sale tomorrow (Friday 21st June) Unfortunately I don’t know how much they will cost, but I do know that they’re original mesh and I think they’re terribly exciting. I expect to see them featured in lots of blog posts in the near future, because I think they’ll really lend themselves well to interior design.

The Cutout Chairs are beautiful form with lots of extra fabulous function, and I think that regardless of price, they’re certainly going to prove to be a worthy investment for your virtual home. Click HERE to visit BAZAR. 

Weekend At Kitty’s

Weekend At Kitty’s

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Image..is going to be a relaxed affair. Slobbing about and eating nonsense while the weather plays silly beggars outside. At least the sun always shines in Second Life eh? 

There are still LOADS of events to enjoy in world. The Arcade is still going strong, as is the Skin Fair, and you’ll find it a lot easier to get into both at the moment now that the initial hysteria has blown over. Both events are still busy though, and this pleases me. So much hard work goes into arranging and organising events such as these that it’s satisfying to know the contributors will be heartily rewarded with lots of lovely Lindens.

So, speaking of Lindens, I spied something nice and sassy to splash mine on earlier this week. It’s all Sable’s fault. She turned up at mine wearing a splendid shirt and sweater combo that it was all I could do not to kick her and her missus out of the house while I rushed off to grab myself one.

Quality meshwear is reassuringly expensive, and this ‘Cropped Double’ from Auxiliary is just that.  But that’s because it’s entirely original, created using Photoshop CS5, Zbrush and Maya by the brand owners Ivy Graves and Tyr Rozenblum. No templates are used here. It’s all hard work, and the quality shines through, with the textures perfectly applied and the shaping  made just right. Even though it’s a simple shirt and sweater combo it would be so easy to make a hash of it. Sloppy design and crude detailing are the undoing of many a mesh item, but no such worry here, it’s utterly spot on in the execution.

The plaid texture choice is perfect, the buttons and stitches are clearly visible and the shape of the jumper with its chunky cuffs compliments the attached shirt perfectly.  Something else that impressed me about it, daft as it sounds, was the sharpness of the collar. It’s well defined and sits beautifully on the body, and here’s another thing, the back of the Cropped Double is just as impressive as the front.  Where the textures meet at the back the item is finished well, and it sits in a pointed hem just above the centre of the buttocks. It wears very well indeed.

In fact, it’s not hard to picture wearing this in real life, and I also discovered  when wearing it I could wear a size smaller mesh than I usually sport, which was interesting to me…quality counts!

Probably the best thing for me about this piece though is that it looks like it took time to make, and that’s always what I want to see when I wear something in Second Life. When I splash the Linden-cash I want to be able to love what I’m wearing and know that I got good value for money.  I also want to make an impression for the right reasons, and Auxiliary is the kind of label that ensures that will always happen. Cropped Double is available in a number of designs  at L$300 a pop, and I think I’ll be making a return visit to stock up…

But that’s no hardship, the store is a joy to wander around, filled with enticing items that are clearly lit and well laid out.  I wasn’t the only avatar paying a visit to the store either, which is always encouraging.  It’s impossible NOT to make a shopping list during your visit either; I’ve got my eyes on the Owl ‘Slouchy Tank’ for example, as well as the very ‘Alluring Mini’ skirt range. I’ve also fallen totes in love with the brilliant ‘Bunneh Hoodies’, perfect for Easter of course!

A final note, just because this is a virtual world it doesn’t mean that  customer service should ever slip.  When I purchased my Cropped Double, Second Life was having a fit, so I didn’t receive my item. I’m pleased to say that when I dropped a notecard on  Tyr Rozenblum  with my transaction history it was remedied in a flash, no quibbles at all. That’s something that I always find reassuring and makes me want to return to buy more!

So however you choose to spend your weekend, I hope it’s a corker. Mine as you can see will be spent raiding the fridge for wine and cooking up a nice juicy steak..although I should really be wearing an apron to avoid splashing my nice new top! Ah well…toodles!

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Kitty wears: