I'm just a little behind the game in this blog thing so bare with me while I try to catch you up to speed. My name is Aries Bricklin (in secondlife at any rate, I just don't think we're close enough to start exchanging real life info as of yet dear reader) and I am the owner and designer behind ~Aries Celestial Designs~.
I stumbled upon Sl one late night in August of 2006. Bored to death of my usual online adventures, I'd actually got it in mind to find a free trial of the Sims online... suffice it to say, I never did end up finding it, but instead I found myself submerged into the most awe inspiring 3-d world I had never thought to even imagine.
My introduction to the wonderful world of Sl designing came a short time after and was entirely self serving; in Rl I am a huge fan of chokers and was searching to find something just right in game, but after 2 days of scouring the grid, I didn't come even remotely close to finding what it was I was after. After returning to my home in Sl (Bedrock) frustrated, my partner pointed out the obvious; if I couldn't find what I wanted, I'd just have to learn to make it myself. Hmm... interesting idea, but I had no clue how to build really. At that point I was still wearing the occasional box on my head, so I almost dismissed the idea out of hand. However, with his patient tutelage, I began the first of my 'experiments' and soon found myself smack dab in the middle of a new obsession.
My first collection ~The Birthstone Collection~ (yes, ever so original) got very carried away. It began that day with my partner's kind urging, just a simple necklace with a nice lock pendant reminiscent of an angel picture that was given to me my first month online (and later became my store logo), but as per usual with me, simple got out of hand before long. Couldn't very well have JUST a lock right? No no, far too boring... it needed a little something. Hmm... ah, what about my birthstone? That's when the garnets were added in, and at some point (not even entirely sure I arrived at the idea myself, or if it was in fact my partners suggestion) the idea to do a necklace in each of the 12 birthstones arose. As the work on the chokers came to a close, it occurred to me that not everyone would like the lock pendants, after all, in a world like Sl, suffused in BDSM role play and stuff, it may be considered by some as a symbol of submission (I definitely did not arrive at that thought myself) and so I created the eternity ball pendants as an alternative to the locks. Just as I was coming to a close on that set of chokers, it occurred to me that JUST a choker couldn’t be acceptable. I mean, after all, I had no other jewellery that came even close to matching my pretty new lock and garnet choker. The simple choker soon became a simple set including the necklace, bracelets, anklets and earrings. Simple… HA! The final brainwave in this collection came when I realized that some people prefer gold to silver, and oh look at that other pretty silver!!! Oh boy. What ended up coming out of that simple little ‘me’ project was actually a bit mind numbing. 3 metals (2 silvers and an amazingly gorgeous gold) in 2 separate styles (one with the locks, one without) and 12 gems. 72 full sets in total, each with seven pieces (choker, 2 bracelets, 2 anklets and 2 earrings)!
Now when I started the whole thing, I never intended for a second to sell them. Even when I got carried away with it, I don’t think I really considered selling them, however I do recall an internal voice taking stock of friends in game and their birthstones so that I could send them each a set when I was done (which I did). How things metamorphosed into me opening a store of my own, I don’t clearly remember at all. I do know that my partner bought a piece of land and decided would be a great place for a store, giving me a bit of a push to do it.
That little 768 sq m plot in Crumbi opened as ~Aries Celestial Designs~ sometime in mid November. It had a cute open design to the store, in a rather Egyptian style, and was ruined only by the fact that it was fully of ugly clunky vendors. Suddenly eager to make a buck and put that land to good use, I loaded the goods into vendors. Not just the 72 sets, but individual pieces were also available. I don’t even remember how many vendors it took to do that. I do know that it took me days of fighting with the vendors to load them properly, (oh how I have grown to loathe vendors over time) and I do recall feeling pretty proud when the time to stand back and stare at my work in awe came to pass.
Over time, that 768 plot grew (GIVE ME MORE PRIMS!! I MUST HAVE MORE PRIMS!!!) And ~The Birthstone Collection~ selection shrunk drastically. I still feel I sell too many options of them, lol, but at least it’s down to 3 full sets, and in all fairness they are still a pretty popular seller. In time, at that location at least, the vendors were phased out and the entire store went through a face lift or two. I experimented with renting vendor stalls and mall space across the grid and am currently in the process of fazing them out as I type this. Henceforth it will only be my main stores (yes, 2 main stores) in Crumbi and below Bedrock in Drymonia. Those of you that read these blogs will soon learn one thing about me if you’ve not figured it out already; I am VERY wordy. I apologize for that. Can’t stop it, won’t try because I already know I can’t stop it, but I do apologize. Now as they say, on with the show.
I stumbled upon Sl one late night in August of 2006. Bored to death of my usual online adventures, I'd actually got it in mind to find a free trial of the Sims online... suffice it to say, I never did end up finding it, but instead I found myself submerged into the most awe inspiring 3-d world I had never thought to even imagine.
My introduction to the wonderful world of Sl designing came a short time after and was entirely self serving; in Rl I am a huge fan of chokers and was searching to find something just right in game, but after 2 days of scouring the grid, I didn't come even remotely close to finding what it was I was after. After returning to my home in Sl (Bedrock) frustrated, my partner pointed out the obvious; if I couldn't find what I wanted, I'd just have to learn to make it myself. Hmm... interesting idea, but I had no clue how to build really. At that point I was still wearing the occasional box on my head, so I almost dismissed the idea out of hand. However, with his patient tutelage, I began the first of my 'experiments' and soon found myself smack dab in the middle of a new obsession.
My first collection ~The Birthstone Collection~ (yes, ever so original) got very carried away. It began that day with my partner's kind urging, just a simple necklace with a nice lock pendant reminiscent of an angel picture that was given to me my first month online (and later became my store logo), but as per usual with me, simple got out of hand before long. Couldn't very well have JUST a lock right? No no, far too boring... it needed a little something. Hmm... ah, what about my birthstone? That's when the garnets were added in, and at some point (not even entirely sure I arrived at the idea myself, or if it was in fact my partners suggestion) the idea to do a necklace in each of the 12 birthstones arose. As the work on the chokers came to a close, it occurred to me that not everyone would like the lock pendants, after all, in a world like Sl, suffused in BDSM role play and stuff, it may be considered by some as a symbol of submission (I definitely did not arrive at that thought myself) and so I created the eternity ball pendants as an alternative to the locks. Just as I was coming to a close on that set of chokers, it occurred to me that JUST a choker couldn’t be acceptable. I mean, after all, I had no other jewellery that came even close to matching my pretty new lock and garnet choker. The simple choker soon became a simple set including the necklace, bracelets, anklets and earrings. Simple… HA! The final brainwave in this collection came when I realized that some people prefer gold to silver, and oh look at that other pretty silver!!! Oh boy. What ended up coming out of that simple little ‘me’ project was actually a bit mind numbing. 3 metals (2 silvers and an amazingly gorgeous gold) in 2 separate styles (one with the locks, one without) and 12 gems. 72 full sets in total, each with seven pieces (choker, 2 bracelets, 2 anklets and 2 earrings)!
Now when I started the whole thing, I never intended for a second to sell them. Even when I got carried away with it, I don’t think I really considered selling them, however I do recall an internal voice taking stock of friends in game and their birthstones so that I could send them each a set when I was done (which I did). How things metamorphosed into me opening a store of my own, I don’t clearly remember at all. I do know that my partner bought a piece of land and decided would be a great place for a store, giving me a bit of a push to do it.
That little 768 sq m plot in Crumbi opened as ~Aries Celestial Designs~ sometime in mid November. It had a cute open design to the store, in a rather Egyptian style, and was ruined only by the fact that it was fully of ugly clunky vendors. Suddenly eager to make a buck and put that land to good use, I loaded the goods into vendors. Not just the 72 sets, but individual pieces were also available. I don’t even remember how many vendors it took to do that. I do know that it took me days of fighting with the vendors to load them properly, (oh how I have grown to loathe vendors over time) and I do recall feeling pretty proud when the time to stand back and stare at my work in awe came to pass.
Over time, that 768 plot grew (GIVE ME MORE PRIMS!! I MUST HAVE MORE PRIMS!!!) And ~The Birthstone Collection~ selection shrunk drastically. I still feel I sell too many options of them, lol, but at least it’s down to 3 full sets, and in all fairness they are still a pretty popular seller. In time, at that location at least, the vendors were phased out and the entire store went through a face lift or two. I experimented with renting vendor stalls and mall space across the grid and am currently in the process of fazing them out as I type this. Henceforth it will only be my main stores (yes, 2 main stores) in Crumbi and below Bedrock in Drymonia. Those of you that read these blogs will soon learn one thing about me if you’ve not figured it out already; I am VERY wordy. I apologize for that. Can’t stop it, won’t try because I already know I can’t stop it, but I do apologize. Now as they say, on with the show.
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