30K Linden Contest at Bosphrous

Virtual Bosphorus announces a new contest to win 30K Lindens just by shopping at our mall!

Bosphorus/203/127/22, May 15, 2010 - Virtual Bosphorus & FC Inter is offering all those who shop at our mall a chance to win 30K Lindens. It’s easy, just shop and get a chance to win! Send your purchase receipt from your transaction history showing your purchase was from Bosphorus in a notecard with your full name to John Zelnik, and you will be placed in the drawing!

EXAMPLE: 05/13/2010 15:04:52 c394eae4 Source: Eve1209 Quintessa Region: Bosphorus

The more you purchase, the more times your name will be entered into the drawing, so make sure to send each receipt in a separate notecard.

The winner will be announced on June 28, 2010, with plenty of supplementary prizes and gifts if you don’t win the 30K. So start shopping today!

The Virtual Bosphorus Sim offers virtual soccer to SL residents, boasting a state of the art soccer arena. Partnering with F.C. Inter SL, Bosphorus offers residents a soccer academy to teach virtual soccer, as well as soccer leagues and championship matches that are sanctioned by real life clubs. Additionally, the Bosphorus sim offers world class shopping, with over 50 stores, including such well known designers as UK Couture, Myth and Bliss just to name a few.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bosphorus/203/127/22

Contact:
Eve1209 Quintessa
Marketing Manager
Virtual Bosphorus
email: evequintessa@yahoo.com

Tanglewood City Skymall’s Grand Reopening Celebration

Second Life has many malls, but how many can boast having their own sky-high waterslide?

On Thursday June the 11th, the Tanglewood City Skymall will have it’s Grand Reopening Ceremony. The event will last from one minute in the morning after Midnight to 2 AM Friday the next day. The mall will have numerous attractions. “It’s a mall with hand picked designers,” Skymall manager Kaii Kiranov explained, “We will be having 26 hours of DJ or live music. And the main event will be the Cher and Carm Show, broadcasting live from the skymall from 2pm to 4pm SL time. Lots of other stuff too, like a treasure hunt, prize giveaways, and more.”

“Oh and there is the 250 foot high waterslide in the mall. Hee-hee.”

Kaii explained the owner of the mall, Defbiggiec Gagliano, had owned another previously, and built the place to correct what he saw as shortcomings in the old mall. Here, “he made the stores much bigger for lots of shopping room, and he created his plans around catering to designers. That is number one here. We hand-picked and invited everyone here. First, they had to be way above average in their work. Second, they had to be really nice people. So, it took a long time to find these designers. ... For example, Gaia Phoenix and Rita Groshomme from Curio ... this is a really big deal that Gaia put her whole line of skins in our mall.” They also sell the Twisted Titlers seen at parties, “The picture of me and my twin sis was taken by Phia from Twisted and Spoiled for a poster she did for the fur coat in the picture. She told us we could use it for our shop.”

The Skymall is appropriately named, 300 feet in the air. It has three floors, curved rampways allow access to one another. Much of the upper two floors are see-through grillwork, while the bottom floor has a transparent center to allow a view below. There are a few Relay for Life posts, and XstreetSL exchange terminals, as well as Metaverse Exchange their newest competitor, “going through beta testing right now.”

Kaii explained that the designers even have a say in what rent levels were, “Defbiggiec Gagliano tried to think of everything he could to make this mall cater to the designers here. ... Every shop has a Landmark lot that they can use to TP customers directly to the front of their shops. ... very few malls, let alone skymalls make arrangements for direct TPs to each store.”

“On the shoppers side, they can rez what they buy anywhere in the mall. There is a huge shopping area in each store to make camera use easy. We advertise the first and third levels separately, and they each have their own Landing Zone. We also do what we call Dance Shopping Rave Parties in the stores themselves to get customers in front of the merchandise. ... We do ask designers to support our efforts in anyway they feel motivated to do. We want to draw them to participate, not require it. They only have to do one thing, that is list their (store) in SL Search.”

Regan Becloud, the owner of the Artists’ Lounge Cafe, explained that Defbiggiec had started small, buying just, “a little bit of the land on the sim. Then more, and more, and more. And soon, we owned 2/3 of it.” Defbiggiec eventually bought the rest. ”He had this fabulous idea to make the skymall, became his pet project. Originally, there was not going to be a waterslide. He was making a track up there for bikers. And I had been hoping to get bike shops in the mall, maybe with demo bikes people could ride on the track. However, while it sounded awesome, it didn’t work so well. You’d go shooting in the air, and crash into the ground below. Def got POed, and we got a waterslide instead.”

The beginning of the waterslide ride is way up over the mall, 550 feet in the air. The easiest way to get there is a teleport on the mall’s first floor. To go down the slide, one clicks on the small red ball at the entry, and when an inner tube appears sit on it and go down. Gravity then takes care of the rest as you sloosh downwards. One may get stuck while going down, but all one has to do is nudge the tube left or right. The trip ends at the mall’s first floor, where one can TP back up to start all over again, or “stay in the tube for a spirited game of bumper tubes with your friends.”

Regan then explained how her cafe came to be, “I was telling Def ... about how I had gone to a cafe and how in real life I want to open a cafe for the arts. *Not a club,* a cafe, to hold poetry readings, have live music, comedians, filled with books people can read, good coffee, and some interesting snacks, filled with artistic, open-minded individuals. And how that would be cool to have in Second Life. So he said, ‘Go for it Regan,’ and I made the Cafe. That is my baby, and everything there goes through me, just so ya know. Hee-hee.”

The Skymall will also have a movie showing at a temporary theater. And not just any movie. The Tanglewood City Movie Theater, sponsored by Dream Garden, will be showing the Rocky Horror Picture Show from 7 to 9 PM SL time, hosted by Roguewolf Vollmar. “The movie will have a synchro-start at 7:15 sharp,” Roguewolf explained in a notecard, “so don't come late and miss the Time Warp! We encourage audience participation from all so break out those rice emitters and noisemakers and all things associated with this cult classic.” In avatar, Rougewolf had this to say, “Well, when we have hosted the movie before in a club, it was well received as many had not seen it, and many (who) have, we could emote for those and give a very real ... experience in Second Life. And many bring props they have themselves to the show.” Several prizes will be given out to some random viewers.

The music and dance schedule is as follows:

Thursday, June 11 SLT/PDT

00:00 - 01:00 - DJ Kaii - Dance Shopping Rave Party at Shabby Cat

01:00 - 02:00 - DJ Kaii - Dance Shopping Rave Party at The Tenk Tank

02:00 - 03:00 - DJ Kaii - Dance Shopping Rave Party at Rathwynn’s

03:00 - 04:00 - DJ Kaii - Dance Shopping Rave Party at F.A.B.

04:00 - 06:00 - DJ Eifa - at The Artists Lounge Cafe

06:00 - 08:00 - DJ Kaii - Dance Shopping Rave Party at Curio

08:00 - 09:00 - DJ Kaii - Dance Shopping Rave Party at Boom

09:00 - 12:00 - DJ Mina at The Artists Lounge Cafe

12:00 - 14:00 - DJ Mshenny - Dance Shopping Rave Party at Aqua

14:00 - 16:00 - The Cher and Carm Show at The Artists Lounge Cafe

16:00 - 18:00 - DJ Kizza at The Artists Lounge Cafe

18:00 - 19:00 - Onehempcat

19:00 - 20:00 - FacelessApe *LIVE* at The Artists Lounge Cafe

20:00 - 22:00 - DJ or Live Act

22:00 - 23:00 - Grif Bamaisin LIVE at The Artists Lounge Cafe

23:00 - 24:00 - DJ Ricky at The Artists Lounge Cafe

Friday, June 12 SLT

00:00 - 02:00 - DJ Poise at The Artists Lounge Cafe

Prizes will be given out at the events, as follows:

Rathwynn's Arms & Armor - Two Boxed Sets of Medievil Weapons valued at $L1400 each. To be given away between 12:00am and 1:00am SLT.

Strapped - 3 great gifts to be given away between 1:00am and 2:00am SLT.

Shabby Cat - Gifts to be given away between 2:00am and 3:00am SLT.

F.A.B. - 10 prizes to be given away between 3:00am and 4:00am SLT.

Curio - Hair and Fashion - 5 Fat Pack Gift Certificates Valued between $L800 and $L1600 To be given away between 6:00am and 8:00am.

BOOM - 6 prizes to be given away between 8:00am and 9:00am SLT.

AQUA - Up to 40 prizes to be awarded between 12:00pm and 2:00pm SLT.

Gala Skins - Gift Certificate for a Fat Pack of the newest line of Gala Skins valued at $L3000. Will be given away between 2:00pm and 4:00pm SLT during the Cher and Carm Show, which will have prizes given out every 15 minutes.

Prizes to be awarded at various times in the Artists’ Lounge Cafe.

100+ Prizes from stores including:

AQUA
Poised
Curio
F.A.B.
Shabby Cat
AbbeyDawn
Twisted Sisters
Tenk Tank
JJs Designs
Tesoro Jewelers
Neko Gear
Princess Gear

There will also be freebie vendors in various stores in the skymall.

The Tanglewood City Skymall is at the Tanglewood City sim, the entry area at (88, 110, 302).

"Be sure not to miss this!!! Come to the celebration, tell your friends, tell the world!!!"

Bixyl Shuftan

SL malls - DC District Style

With the launch of my new wedding line and the *DANA* brand I have been looking for mall spaces all over SL, BUT I do not accept invitations I always go by reputation and recommendations from other designers (before i get flooded with invites), I have store at Narkissos shopping village and Skybeam plus a small outlet at Dutch Delights as well as my main store now I was looking for visibility and somewhere that cared about your business not just filling the spaces.
After speaking to friends I went to look at DC District Mall and found a thriving shopping sim with many designers i recognized like, My Precious, AZUL, Nardcotix, Zhao, Allure, Vanity hair, Pheonix rising and many many more.

D.C.District Fashion District Package

Rent 2 weeks and get 2 weeks free only on first sign up .
Participate in events by sponsoring one ,and the dj keeps repeating your store name over and over during the event .
We own a Second Life Gateway -400 new residents born there daily - have a freebie box placed there with a item from your creations and include a landmark to all your stores ( Free only to DC District merchants)
Give us a full perm logo texture and have a direct tp from our landing spots to your store
Provide us with a banner and we will host it on our website for 1 month free
1 month free advertising on Dc District Radio station
Free use of our modeling agency to do fashion shows for you provideing you use our models .

This place is a breathe of fresh air in a world that seems to think that if you have a plot of land you can stick a mall on there rent out spaces and forget it exists except as a way to bring an income.
Click the logo above to visit.

Dana Vanmoer

Tiny Outpost

I heard about a place that had quite a big variety in tiny wares, the “Tiny Outpost.” So I went over to take a look at the place for myself. And the Outpost indeed has quite a variety for sale. Not just avatars, but clothes, animations, and other accessories as well.

When I first arrived at the Outpost, I was greeted by a tiny bunny named Qyhat Harbour, and welcomed me there, saying she was the assistant to Enktan Gully, the owner there, “We did our best to bring as many of the Tiny merchants together,” she told me, “Many in Second Life are not aware of tinies or tiny avatars, but they make up a good number in the Second Life population mass.” She told me the Tiny Outpost was to introduce tinies to new and old players in Second Life, and to “provide an international venue for all the different Tiny creators to showcase their wares in one location. ... we have the largest grouping, from Japan, Germany, Italy, USA, and Canada, to name a few. It’s a dream come true.” Enktan Gully himself was from Belgium, and as it was past his hours he was not available that day.

The place had stores of the main two tiny avatar makers, “Wynx Whiplash who has been around for some time, and newcomer, Damien Fate, who is making waves with his innovative style and new designs. We have them both at the Tiny Outpost, along with some of the most haute couture designers of the Tiny world.” Besides the big two, the place had other Tiny avatar makers, such as some Japanese ones. And most of the buildings were the same style, giving the place the feel of a fantasy village.

While looking around, a friend wanted to shop around where I was after she IMed me and I told her. After I ported her over, Qyhat came over, and answered all the questions she had about tinies. Looking around, there were more than just avatars, but an impressive variety of clothes, including some miniature versions of high fashion, animations for both Whiplash and Loco avies, furniture, homes, and other accessories. The place greatly exceeded all other tiny shopping areas I had seen in both size and variety.

I made an appointment with Qyhat to see Enktan Gully, and met up with him the next day, appearing as busy as ever with hammer in hand. He agreed to sit down for an interview.

Bixyl Shuftan: So how did you get your start in Second Life?

Enktan Gully: During my first months in SL, I was mostly exploring the world, learning how things worked, what the possibilities were ... I didn't have much experience with computers or the Internet, I had never chatted with someone online before, so it was quiet a learning progress for me. After some time, I got interested in creating things, went to the Ivory Tower to learn about building and started out making some simple furniture. I bought my first land and made a little shop to sell this furniture.

Bixyl Shuftan: When did you first get the idea of making items for Tiny avatars?

Enktan Gully: Well, I don't make items for tinies in fact, I've been making some fantasy items like mushrooms and wishing wells but not specific for tinies. But I liked to be a tiny, although I wasn't part of the community, I was kind of a lonely tiny. About 6 months ago, I was looking for a manager for my shoe business. That's how I met Qyhat, she became my manager and found out she was a tiny too.

And I had land here, wanted to do something with it, but something special. I wanted some kind of mall, but a themed one. Qyhat suggested why not rent it out to tiny creators. That was a great idea, however it was not easy to get done as it's more difficult to sell tiny stuff than regular clothing and such. I spoke with Wynx Whiplash, I adore her avatars and asked her if she was interested in the idea. She was very enthusiastic, and came immediately aboard. As she is one of the major tiny avatar creators, I got confidence the idea might actually work. So I started contacting all the others, and to my big surprise many of them wanted to come here. In fact, the Outpost got completely filled even before we opened.

Bixyl Shuftan: That does sound like a very enthusiastic reaction. How did opening day go?

Enktan Gully: That was a lot of fun, we had an official opening, I made a speech, and then we had a DJ and we danced for a couple hours. It was a very nice experience for me as I've never been together with that many tinies. It was like a homecoming (laughter). I found the tinies are really nice people and they have something special going on, hard to describe, but they have a strong community.

Bixyl Shuftan: So how have things gone since opening day?

Enktan Gully: Well of course I realized that if the merchants had no sales the Outpost would never survive. So we started a few projects to help them with this. We made a group where all the merchants could announce their new releases. I also made a section for tinies in the Dollar Store. Soon we will release the first issue of the 'Outpost Herald,' a newspaper with issues about the tiny world, and of course free ads for our merchants. And we keep on working at the outpost itself, making it really looking nice and cosy.

Bixyl Shuftan: Yes, I thought it looked quite creative.

Enktan Gully: I tried to have something different yes. There was all kinds of trash floating around on my neighbors land, so I decided to build walls around the Outpost. I made a nice background picture to put on them, depicting a forest/mountain landscape. And even with any building in it, the feel was right from the start.

As I didn't want to interfere with Raglan and the existing tiny community, the name “Outpost” was very suitable. And so I started to create buildings that could be in such an Outpost, I tried to be original in this, that it would be somehow outstanding as a place. Tenants could rent one of the buildings I made or place their own building. It still needs work though, but all this takes time, as many things in Second Life do. And I have my shoe business to take care off too. The shoes are the major part of what I do in Second Life.

Then there's also the magical garden, right next to the Outpost. In the garden, I have my mushrooms and a few other items. I want to expand this garden in the future, but again time is needed for this (chuckles).

Bixyl Shuftan: Sounds like you have some plans for the future.

Enktan Gully: Always many plans, yes. Too many I suppose (laughs).

Bixyl Shuftan: Anything else that you'd like to say to the readers?

Enktan Gully: Special thanks to all the tinies that have been supporting the Outpost, their enthusiastic joining and positive input have been an overwhelming experience.

And of course many thanks to Qyhat, without her there wouldn't be an Outpost.



And so, the interview ended, and the owner of this unique shopping area went back to business.

“One thing that I think is important here, Second Life is not a game, but it's very healthy to consider it a game when you are in business here. It's not always easy to sell goods, or have your project work. Taking it too seriously might take the fun out of it. And after all, one should feel good with what one does in life, Second Life or real life, no big difference.”

Bixyl Shuftan