Interview: Dead Dollz @ Enchantment

A few days ago, I met Kiddo Oh from Dead Dollz. She has an amazing talent for Mesh gown creations. I am following each of her blog posts to find out what newness she has to offer. Then I saw that she is in the current Enchantment event which made me looking forward to her next release already. But when I also read that she has moved her store to a new sim and saw the pictures of the stunning new location, I had to beg her for an interview! Lucky me, she agreed.

Kiddo Oh wearing her newest release O-Ren which is available at the upcoming round of
We <3 RP! (opens tomorrow on Sep 4), and Rubilyn wearing Dead Dollz' Ursula dress

I was not even really installed on the comfortable seat yet when she already shouted: „What a beautiful headpiece!“ I was wearing the Ursula headdress from The Plastik. Kiddo has been so busy within the last days and weeks with various event deadlines that she was not even able to sneak a peek on all the awesome releases of her fellow creators at Enchantment. Besides Enchantment, Dead Dollz is participating in various well-known and ambitious events, like The Epiphany, Shiny Shabby, Fantasy Gacha Carnival, Tres Chic, Vintage & Cool Fair, Festival Of Sin, The Fantasy Collective and others. It means a lot of work to meet the event requirements such as deadlines and themes. It’s even more work regarding the fact that all of her creations are original Mesh content.

Around April this year, Kiddo decided to take off all non-original Mesh products. These are gone forever. „It was necessarily evil“, she explains. „I said ‚evil‘ because most of those designs are part of myself; I loved creating them and I know people loved them. But I really wanted to get the SLOCCA certificate.“ SLOCCA stands for Original Content Creators Association. In order to apply for this certificate, all Mesh creations need to be 100% original. „So I had to let go the older creations. It was sad but in the end, I’m happy because people know me now for what I am truly capable of.“

For a short moment, we are distracted from our actual topic and discuss the use of templates. We both agree that templates are great, for various reasons, but also see the problem of the oversaturation of the market, and that the templates do put a certain limit to a vision. I go even further and say, that for me as a customer, it sometimes looks like pabulum of offers. Which is, in my opinion, a bummer. I would love to see designers to be more courageous and to create their own original content.

All clothes can now be found in these houses. It's like shopping in a huge walk-in-cupboard!

The store is up on a hill. It invites to shop but also to hang around. Visit the beach, too!

„You made a change regarding your content, and you also changed your store location. It looks totally different now. I know that you’re from Italy. The first thing I thought when I visited was: she brought her real life home to us.“ -- „Oh, yes. You know, I’m easily amused but I get easily bored, too. I do love sunken lands, and for a while it was the only environment I could see my store in. But recently I have felt the need to change. And since I love my country, I went for an italian style. The small town where I was born and raised, looks a lot like the little village on the hills here on the sim.“ She smirks and adds: „Minus the luxury pool. But all credits go to Ibi at 8f8; he’s extremly talented! I only wish it wasn’t from a gacha machine, though. It was tricky to get all the pieces.“

She laughs. Me too. We immediately know what we are talking about, and out of a sudden, we discuss enthusiastically, and with hands and feet one of our biggest weaknesses: the notorious gacha addiction! „One time, I spent way too much on a Zenith gacha machine“, I cry. „Do you know, how many copies of this Genesis Lab head I won prior to get the Emotions HUD?“, she tops it. „We obviously know both the evil side of playing gacha machines“, I whisper.

But Kiddo herself made it hard for me to resist a gacha machine: her current gacha offer is available at The Fantasy Gacha. „This is my first round at The Fantasy Gacha“, she tells me. „I was at the same time incredibly excited and truly terrified. I used to shop there and saw the level of quality of all the items. I was afraid, I could never reach that level!“ Another gacha machine was available at the recent Epiphany round. The Epiphany is a gacha event which uses a reward system where doubles can be turned into points. The points can then be redeemed for an exclusive offer. „I played often enough at The Epiphany to get your exclusive“, I admit. „I am glad to hear someone actually got it!“, Kiddo smiles. „I kept being asked: ‚How do I get the dress with the hanging-out-ass?‘“

The original inspiration for the Ursula dress at Enchantment

I wonder if this hanging-out-ass-exclusive was the pre-stage for the Ursula offer at Enchantment since I saw that hilarious inspiration picture for the dress (see picture above). „No! No!“, she laughs. „I had no idea what to do for Epiphany, so I ended up with a design I was considering for a while. The Ursula dress is actually Duchess‘ fault.“ Of course, I want to know why! „She was the one who told me: ‚Hey, what about Ursula? Everyone will be making mermaids.‘ I did want to add tentacles to the skirt, to be honest. But then I was afraid that you could not actually wear the dress. It would have been good for a picture. But not much more…“ I wonder what her face will look like when she sees what mix & match I have prepared for a picture with her dress.

Good news for those who are not so much into black is, that they will be able to purchase this simple, yet elegant classic tube dress in more colors soon. And also with more options for Mesh bodies. „I still use mostly standard sizes just because most can be combined easier for me so far“, I admit. „I am in an awkward situation“, Kiddo replies. „I know, not everyone has the Maitreya Lara body, for example. But mesh body lovers want mesh body compatible items while standard sizes lovers want me to keep doing sizes. So the process of making a mesh item became longer.“ I am not a builder myself but I heard very often about this struggle from various designers around the grid. Kiddo adds with a big grin: „It’s time consuming and we all want to offer the widest range of options. But I truly wish they will stop releasing new bodies. I guess, shoe creators think the same.“

Again, I want to come back to her various participations in events: „With your style, you are participating in casual and formal events as well as in fantasy events. Do you have any personal preference?“ -- „As already mentioned, I get easily bored. So I prefer fantasy and roleplay events, or events with a theme. Because it forces me out of my safe zone. With gowns, I have a certain expertise which can be not necessarily a good thing. You become too confident, and you tend to create less innovative items. But with a theme that is far from what I usually make I can challenge myself and see what i am truly capable of. This is a process that involves bumping the head against the wall a lot. But in the end is rewarding.“ I decide that this great explanation has to mark the end of my article.

And while I was preparing this article, I noticed what it means: we had a great and funny conversation. We were discussing more than her brand, and it was one very interesting talk. It was not easy for me to bring all that into a nice text. It was ‚a process that involves bumping the head against the wall a lot. But in the end is rewarding.‘ Very true. Thank you, Kiddo, for taking your time, and for letting us know more about you! Now let’s play some gacha… !

LINKS & SURLS
>> Official Homepage of Dead Dollz <<
>> Dead Dollz @ Second Life <<

>> Dead Dollz @ marketplace <<

>> Flickr Picture Stream of Dead Dollz <<

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HEAD: LeLutka Mesh Head Stella

BODY: Maitreya Lara body + SLink hands/feet
HEAD / BODY APPLIER: Lumae Adore - Eione // Anemone - free Enchantment Hunt gift
APPLIER EYE TATTOO: ARISE Mermaid Mask. purple @ Enchantment tyvm!
APPLIER LIPSTICK: SlackGirl Line-Up Lips tyvm!
HAIR: [DUE] Edita - Ombre 9 @ Fantasy Gacha - Gacha

EYES: Clemmm Unkin Mermaid. Unwanted Fog. Regular @ Enchantment tyvm!

EARS: [MANDALA] Steking Ears Season 5

HEADPIECE: aisling Calypso Crown @ Enchantment tyvm!
NECKLACE: The Annex Sea Net
MORAYS: aisling Caly's Babies @ Enchantment tyvm!
BRA: aisling Scales Bra @ Enchantment tyvm!
BANGLES: Dead Dollz Ursula @ Enchantment tyvm!
DAGGER: aisling Pacte - free Enchantment Hunt gift
DRESS: Dead Dollz Ursula @ Enchantment tyvm!
TENTACLES: Stelloane OctoQueen. Violet tyvm! - part of a full outfit

POSE: elephante poses Girl and The Sea @ Enchantment tyvm!

Last few days are running! 

Enchantment is still open until September 5th!

Interview: Mer-Chandise Cove @ Enchantment

The Little Mermaid theme was obviously a challenge for all designers who participate in Enchantment, and they came up with so many great ideas and approaches to the theme. I had the chance to have a little talk with Kol Tchailenov, owner and designer of Mer-chandise Cove who created a classic mermaid tail in various color options for this event.

- picture shown with kind permission by Kol Tchailenov -

"I absolutely love all things mermaid, both in real life and Second Life and have since I was a young girl. When I first came to Second Life years ago and saw a budding mermaid community, I was hooked! Some creator friends at the time helped to show me the ropes on how to create things in Second Life", she explains her beginnings as a designer as well as her specialisation on mertails and accessoires. I grin and bait her: "I have seen that first life tab picture in your profile! You snorkel!" She laughs: "Haha, yes! That was at a marine park in the Dominican Republic where I also got to have a dolphin encounter, and play with a dolphin for a whole half hour! It was pure magic." I am astonished and even a bit envious: who didn't love Flipper?! But I also have to admit that I probably wouldn't have the courage to swim with dolphins.

Of course, I did a bit of my homework for the interview and have had a look on her marketplace before. But I didn't find so many products yet. Did she just start, I wonder? "I actually used to have more things on my marketplace. But like many creators, I am trying to keep up with the times and have deleted almost all of my older non-mesh merchandise." She sounds like an organized and up to date person to me. And I have also a sneaking suspicion because we all know our beloved creators: they tend to be perfectionists! So I have to ask her: "Are you a perfectionist?" I am sure, I made her laugh with my guess. "I am also a perfectionist, haha!", she laughs indeed but continues to clarify: "I will not be someone who cranks out products that I know are below the quality my custo-mers expect. I have several things I’ve made in the last few weeks/months and some items at events like Enchantment and The Fantasy Collective that will be up on marketplace shortly. I am also getting more serious about releasing new products every couple of weeks now. I see so many areas in Second Life lacking for mer that I want to be able to branch out into new types of products for mer. I’m so excited about the direction I plan to go with the store."

I am excited to hear that, too. While I caress that awesome mertail creation of her which I am wearing during the interview, I nod enthusiastically and want to know more: "You offer mertails and accessoires so far. So what kind of new types of products for mer may we expect?" -- "One of the most exciting things I plan to start offering more of is seascaping. I’ve started here and there with some high quality, low prim rocks, like the Ariel rock at Enchantment. But I want to broaden to things like large underwater caverns of the same caliber, and low land impact. I absolute love creating whole underwater environments so I want to start releasing all the building tools one might need to create a breath-taking underwater area, from vegetation to caves and coral formations."

I turn my head around. We are underwater on a wonderful roleplay sim which just openend, and where mermaids (and mermen, too, of course!) could find a new home. I can absolutely imagine more great and colorful sea decor. You just can't have enough of that! "Seascaping is certainly something which many designers have not on their screen yet", I agree. And I am already looking forward to her upcoming mer products since she already made me curious when I have seen those great advert pictures for the Ariel rock. "It's not just advertising pictures. It's a story!", I say, and she smiles: "One of my favorite things are vignettes, little scenes/stories, and I hope to bring more of that to the mer community in Second Life." Talking about stories, I want to make sure what her favourite Little Mermaid is: the original, or an adaption? "My absolutely favorite Little Mermaid was actually the third Disney movie, Ariel’s Beginning. We got to see so much more of her life under the sea, her family, and how the stage came to be set for the beloved movie I grew up with."

The advert pictures are not just advert pictures...
- picture shown with kind permission by Kol Tchailenov -

... they tell a story!
- picture shown with kind permission by Kol Tchailenov -

"You have also your mainstore on the Nymphai sim. During my interview with the owners of Enchantment, Duchess Flux and Sorchiee, I got to know the Ippos Community a bit better. What is your relationship to this creative community?" -- "I love the Ippos Community! Sorcha Irelund and I go way back to the early roleplay days of Second Life, and Duchess Flux has been a long time custo-mer of mine. So I was elated when they asked me to consider moving my mainstore to their beautiful sim.  Being a part of Enchantment for the first time, especially this round with the Little Mermaid theme, has been truly delightful and I can’t wait to get more involved in the sim events."

On a sidenote for everyone who is not used to the Ippos Community yet: the sim events are not always about shopping only. Just before Enchantment openend, I was able to attend a great concert with Redhawk. A musician who knows to entertain not only with his great voice and his guitar skills but also with funny comments to introduce his next song. If you ever have a chance to listen to him, I highly recommend to not miss this opportunity!

Impressions from the live music event with Redhawk at Enchantment

Finally, my little smalltalk with Kol Tchailenov has to come to an end. We make ourselves comfortable on the Ariel rock for a picture of the two of us. I am not used to wear mertails yet and have to rearrange its fit. Wiggling my bum, I twitch at it and grin when I notice once more that I am currently looking like Ariel -- apart from the fact that I had to overdo it with my headdress(es) again! "Your offer is really quite close to the theme", I state the obvious laughingly. Kol laughs, too: "Oh, I was doing backflips when I heard the theme this round of Enchantment! At the time they asked me, I was the only designer they knew of who was going to be making an actual mermaid tail for the round. So I felt a sense of duty to bring the classic look to the table." I nod and push the camera button. The flashlights illuminate the underwater world. Kol disappears in a vortex, and I remain with a fun snapshot and a smile. Many thanks to Kol for taking her time, and for introducing us in her underwater world of mermaids!

Kol and Rubilyn during the interview, chitchatting on the Ariel rock. Kol wears the Rebel mertail she offers at The Fantasy Collective. Rubilyn wears the Princess mertail available at Enchantment.

LINKS & SURLS
>> Mer-chandise Cove Store @ Second Life <<

>> Mer-chandise Cove @ marketplace <<

>> Flickr Picture Stream of Mer-chandise Cove <<

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And now some additional information I also want to give you about the outfit I was wearing during the interview:

Lumae came up with her first skin that has scales. For the head / head appliers, you can choose between with and without facial scales. As usual - and I'm always so excited about that fact! -, one tone comes with so many appliers:
* Omega head and body (can also be used for LOGO Alex head)
* Omega Petite body for Yabusaka Petite V2 (use with Omega head appliers)
* SLink hand, feet, Physique and Visage
* The Mesh Project head and body
* Maitreya Body
* Belleza Body
* LeLutka Head
* Genesis Lab Head
* Eve'olution Head
* Loud Mouth, Nyam Nyam, Sweetlips and Kissers Mouth
* Soul Ears
And last but not least: with matching Leevi ears in three sizes. Each color - hold your breath! - is available at 100 L$ only! Because Lumae wanted to make sure that everyone is able to play a mermaid or sea fairy! How awesome is that?! Underwater Love! *lol*

The Plastik surprised me with a set of sea decor, including seashells and starfishes that comes with a HUD with no less than 40 color options/textures to choose from! They are low prim at 1-2 LI cost only, and since the original size is already quite huge it is guaranteed that resizing it won't blow up your available prim count.

Now go, go, go, visit! You have still time until Sept 5 to check out all the great offers at Enchantment!

HEAD: LeLutka Mesh Head Stella

BODY & NAIL APPLIER: Maitreya Lara body/hands
HEAD / BODY APPLIER & EARS: Lumae Adore - Ianthe // Abyss (appliers: see list above) @ Enchantment tyvm!

HAIR: Olive the Pearl. Streaks @ Enchantment tyvm!

EYES: Clemmm Unkin Mermaid. Unwanted Fog. Regular @ Enchantment tyvm!

EYELASHES: Mon Cheri Falsies
TATTOO CHEST: Things Ryllae (appliers: Omega, SLink, TMP) @ Enchantment tyvm!

HEADPIECE I: May's Soul Ariel headdress. silver @ Enchantment tyvm!
HEADPIECE II: LODE Blue Tail. Ocean @ Enchantment tyvm!
HEADPIECE III: AZOURY Eledone. Pink @ Enchantment tyvm!
NECKLACE & EARRING: Meva Mermaid @ Enchantment tyvm!
BRA & TAIL: Mer-chandise Cove Princess @ Enchantment tyvm!
TRIDENT: CerberusXing Tidal Trident. Silver @ Enchantment tyvm!

POSES: an lar The Naken Series @ Enchantment tyvm!


BUBBLES: Cole's Corner Celestial Bubbles Aura @ Enchantment tyvm!
SHELLS/STARFISHES: The Plastik The Ursula Sea Decor w/40 color HUD @ Enchantment tyvm!
KELP / KELP NEST: Love fox Dry Kelp Large / Kelp Nest Dry @ Enchantment tyvm!