Sunday 30 December 2007

The eyes have it again...

Well... back earlier than expected this year.. but no bad thing. I've had the opportunity to reassess the eyes - particularly the cat eyes that, while popular, have been lacking a few colors. Well now I've upped the ante, raising the bar from 15 to 27 colors; and they're nice ones too, unlike the first cat releases that were a little abrupt.

They're currently available in the crate only - 27 eyes for 199L... but I will be going live with the individual and fatpack purchases, much as I have with the human eyes, in the next day or so.

Furthermore, a set of 18 anime eyes will get their launch as soon as I can figure out a way of geting a reasonable looking Anime avatar to model them without shelling out 2500L at Boingo to do so... not that i'd complain... it's just at 15L a pop, that's close to 180 sales to break even... not including the upload costs.

Still... more news and pictures when they comes to anything.

Oh yes... before I forget... there is now a small display of 9 hairstyles in Sterling Grove, set in the barbershop over the Marzipan tearooms. Here's hoping it bucks the trend and actually generates me some coin! Have a looksee if you wish... the two owners are lovely!

Until next time,

Kalli

Saturday 22 December 2007

Fast approaching the end of the year

Well guys... it's nigh on six months since I opened the doors on this little venture, and things are ticking over now. This wek saw the release of Mu, Hydra, Sakura and the Hydra/Chimera double pack... and George finally being upgraded from 32 to 48 colors... All in time for everyone to disappear offline for a few days over the festive season.

Talking about disappearing, I too kate off tomorrow for a week or so; braving the family gathering as befits tradition. I'm sure you all have yours and for teh sake of your dsanity I'll spare you mine.

Just thought that seing as it may well be next year before teh next article follows, I'll post some resolutions now.

OK...

The first five hairs of next year will be a masculine ponytail (which is already in the workshop, nearing completion of the proto), a long open male one inspired by a certain video game character, another for the guys that's long at the back and short on top without being a mullet... I promise(!)... A set of sensible length girly pigtails and another short asymmetric men's do with some movement to it. I cannot guarantee the order, but those are what's in my head now.

Eyes-wise, I'll be working on a set of Anime shaped ones in the new year... look out for the debut 18 soon in the new year. The charity crate is on standby - read postponed until further notice.

Alice, bless her, has thrown herself into the breech and is making some entry level skins for me so that the shapes, all six of them now, can be relaunched guilt free... They'll happen in time.

OK... on that note, Gift certificate exchanges are now on hold until January 2nd, when I expect to be back seriously, and recovered from NYE... which I have actual factual plans for for the first time since Y2K.

Anyway... on a personal note... to all of you who read this (and I know some of you do) I wish you all the best for the forthcoming year. I hope, whatever you're doing over the break, it's peaceful, relaxing and fun.

See you in-world in 2008!

Until next time,

Kalli

Tuesday 18 December 2007

The jump...

I've finally bitten the bullet and gone for some more exposure... by launching a few styles on SLExchange.

We're talking , rather than swamp it with all the options, as I'd be at it for evermore, launching demos, then fatpacks there - each spitting out a landmark to the store in-world. Early days yet, but by declaring my intention, I may be forced into actually keeping up with it... Like that's happened before.... *snirk*

Hopefully this may get me a little more traffic... but we'll see. Changes are it won't just be the hair, but the eyes as well.

Until next time,

Kalli

Saturday 15 December 2007

Older.... wiser... smarting...

Every once in a while I escape from my little patch on Synchronicity and actually experience something of teh virtual world called Second life... Sadly this week those experiences have been negative...

First of all I need to make one thing absolutely clear. I'm naive to a fault; and as a result, I've paid for my trusting nature.

To clarify. I discovered that the skins I was using in my instant avatar packs were resold illegally - ripped from others' work... and I cannot be a part of that; so as soon as I discovered this, I pulled the shape with immediate effect. Instead I'm going to have no other choice but to make my own skins for them, so I can be wholly certan that my ass is covered from a copyright standpoint. I wouldn't want anyone ripping me of, and I refuse to play a part in it. The shapes will be back, along with two more, Heather and Norman, that I was finalising before the shit hit the fan.

Furthermore, the satellite store on Full Moon Island has been abandonned for reasons that I will not go over in depth - but the primary, of course was that after 6 weeks, it hadn't paid for the first week's rental. There were a few other minor issues relating to neighbours that didn't help either, so I bailed mid-afternoon yesterday.

On a more positive note, the human eyes have been reworked to provide 2 styles in each color for 25L, or fatpacks of nine colors, two styles each for a lowly 99L - or 5.5L an eye... not bad at all. Chimera has finally been launched, and after sweating blood; I can reveal that Sakura has been fixed with respect to alpha issues, so hits the tinters shortly.

Photos to follow... but right now I'm feeling too drained... sorry guys...

Until next time,

Kalli

Saturday 8 December 2007

New guys' style and new guy!

Hey hey... it's later than makes sense here, and i'm a little bit more tired than I'd like to admit... but here we go anyway.

After literally FORCING my will through my mouse, battling lag artifact after lag artifact, James has taken to the shelves, fully tinted and cloned and looking gorgeous... Well... like hair... *blush*



And we've added another shape to the line - in the form of Geoff. Cute guy next door; somewhat lacking in HUGE musculatture and stature that every guy in SL seems to have.



I for one approve as he's been designed to be my perfect guy to go dancing with... The joys of being 5'1" in a world of seven footers... Anyway... enough of my yap - I'm off to bed for a well deserved 5 hours...

Until next time,

Kalli

Tuesday 4 December 2007

The shape of things to come

Now you may have noticed that the accessories gazebo has been cleeaned out...

This is intentional; as they weren't selling, and I wanted the space for other things in the long term. That said, the decision has caused a little bit of grief in the main, as I wanted to offer a few things outside and beyond hair and eyes... so I thought what the hell and have re-released Martha in a stripped down capacity, and her male alter ego, Arthur as entry level avatars... Skin, eyes and shape.

Yes... I said skin... They're not originals, but the best freebies I could find trawling SL for several hours... so they'll do for now.

Both are available for 99L... come and have a looksee!




In other news, Hydra and CHimera have been stalled while I do my damndest to get James finished... and fortunately, he's now at a tinting and cloning stage, so will be out soon. Sakura is suffering badly with alpha issues and will need an almost complete rework, but I'll stick with and we'll have some new hair news soon... I promise!

Until next time,

Kalli

Friday 30 November 2007

By popular demand...

Ask and thou shalt receive... The -dD- Gift certificate is here... 99L and redeemable against any hair in store... a way to buy a style for someone even though all our hair is no transfer...



Vendors for gift certificates can be found by the landing point, and round by the tails near the eye hut. Instructions enclosed!

Until next time,

Kalli

Thursday 29 November 2007

Something different this way comes...

I've noticed something about my work of late... It's getting longer and longer... and more and more distant from what would otherwise be regarded as normal wearing hair... So I've done some thinking and have engineered a simple A-line bob with feathered tips and random lengths in it for extra choppiness and feeling of life.

Early stages yet, and fighting to resolve the alpha issues is likely to kill me... but I give you a work in progress of Sakura... actually no... I give you the vendor shots for Sakura, because, lets face it, I'm nothing if not optimistic.

Coming soon to Synchronicity Island...

Wednesday 28 November 2007

Miss Burns playing catch-up...

Well it's time for news of new releases again - three so far this week.

As mentioned before, I've throwmn out the Basic Neko Kit, and now the Complete Neko Kit too... ear tail, hair and eyes, all bundled together. Also been busy enough to get Siren out there; so be one of the first to wear this rather stunning hairdos!

In other news, prototyping is now finishes and tinting and cloming of Hydra and Chimera is underway - both are about a third of teh way through this somewhat arduous process (made even moreso when your six-year-old machine is grinding away with background processes you cannot locate...) but still... Won't be long now.

I've decided, seeing as they're so similar, to also launch a double pack of Hydra and Chimera so you can have both at a 25% discount, which isn't too shabby!

Bring on the photos!






In other news, Band, Zoe and Kate have now been officially retired... So no, you cannot request either one in a single color anymore. BUT you can still buy the storage crate should you so desire; at the cunningly discounted rates of 25L each for Zoe and Kate; or 1L for Band. Note that for the moment, Siren and the neko kits, along with the retired lines are only available at our main store on Synchronicity.

Until next time,

Kalli

Sunday 25 November 2007

Developments, and why the heck have I not released anything this week?

OK, what can I say...?

Asset server issues in the main - every time I find the time to tint and clone, LL prevents me picking anything up - it's frustrating in the extreme and there have indeed been tears of frustration; but Siren and Mu will be coming shortly. That said, seeing as I cannot tint and clone, it hasn't stopped me building.

I've created a cat tail and ears set (the basic neko kit) which I will be launching as is, and with Aya and packs of cat eyes as a complete neko kit - 39 and 149L respectively.

Also I have created two additional hairstyles - a funky four-way pony called Hydra, set for imminent release, and a two-way long flexi pony based on Hydra called Chimera - both will be set for rapid deployment at 99L apiece, or as a double pack for 149L. Pics to follow once I get the vendor boards assembled.

Furthermore, this means some serious moving about to get everything to fit in. Zoe has been retired, along with Band. The Marion Eowyn double pack has been deleted, and Eowyn has been cut to 49L. Further developments are likely to see the early retirement of Kate, a cut in price for Joss, Aki and Heidi to 49L etc. etc.etc. I could go on, but really... if I did this post would last forever...

Eyes wise, the charity crate is on hold pending a complete reworking of the human eye colours - all forty-odd, to give dilated pupils as an option. We're nearly there, but I'm not gonna upload them until I am SURE I can set up the eye hut to accommodate, so please bear with me.

Furtherore, Wisper has announced her intention to start making hair (under my tutorage, the poor thing), so watch this space for news of her work becoming live... and she's looking at specialising in men's hair, which is likely to be a relief to all and sundry... myself included.

I only hope that I get enough time to make a decent stab at getting things online soon.

Until next time,

Kalli

Sunday 18 November 2007

First retirement in the offing...

Well... the shop has been live for nigh on five months... we've seen panic, drama runs on certain styles... and others that sat there and simply didn't move...

Second Life is full of hair designers... some famous and amazing... some famous and not so... others small and amazing... others not so... and it's fair to say I rank in the latter category; primarily as this is a learning process and I'm carrying dead weight... so the time comes to start axing (no pun intended after the recent release name) the styles that, for want of a better word, suck...

The fist to bite the dust is Band... simply because nobody will buy it, even for a Linden. And if you read back you did say that it was the base fo a style that I was working on, but didn't have the skill to pull off back then... Well... now I've managed it. This is Siren:



To be honest, I look at myself (pictured right) and think I've never looked hotter... but that could just be a me thing. It's a long straight style (that I'm calling unisex... because Arthur here don't look bad either!) with a couple of flexi bits at the front, hanging over the band which is, of course, colorchange. Due for release with Mu, our first flexi tail, next week.



Band will be retired as Siren goes live, but will carry on in the bargain basement under the shed, available as a storage crate only at a much reduced rate... so a linden, then!

Until Next time,

Kalli

Friday 16 November 2007

Axe and Nariko live...

...Nariko has a new vendor photo...



...yet the eye crate is yet to appear!

The reasons are straightforward, really. I've been busy with other things. News of forthcoming releases is always frustrating without pics, but I can reveal a new men's style, James, is underway - it looks and works similar to Criss, but a little more carefully done. Also, no fewer than SIX ponytails are en route to replace the existing three, which are now showing their age.

In ther news; as James and one other men's style go live, (plans are afoot for a dedicated long one) Jude and Axe will move, along with the new ponies, into the unisex area. Aki and Whisper will head to the back - and Kate, Band and Zoe will be retired.

You have been warned... ;)

Until next time,

Kalli

Friday 2 November 2007

As you know, I excel at random

Not enough men's hair, is something I hear a lot... so I've whipped up a long men's style in no time flat... set to tint and clone over the weekend so should be live soon... Meet Axe...



One day I'll stick to one thing at a time...

Until next time,

Kalli

Tuesday 30 October 2007

developments of late...

Hey all!

RL issues after RL issues... well... Illness followed by much needed holiday... so that explains the lack of -dD- releases of late... There was one... Aki, another female hair, that for some reason I totally forgot to mention here!



It's similar to Aya in it's movement, but shorter and cuter for those who want... I like it... but if I'm being brutally honest, it should have feathered ends... but when I put them on SL ate the hair... it looked HORRIBLE... hence the blunt tips... it works from a distance though... ;)

OK... I was ill!

Still the forthcoming month's likely to be quiet too, due to additional work and all manner of other stuff going on in my life... but fear not... work will continue. Plans are afoot for a new hair release... and a limited edition charity eye box - 16 colors for 100 lindens... ALL proceeds going to charities selected at monthly intervals either by me, or my suggestions made from you guys. The November charity of choice for the eye box is nanowrimo.org (as it's taking place in November, and collects money to help literacy projects around the globe... so it seems worthy to me!) Further details of the charity eye box when it launches... SOON!

Hair wise has seen a request for the most outlandishly flexy ponytail in the history of SL's outlandishly flexy ponytails... so Nariko will hit the shelves soon... and when it does, prepare to be dazzled. Modelled here by Martha... in other words, me...



Don't worry guys... you've not been forgotten... I've made a start on aanother gent's style that lifts the bar slightly... utilising the technology I've mastered with the last three female releases to make a short but nicely flexi men's do that I've entitled James... Just got the basic head covering done so far, so not a lot to show... but it'll be there soon!

Nil desperandum!

Until next time,

Kalli

Thursday 11 October 2007

Black eyes...

Working as I have been of late, chopping between hair and eye production, has given me two things I never thought it would - one is an understanding that the color alteration tools in Gimp are a lot more powerful than I first thought, and that no matter what I do, I'll never be able to figure out where any of the other controls are... so don't expect any skins from me in the next few months...

Still...

We have new products again, with the launch of the 15 Demon eye colors - black borders, horizontal pupils, utterly freaky and out in time for Halloween! Do swing by the ever expanding eye hut on Synchronicity to see these babies for yourself... they're fun... and like ALL our eyes, sourced from an original stock photo...

Hair-wise, Aya is going down well, but requests have been made for a shorter version, so work persists there, hopefully with an iminent release on the cards...

Until next time,

Kalli

Tuesday 9 October 2007

Long time since the last update again...

Terrible apologies to one and all... I have my reasons for being so crap... again mostly health related... but I won't dwell on them.

OK... Updates... there have been several... Dexter is live, as is another random style, Aya that simply dropped into existance after talking to someone about how flexi flexi-hair can really be... the movement on this one is amazing and you owe it to yourself to try it out, if you haven't done so already.

Further more, we now have 45 Human eyes and 15 cat eyes available, along with an 11 "most popular eyes" collection and, for you lord of the rings fans, Sauron - evil eyes inspired by the eye of Sauron itself...

Come give them a looksee!





Until next time, which I promise will come sooner...

Kalli

Sunday 30 September 2007

OK... so once again, time marches on...

Alright folks... just to keep you all up to speed on what's been happening on the Discord Designs fromnt in the last week...

Well... We've opened a franchise in the 'Hair n Shoes Required' mall on Lucid Dreams to what so far appears to be a rather smal customerbase... there have been some sales, but things aren't overly promising as yet... but never mind... early days...

Dexter was launched on Thursday... yes... tht's the balding style... and again, things have been relatively slow... but that could well be the nature of the grid at the moment... or maybe it's to revolutionary in a world where everyone is young and beautiful to offer a "solar powered sex machine" hairdo...

Finally we've also launched a range of a dozen neko / cat eyes for your perusal... 15l a pop, like the others... and rather fun... so do have a look... tese are available only at the main store so do swing by for a nose..

Until next time, wen there'l be some photo updates...

Kalli

Saturday 22 September 2007

I'll see your nine and raise you thirty...

OK guys and girls... there are now so many eyes in-store that they have been shifted to a purpose built area just past the office... Yes... The eye hut is open, holding no fewer than 39 different colors to choose from... All the colors of the bow, no less... including some utterly beautiful multiway ones that have to be tried to be believed... Luna is lovely... but Terra and Nebula have to be my favourites... So give them a look... or even just pick 'em up and se for yourself... That's $L15 apiece, people... you cannot go wrong here!

Also noteworthy is that, time permitting next week, the first Discord Designs franchise will be opening... I'll fill you in as and when there's stuff to see, but overall it should be a goodie... That's if the guys advertising the mall are up to thier word!

Still... finer notes... Criss is now reloaded live in 48 colors, rather than 32... Tori and Marion are set to follow soon. Dexter is in second phase development and is set to be tinted and cloned by the end of the week... So...

Busy busy busy!

and watch this space as always!

Until, next time,

Kalli

Tuesday 18 September 2007

I really must stop distracting myself...

Every once in a while I get a hairbrained idea... as you well know by now, all those who read this. The latest was no different. I've been debating the logistics of expanding the shape packages I intend to offer to include skins, hair and eyes to make an all-in-one instant avatar for a reasonable rate...

Well... that's all great in principle, but it means learning a hell of a lot about how graphics software works... and no, I've not succumbed and picked up a copy of Photoshop. I've been yutzing about with my ancient Heath-Robinson technology and created the easier of the two texture-based deals... eyes!



Naturally, I'm telling you this as the vendor is now live... and pictured above... so do come and give them a look! They're up in the accessories gazebo, and in true Discord Designs tradition, they're cheap and cheerful. Hope you like!

Until next time,

Kalli

Friday 14 September 2007

Now that was a day and a half...

Jude is now tinted, cloned, vendor loaded, fatpacks assembled and live...
Knock yourselves out people!

Uh... right... more info might be nice...

OK... Jude retails in 48 rather than 32 colorways (as discussed before) for $L99 a color, or in packs of 12 colors (related ones, you'll be pleased to know) for $L349...

Naturally the biggie of all 48 colors is out at a modest $L699 a throw... that's 48 colors for the price of 7... can't say fairer than that now can you?

Do give it a look... I feel it marks a return to form for me after the last two offerings which, lets be honest, haven't gone down too well...

Until next time,

Kalli

Thursday 13 September 2007

New products - 2 hairs and a shape

Ugh... I completely forgot to mention! Evidently not got my head screwed on!

DDL and Martha have been live for a while. Jude is still to come, but will be the first up in the new colors... and just to be nice, nobody misses out as it's unisex. Enjoy!





Until next time,

Kalli

Jet is the new black...

Hey all... I've been sat on my ever expanding butt doing nothing again!

Wait? No! That can't be right!!

Well... yes and no... I've not made a lot of hair of late... but I've redesigned the Discord Designs palette, taking the range from 32 to 48 colors... Including a new black - well... two... after hearing people complain that Midnight wasn't dark enough I've not only gone and created Jet, which is as black as you please, but Onyx, which is still black, but not as dark as Jet, but still darker than Midnight...

Oh hell... I'm never going to be able to explain this clearly, so I'll do what I always resort to and hoof up an image, although be warned, it's a biggie... All in all there are seven new darks (Jet, Onyx, Gunmetal, Anthracite, Liquorice, Espresso and Pepper), 5 new reds (Lava, Auburn, Bronze, Pavlova and Sherbet), 2 new lights (Copper and Silver) and 2 more unaturals - Leaf and Cobalt - as I didn't feel I offered a reasonable mid-blue or mid-green.



The main push has been to resolve the derth of dark natural colors in the range, with more grays, auburns and browns added to bulk the lines. Also note that the decision to create fatpacks of 12, rather than ten colors has been made - these will retail at $L349 for a $L99 style; $L265 for a $L75 and $L175 for a $L49 do. Existing lines will be expanded to include the new colors as time permits, so watch this space. Should you be unable to wait, however, drop me a notecard in-world with your requested style and new color, drop me the cost price plus $L50 "exclusivity premium" and I'll ship them direct to you in advance!

Until next time,

Kalli

Monday 3 September 2007

A slight diversion...?

Not had a chance to make hair recently, but I've had the time to get started on something different...

Shapes anyone?

Mine is unique to me, and I will not be selling it, but I do have plans to launch a few and see how they go... And here's the first:



This is Martha (as I named her During the work in progress) Fine tuning to happen, but she's tall (at 6'5", atheletic and curvy... Plus she's designed to fit the hair I sell, wich always helps... maybe without Ryoko on next time so you can get a better idea of the face!

Still until next time, when I've constructed a shape vendor!

Kalli

Saturday 1 September 2007

Whoops...

Long time since I've updated!

Still...

Fighting hard with RL issues once again, but things are ticking over still when time permits...

Either way, just notice that Kate has now been launched... It's a REALLY short 1920s inspired flapper bob with a peacock feather hair ornament that attaches separately... so you don't have to wear it... great fun and I'm yet to see anything like it in SL... Knock yourselves out!



New gents style (c. 1978, no less) will be up soon... it's going to be... uh... cheap! ANother 20's inspired style for teh guys will hit the market as and when I get back to building... but it's going to be a few days at least,

Until next time, bear with me!

Kalli

Thursday 23 August 2007

Briefest of brief updates...

Whisper now live... Marion now reworked and live... Eowyn now cheaper...

That is all!

Until next time,

Kalli

Monday 20 August 2007

So what have I been doing?

It really doesn't look like I've been up to much of late, but trust me... I have!

New style on the way... tinted and cloned and set to load into the vendor... Called Whisper (after Wisper Dagger, who requested it) and it works as a half-updo variant of the XL ponytail. The tiara is colorchange on both band and flowers and is also removable if you don't want... all done through the voice channel... It's nice! (And Wisper herself offered to model it... so there you go!) It's the most complex style I've made to date in terms of number of textures and scripts; but it was rather fun all the same!



ALL vendors have now been updated in-store... and it looks SO MUCH better... if you haven't seen them yet, do drop by and have a nose! I've also created new adverts and I've reworked Marion to make it a LOT better... in the sense that the textures now do what they're supposed to and it appears seamless rather than blocky like it has been. Will notify further once the vendor has been repopulated... so PLEASE don't buy yet... although I'll be shipping upgrades to everybody that does...

Furthermore, I've created a lovely peacock feather to tuck behind your ear which will feature on a new style, tentatively named 'Kate', that has been requested for a 1920s club... details to follow.

In addition; on the accessories front, I've been playing with a pair of chrome and leather flight goggles with a distinct steampunk vibe. They're scripted to allow flying above preset limits... and they're coming together nicely.

In short, expect quite a few new releases or upgrades over the next week or two...

As always, until next time,

Kalli

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Took my time, but...

By request, Spike is launched in a streamlined, mohawk only variant... the Halfspike...



OK, the name is rather uninspired, but it's rather fun all the same... Enjoy!

Until next time,

Kalli

Thursday 9 August 2007

A slow week...

Various factors digging in, including some time away over the weekend means that there may be no releases for a little while... BUT... When they come, they'll be worth the wait.

Working on a half-updo based on the XL ponytails which is just gorgeous; a proper mohawk based on Spike which is cool; and will be making a start on a bunch of period hairstyles set in the 1920s that I'll be working on for a club... More details to follow, of course!

Until next time,

Kalli

Saturday 4 August 2007

Spike now live...

Yes... the mysterious young man has a name... and now the hair is live in the shop in all it's 224-prim glory...

So bigin fact, I had to retint in several blocks rather an all at once for fear of breaking the island prim limit!

Never mind.. hope you like it!



Until next time,

Kalli

Monday 30 July 2007

In the event of in-world issues...

Rethink the advertising...

Yes... I've had a bash at redoing the vendor boards... or at least a prototype of one because, and I might be being hard on myself here, I think the current ones suck.

Why?

Too wordy... hair photos cramped and too small to determine anything and generally lacking that whole inviting artsy tip...

as such, I present a reworking of a current board:



Any thoughts and comments gratefully appreciated as always.

Until next time, when hopefully people may actually be able to buy stuff again,

Kalli

Sunday 29 July 2007

A mysterious young man sighted in the workshop...

Started work last night on a half-idea and it's going quite well, so I thought I'd throw up a prototype, much like I did with Tori. No name yet... but I'll take ideas!



Note: it might look like it's close to being finished, but from any other angle the head's bald... but I will say one thing... the primcount's likely to be astronimical!

And before anyone asks, yes that is me... I bought the male skin as there's something monumentally disturbing about making men's hair with full eyeliner and lipstick on... and don't get me started on my AO...!

Until next time, when I'm hoping for some updates about a release and maybe a name for the above...

Kalli

Saturday 28 July 2007

Tori hits the shelves...



Well there you have it... Tori is up and active!

Men's styles from now on for a while!

Until next time,

Kalli

Thursday 26 July 2007

The mind starts wandering...

It's a strange thing really what constitutes a good vs a bad sales day... and the difference seems to be down to one thing... the selling of fat-packs, pushing up overall sales.

Now as you know, I offer individual colors or an "all at once" box of all 32 colors for around 6 times the price of a singleton color... now this is all well and good, but there is, of course, the problem that most people won't want such a large range. Someone who wears Midnight, for example, is unlikely to wear Lavender... and as such, the purpoted saving of 32 for teh price of six becomes a little moot if you only ever wear four... say ranging from Midnight, to Chestnut, through Chocolate and Plum...

So muggins here gets thinking... what about ten-packs of colors, grouped into "Darks", "Reds", "Blondes" and "Unnaturals"... each sold for around three times the price of a single color? - so $L299 for a $L99 singleton..? More of a range than just offering the standard three or four, but for not a huge initial outlay. Might also tempt people after just one or two co,lours to go long...

I was thinking of bagging them as follows:

Dark pack:
Midnight, Chestnut, Chocolate, Plum, Black Grape, Mocha, Graphite, Grey, Raspberry, Pillarbox



Red pack:
Raspberry, Scarlet, Crimson, Pillarbox, Plum, Black Grape, Candyfloss, Flame, Strawberry Blonde, Fuschia



Blonde Pack:
Rich Blonde, Ash Blonde, Dirty Blonde, Platinum, Strawberry Blonde, Honey, Pale Brown, Flame, Mocha, Snow



Unnatural Pack:
Forest, Reptile, Mint, Raven, Sapphire, Lilac, Lavender, Blueberry, Ice, Snow



This will mean fighting with the existing vendors to create new points of sale... but as a ten for three offer, is it worth it?

Comments... analysis...?

Kalli

Wednesday 25 July 2007

Damn you Harry Potter!

And this is not helping as I'm a funerially slow reader... Sorry...

Have run some tests with the Tori prototype below and yes, it actually colors nicely... so with any luck, it'll be dispatched readilly once I've dealt with this tome that I'm lugging around with me... (I'm around 250 pages in, so anyone caught posting spoilers will be disemboweled..)

I've also decided to start Dexter from scratch as I've had a few other ideas...

So until next time, when I hope to have something interesting to say,

Kalli

Monday 23 July 2007

Tori Preview

Oh go on then... a small shot of the Tori prototype...

More details are sure to follow.

Until next time,

Kalli

Tatt'll do...

A slow weekend on the design and build front for very good RL reasons... And seeing as I've always been one to segregate SL and RL, so shall it remain... and no... it's nothing to do with the release of the final Harry Potter. Ok... Maybe it does; at least in some vague way... but I digress.

Just wanted to announce that the tattoo mentioned here is now live in the accessories gazebo. Priced at a lousy $L25, it's sold as a threeway bundle of undershirt, shirt and Jacket layers. While the work itself is black, it can be tinted around the edges to create a smoother blend with your underlying skin.

On a hair front, I'm finalising textures and positioning of Tori, and looking to clone and tint as and when I'm happy. I initially meant it to be a flexi, but it's looking much more likely to hit the shelves as a $L75 static... which is in no way a bad thing... Personally I feel this insistence on Flexi hair is a bit of a fallacy when short styles are involved... and Tori is rather short in places. More details to follow.

Until next time,

Kalli

Wednesday 18 July 2007

Furthermore...

Worth mentioning there's a new Joss ad... so here it is... and I really do look odd as a blonde! ;)

Tuesday 17 July 2007

Joss live...

Just so you know Joss is now live, and available at the reduced rate of $L99 per color, or $L550 for all 32... I made this decision to keep all styles under the magic three figures... Yes I admit, there was a LOT more work in Joss than any opf the others so far in terms of retexturing, but in theory, those textures are there to use again should I need them... and what do I charge the second time I do?

I've opted to retexture it again, so that any and all traces of "odd white edges" (Symptomatic of file conversion at upload) have been removed... as such, it looks SO much better... but I'll let you be the judges... pick up a demo (for free of course) and see for yourself.

What this means is that all 14 original styles and the multipack for the ponies are now live. Three vendors remain, and these will be populated with fresh styles over the next fortnight. What's to come? Tori, a short-backed feminine style with long bangs... Guru, a short tied back braid with masculine overtones... and Dexter - the first "male pattern baldness" prim hair in SL... Guru and Dexter are also both likely to be scripted.

Alice, bless her, has been doing some analysis of my early sales figures and we're coming up with a plan of attack for mods and maintenance... and, more importatly, new styles based on purchasing choices made so far...

What this means is relatively straightforward - basicallt styles will be reworked and retextuyred, or bagged up and replaced... but only when something new and improved exists to swap it out...

Over the next month or so, for example, Zoe will be reworked into a more professional style - maybe even made available as a threepack of simple bob styles... clips at the back, grips in the front and maybe with an Alice band (all Accessories will be colorchange scripted, of course!) After that, there's likely to be a push for new vendors on the other plates... adding one at a time, but bringing in more mens styles... as they're sorely needed.

Well work to do... wish me luck!

Until next time,

Kalli

Saturday 14 July 2007

A little bavarian something or other...

And believe it or not, within eight hours of the release of the remaining Ponies, Heidi hits the shelves in all its glory. Of the original lineup, this leaves only Joss to go... and seriously... I WILL make those textures some time soon...

Sorry to keep you waiting...

Well... The thing I'm asking myself now is what next...? I have three unused vendors left; and plans are afoot for more styles... a shorter female one, because I kinda sorta have to as everyone else is doing it... and two male styles, as to be honest, three mens hairs doesn't really cut it... As such, I'm going with another short one, that I've entitled Dexter (more details as and when - suffice to say you won't have sen anything like it before)... and maybe a long-ish tied back one... making 5 in total... Not huge, but better than a kick in the head.

Well.. with that, I have eight-year-old graphics software to abuse... wish me luck!

Until next time,

Kalli

Ponies invade Synchronicity!

OK, it's late.. very late... so I'll be brief and say this only once...

The 2XL Pony, 3XL pony and threeway Pony Pack (XL through 3XL) are go!

That is all...

Until next time, when I'm actually awake,

Kalli

Friday 13 July 2007

A change of pace... New tattoo preview

OK... so it's not new... in fact I made it in December of last year, but it has so far been unique to me. A two kanji blackwork piece that nestles between the shoulderblades and reads (or at least I'm told it reads) "Conformity":



Set to go live for a nominal fee as and when I can draw up the vendor ad. Hope you like it!

Hair in the above shot is Kitsune in Ash Blonde, for reference...

Until next time,

Kalli

Thursday 12 July 2007

First glimpse of Heidi... and word of a release...

Hey all... a busy evening results in a little more movement!

I'm glad to announce that I'm finally happy with Heidi, so I've cloned a few and taken some photos for you all to see... Hope you like it as much as I do!

In further news, Samurai is set to go live in a little under 20 minutes... so if you've been waiting for it, get over to the store in around an hour's time!

Here's the pic!



Until next time,

Kalli

Wednesday 11 July 2007

Two weeks in...

So the vendors have now been live in one form or another for 2 weeks... and things are slowly ticking over... Business is not booming, but that can be, in part, put down to heavy competition, limited range of products, low advertising budget and the stuff I'm selling, or trying to, being things I put together while learning... so it's not as good as most of the other, established hair sellers...

But sales have been pretty reassuring on a couple of days... primarily Ryoko, which has blasted all others out the water, accounting for 47% of all turnover from hair sales on its own in the last fortnight... not bad for a product launched just 7 days ago... Next highest individual seller was Criss, accounting for 18%...

Two styles have only sold in demo, which is a little sad... but such is the way of things... which puts them first in line to be pulled once I hit 18 styles... I'll keep the crates available, and drop the price dramatically... see if that makes a difference...

All a learning experience... but I'll keep on going!

on a new products front, I'm halfway through tinting the remaining Ponies, and Samurai is set to load up... so with any luck, that may be done this evening... but what with the scheduled downtime, it might not make it today... Alos finished the mods on Heidi and am set to script clone and tint it... New photo coming shortly once I've got it set in its launch colors...

Until next time,

Kalli

Tuesday 10 July 2007

A brief hiatus...

Last couple of days have been a little on the quiet side on the hair front, due to an RL emergency... but that's all more or less in hand now, and I should get back to tinting and cloning soon... and it's going to be the ponies...

Just throwing up an announcement to say that I've been in the hair bizz officially for 2 weeks now... and initial sales figures are particularly interesting (if you're me)

As you may have noticed, the styles are pretty ecclectic to date... no difinitive theme or direction; as I really didn't know what would be popular... the answer can be summed up in one word... RYOKO.

May have to steer the collection that way, but we'll see! ;)

Until next time, when hopefully there'll be updates...

Kalli

Sunday 8 July 2007

In the immortal, if cheesy words of Bon Jovi...

Whooah... we're half way there...

Nine vendors out of the 18 hair ones are now live... George joined the party late last night, leaving just Joss, three ponies and Heidi to go of the original selection, with plans afoot for aditional styles, including more masculine ones.

More announcements in the near future as things start to gear up for the opening bash!

Until next time,

Kalli

Saturday 7 July 2007

Kitsune and XL Pony now live...

OK, I'll admit this may come as a surprise bearing in mind what I said earlier in the week... but I've gone and launched the pony, with the promise to all who buy it up front that a refund will be given if they come back and buy a pony pack in the same color when it goes live... there's a note with a password in the box with the full price hairs... so please, do read the notecard before chucking it!

Also I mentioned that George was on the retint bench - well... that still holds true... and yes, I know I'm being poor with the mens styles, but I do promise to do something about that in the near future. The reason development work was held up on George was due to a slight texturing issue, and the fact that Kitsune was finally given the goahead to clone and retint thanks to the hard work, once again, of Alice Hoyer.

Kitsune is a style that I have had floating for months - since before I even figured I'd get into the hair business in fact... but that's by the by. The desire to get it "out there" trumped all other things, and lo, it's been launched in all it's spikey glory. Furthermore, I've also retextured it so it looks a hell of a lot better than it ever did before (and that's an old photo, it has to be said...) so please check out the demo, and don't let the fact that it's non-flexi put you off. It's a fabulous style that looks good on both men and women... and lizards, apparently...

Next up will most likely be George, but I may move Pony development forward... whatever happens, I'll keep you posted. One thing I can guarantee is that the next style up will NOT be Joss... as I syill have to create the textures for all but the prototype style. This will come soon enough, though.

Until next time,

Kalli

Wednesday 4 July 2007

Ryoko now live...

Well strictly, it's been available now for 24 hours... but last night, by the time I finished I was so tired I couldn't bring myself to post. This evening has seen some work towards getting the ponytails up and running with the XL variant now retinted and cloned and set for launch... Just a matter of filling the vendor, but in the grand scheme, I'd like to launch all Ponys at once, so the pack is available from the word go, so people don't miss out.

As such I've been looking for another style to get out ASAP, so I don't keep you folks waiting. As such, I've had a GREAT deal of help from the irrepressible Alice Hoyer, who in a moment of utter and unfettered madness, agreed to dropping the scripts in each individual prim of both George and Kitsune... well... I always knew she was a little nuts, but this takes the cake...

Well... Thanks to her (and that Ryoko in Raven is just the first gift, I assure you!) George has hit the retinting bench first, and as such should be live very soon...

Keep 'em peeled folks... not long now!

Until next time,

Kalli

Monday 2 July 2007

For the sake of completeness...

Joss and Kitsune... Heidi's still outstanding, but I have plans for a serious reworking of the bangs on her before she gets launched...

Hope you like them...

Thanks to Slithering Boa for modelling Kitsune!




Until Next time,

Kalli

Forthcoming attractions... those other hairstyles!

Righty... these are a collection of the other styles that are cued up for short-term release. A bit of a mishmash these ones, but as you can see, Ryoko's now included... I have to confess I'm rather self-critical about it, but the pilot versions have gotten some praise... as such, it's release is brought forward. In fact, I've reworked the base a little to tighten up the intersection and distribution of the flexis at the back to neaten it up a tad; have resized it to the three -dD- release sizes, and am in the process of cloning and retinting...

Thanks to the help of the ever-wonderful Iskar Ariantho, I've got the tools I need to crank out a rapid deployment... so it could be up within the next 24-48 hours. As such, when it is, I'll fling out another blog post! The ponytails are shown here en-masse, as they shouldn't take too long to collate and release (Thanks again Iskar!) Samurai has also been started... George? We'll see... there's a lot of work to do with respect to scripting it to clone (only means dropping 160-odd copies of the same script - one into each hair prim)... but it'll happen...

Ah yes... Thanks also to Alice Hoyer, who I should have mentioned in the last post for her modelling work on Eowyn... the grey really suits you, girl; and sorry I forgot... All the others? Well... they're me... :D

Anyway... enough waffling on from me... photos... enjoy!









Well... until next time, when I promise to bring you Joss and Kitsune,

Kalli

Sunday 1 July 2007

Those photos of the live hairstyles #1

Well... finally, I present the first photos of our work... the five live hairstyles at this point... Zoe, Band, Marion, Criss and Eowyn... Enjoy!







Further photos will become available as new styles come online... honest! Oh... and just for the record, it does look quite likely that Ryoko will be live very soon, as I finished it yesterday, and the reception I'm getting for it is all pretty positive... sooo... ;)

Until Next time,

Kalli