Getting to know Charlene Trudeau

Its quite funny really the amount of people I meet who really do good things in Secondlife but except in their own community they are very little known, Charlene is, in my opinion, one of these people.
We met over advertising - quite normal - but I was really taken aback when I met her. For someone who must have a business brain to be able to run over 30 sims successfully she was so human and also nervous. Some people just don't know how to even start with advertising themselves but still do so well simply because they are real.
I know how trite that sounds here in SL where no-one is supposed to be what they seem, but there are 'real' people in this unreal world.
Trying to get Charlene to promote herself was not possible, she is who she is and people really need to meet her to know what I mean by that.
Charlene Trudeau is the owner and manager of Skybeam estates a huge undertaking and one she takes very seriously but she is so novel in her approach I find it hard to promote her in any way - its just not necessary.
Skybeam has residential land, commercial, mixed use and the sandbox is at the center of things as it should be for anyone with a passion for building, like Charlene, but it has so much more to offer too. Many, even those who use the sandbox, have no idea what the estate offers:
Charlene Trudeau: I did find out that I may have 'low-key'ed things just a bit too much, when a recent person buying in said 'you know I used to use skybeam sandbox a lot but never realized you had any estate land... how long have you been doing the estate thing?'
Charlene Trudeau: I figure at least a sign might be a good idea at this point :)

I asked Charlene about what she tells people who are looking for somewhere to live and have come to see Skybeam, her answer was very different:
Charlene Trudeau: That's funny because my first advice is to do one's homework and research absolutely everywhere they can (including skybeam) before making any decision :)
I suppose that I care about making their life in SL the best one I can... and that I am always an IM away, that I take their investment seriously and believe they should expect something back beyond just the plot of dirt they live on.
That they can expect answers to questions, response to concerns and a community around them (even if they choose not to participate in that community actively) anyone can set out a region and mark it for sale, we're trying to be something more than that.
I asked her about the community and activities:
Charlene Trudeau: right now the 'regularly scheduled' activities are: our friday night dance night, this is held at a different location throughout the estate each week this week, its technically being held off estate, but on a joined partner estate :) we have one big monthly party that I hold at two different times the same day to try to cover more time zones plus on Thursday nights I've started a Q&A with Charlene Trudeau, to just come ask anything about SL, if you stump me I'll find out and get bring back my homework the next week :) I also do a monday morning chat hour to wake up and start the week with.
Some times I don't feel accessible enough to my folks any more so I'm trying to make times to do so.
Now, in addition to that, which is all official 'estate' stuff, I have Neill on Harbour Cove who has put together a sailing club, has two different fishing games available to folks, a swim hud arrangement so you can swim down and explore the water ruins and so on, so resident available activities are starting to crop up too. Then SkyBeam Pastures is designed to appeal to the horse crowd, I have not done well marketing it to date because it came in around the same time RFL really exploded.
(Here i must explain that Charlene is very much involved with RFL also and is at the moment of this conversation bald for RFL.)
Charlene Trudeau: So from Pastures you can ride up into trailridge, harbour cove and on into the university region and really over into Instituto Espanol which is a Spanish language school
Dana: All part of skybeam estates?
Charlene Trudeau: yup :) Wilson Voight runs the school and its his own private venture but has made his home on SkyBeam
Talking about her covenant and how she goes about selling she had this to say:
Charlene Trudeau: At the time the only covenants out there (and far too many today) mostly said you can't do this this this and this and NO REFUNDS EVER and now and then 'Buy the land, pay your tier, and leave me alone' not in those words necessarily but that's what I felt when I read them.
I was looking to ask people to spend real money for the privilege of living on the estate and I felt that meant I had a responsibility to them too so my covenant is long, and longer now than it was then. I try to explain some of the 'why', not just the rule, which takes time.
Charlene and Skybeam do have a website but as she said its not really there as a sales tool its there so she can keep her residents informed check it out for yourself here http://www.skybeamestates.com/
You can get your own idea of the kind of person Charlene is by reading her blog and decide for yourself. You can read more about Skybeam estates HERE
Dana Vanmoer

An Artist Passes from Our Midst - Artistic Fimicoloud

The Passionate Redheads, a SL Relay for Life Team was reminded in a most personal way the importance of what they do when one of their members, Artistic "Fimi" Fimicoloud, Stephanie Koslow in real life, passed away on Monday afternoon having succumbed to cancer. Upon hearing the news of her passing, members of the team, her friends and admirers of her art gathered at Park Galleries of Art to remember and honor her life, first and second. The outpouring of love and sympathy of the mourners has left a memorial scene complete with flowers, poems, candles and pictures of Fimi.
After arriving at the memorial site I paid my respects to her memory and then found her gallery. While sitting and admiring her work, I scanned around the space and came across this quote from an article written about her in the Poughkeepsie Journal on January 7, 2007:
Seeking solace from the fears that surrounded me, I began to paint - not the fears inside me, but my joy for the landscape I so loved. Flowing from some deep-seated force within me, out it poured - color, light and energy - not mourning what I'd lost, but celebrating the gift I'd been given.
I couldn't help but smile thinking of a woman I'd not met, seemingly not afraid of what life had dealt her and using it to share with us her passion for living and the visions she saw reflected in her art. One could see in her paintings the vivid colors of the Hudson Valley landscape she loved. A note card that came with a picture of yellow tulips I bought, told me that in each of her paintings, "I've tucked a small pink breast cancer ribbon into each painting which people love hunting for."
A bit later I spoke with a member of her RFL Team Members, Daaneth Kivioq who was at the at the memorial when I returned from the gallery. I introduced myself and offered my condolences. "Thank you Nazz, she will be missed." He replied then continued: "We are, in her honor, putting up special donation kiosks until the end of the SL RFL halfway there fair, on Sunday June 1st. Let me pass you a note with the SLURL's. All donations to these kiosks will be matched 1 for 1, up to 100,000 L."
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Southern%20Colorado/163/55/26http://slurl.com/secondlife/Park/235/43/79

I also spoke with another of Fimi's RFL team members and fellow artist Tricia Aferdita who had this to say of Fimi's passing in an announcement to her Cetus Art District Group: "This week, the SL art world lost one of its bright stars... The little pink fox who was known as Fimi … She was an amazing artist, kind person and beautiful soul. She will be missed."
In remembrance, a friend of Fimi's, Angel Enoch has written the following:
Fimi - Her Royal Pinkness
When I built Park Galleries of Art in Park Region...I advertised for artists wanting an inexpensive place to show their work. One of the creatures who showed up was a little pink fox...Artistic Fimicoloud.
She was brash, bold...right in my face. Even though two other people had appeared wanting the empty gallery before her, I had to give it to the little pink fox who announced loudly to all she was a breast cancer survivor, a real life artist also. Before I knew what was happening to me, Park Galleries was full of little party-happy furries and our first DJ party was the best that ever happened!
After some time, I felt Park had become quiet … and I felt it was time to end the galleries there.Fimi was so upset! I didn't realize that she was so attached to the little space, and she begged me to sell it to her. With Fimi at the helm, Park became alive again. It was the life within her that gave it a new spark...it blossomed, most of the artists who were there previously stayed on.
I feared it would become a museum instead of a gallery, with nothing new ever happening, but she proved me wrong again and again. May it always be so....and now that I've learned Miss Fimi is comfortable making her transition to another world....I know there is something in Park that will live on. Someone with that spark of life touches everything, and you find yourself in love with them and everything they do in spite of yourself. : )

And now every time I see a pink furry tail I'll think of Fimi!

By Nazz Lane

Interview with Honey Fairweather

Firehorse Rearwin: How did you come up with the idea for Fashion Consolidated?
Honey Fairweather: It's called FashCon! Actually weirdly enough, the name "FashCon" flashed through my mind the moment I thought "I need a consolidated set of notices". I'm not sure why but it sounded *terribly* secret service pistol-in-my-garter at the time.
I came up with the idea as a way to scratch an itch in December 2006 - the usual "waa I'm in too many designer groups" - both because of the 25 group limit but also because, well surely someone had provided a consolidated way to see all these? I hunted around but it didn't seem to exist so I thought I could make one and see if maybe a few dozen people might like it too. I had no clue 6500 would join and it's still increasing by over 100 members a week! My poor SL postman is run off his feet.
When I started it, I was cheeky and asked a few big designers what they'd think. I probably looked like crazywoman, in fact you can see from the FashCon posters on kiosks around SL that I did. Eep I need to replace that logo soon! (/me scribbles another to-do). Anyway they were lovely and kind to Ms Noob and seemed to think it was a good idea and generally patted me on the head and fed me doggy biscuits, so I gulped, wagged my tail and started it.
Firehorse Rearwin: How difficult was it to get designers (and the public) to see your vision?
Honey Fairweather: Not difficult at all - in a way the group demonstrates itself the moment you join it. You'll either feel suddenly joined up to a community and love the sudden large daily influx of fashion news and releases (the 6500 of you), or you'll feel drowned and leave (the other few millions). I had to work quite hard at startup time for a few months, just simply asking people what they thought, ideas on how to make it useful and effective, spending a lot of time explaining the concept to people, until the concept itself took over and regenerates itself as the group continues by watching group usage (when it doesn't go astray). But the guidelines and expected IM behaviour, notice content etc. were pretty much formed within a few weeks and have hardly changed. The one thing I'm insistent on is keeping the group to its original ethos: a courteous, fun, intelligent community based around specifically newly-released fashion and av-related creations from talented people. Most of my real work I see as spreading that ethos and making sure it continues: I don't tolerate fights (hugging works) and try to encourage a measured approach on everything: whether responding to stray group IMs, responding to piracy (tough but no witchhunts), dealing with the seemingly constant misdirection of notice content. In the end you have to deal with how humans *are* (e.g. 10% won't read your notices and 50% won't read your blog) and working from there, rather than thinking "everyone should do X" and throwing your hamster at the fridge door.
Firehorse Rearwin: What made you keep going with the idea through the early days when you didn't charge for the service?
Honey Fairweather: Same thing as now! I introduced charging after 12 months for two reasons: (1) because I was totally exhausted, mowed over by all the work and needed staff, and (2) because I hoped it would put a gentle brake on designers joining, meaning that it would filter out those who were joining casually with no real determination to perfect their skills. (2) was a very serious consideration at the time - I'd been through a lot of other options as ways to improve the average quality of designers' submissions to keep it engaging for members (which we all want), and every other way than this was unworkable, subject to cliques of subjectivitiy, subject to huge administation overhead etc. I still consider the entry cost a useful tool to promote serious committed designers over the odd tshirt maker, and will continue to use price to try to influence this uptake as time goes on. But what keeps me going now, as I'm still very busy and barely get time to partay, is the same as in the first year: the wonderful surprise at what a lovely community has grown up around my little idea, how kind and supportive almost everyone is, and the hugs. If you want to see the community join the Fashion Consolidated Cafe group! Did I mention I like hugs?
Firehorse Rearwin: What has given you the most fun with the FashCon project?
Honey Fairweather: FUN? I'm not here to have FUN! Ok.. well FashCon FreeDay to celebrate the group's rezday WAS huge fun! Again it was a little idea of mine at 2am the night before (kind of like an "omg it's little Susie's birthday tomorrow and I didn't order CAKE" panic) and I was truly amazed when a few hundred designers joined in the next day, all offering quality freebies to the world. Everywhere was grey. Fantastic! It was quite a sight to fly from sim to sim as the freebie notices flooded in and to watch each shop go grey and globby within 10 seconds of the notice with 50 visitors. It really brought home to me what a big thing FashCon had become for many and made me stop criticising myself for 2 seconds, which is unusual. I think that day I filled 100 sims - I'm wondering if that makes me the most successful griefer on SL... Happily the shops seemed to love it. On average most had about 200 visitors within an hour, and many told me they had made good sales later as a knock-on effect. Yay!
Firehorse Rearwin: What causes you the most hassles with Fash Con?
Honey Fairweather: Well I just finished my latest 3 hours staff meeting with my two new staff members (PK Emmons and Ivy Norsk, who are *great*) and I can send you the log of the problems we discuss :) I'd say if I had to sum up, the biggest problem of all is trying to communicate with 800 designers. Many have no time to read news on the website (http://fashcon.com) and don't read, or catch up with my admin notices. They contain really important changes that affect people, but I have to explain them over and over. I'm hoping to fix this soon by moving all designers over to the new kiosk system then setting up a new channel to talk to them. But in the end, only a percentage of people will *ever* read instructions, stick to guidelines on posting content, read that you don't get added as a designer until the following weekend even if it's in the setup notecard, send you IMs instead of notecards as per profile and website, not use group IM except in the Cafe group. Did I mention them all yet?
Oh and also, being nagged to do things like interviews and feeling guilt rather than "it can wait!" when I'm very slow. As a random, entirely theoretical example, imagine being in the middle of responding to an interview and receiving veiled threats to finish it in the form of "Possible articles for April 1st: "Desperately seeking a good master - the heartbreak of successful SL business woman Honey Fairweather".
Oh and I really hate how it's hard to open cellophane wrapping on DVDs.
Firehorse Rearwin: Roughly how many hours a week do you dedicate to Fash Con a week?
Honey Fairweather: I've never worked it out, but today I'd guess 5 hours and it's.. 1:30pm SLT. But then I did have a meeting. I'd guess at an average of 2-3 hours per day 7 days a week, and then about 8 hours on a Sunday (the day we process kiosk data and add people). It'd be a lot more without amazing help from friends and neighbours! Like my wonderful kiosk developer and friend, Sasun Steinbeck, my great friend Galea Yates, others who have helped and supported me.
Firehorse Rearwin: If you weren't doing Fashion Con what would you like to do on SecondLife?
Honey Fairweather: Be Japanese. REALLY! Cept I can't do that can I, because I can't speak Japanese, and I don't know what those odd little kiosks outside all the shops in wonderful Kabuki are. I really would though. My opinion that Japanese designers hold the future of SL in their hands is widespread and fanatical by now, in that a lot of my webpages have been translated into Japanese by kind helpers and I have a Japanese masterplan on hold until I have done things like this interview.
Also, I'd play with my penguins more in the peace and comfort of my little home in Amicitia, while listening to moody sexy 60s french chansons, swaying gently in front of the mirror, and sipping white russians.
Firehorse Rearwin: Whats your happiest moment on Secondlife so far?
Playing with my penguins in the peace and comfort of my little home in Amicitia, while listening to moody sexy 60s french chansons, swaying gently in front of the mirror, and sipping white russians.
Firehorse Rearwin:Whats your most embarrassing moment on Secondlife so far?
Playing with my penguins in the... OK. Hmmm. Well leaving aside all the "omgzzz then all my clothes fell off!" and "oops wrong window!" moments, I'm embarrassed almost all the time and try to hide it! Being a feisty but defeated Gaulish princess slave in shackles at the 2008 Roman-themed Concierge party comes close...
Firehorse Rearwin: If you could sum up your SL in one sentence what would it be ? Or if there is a oneliner you want to share with our readers what would it be ?
As anyone who's read my notices knows, I don't do pithy one sentences well. OK, answer for both from Bertrand Russell: "The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile".

Pup in her own words..................

Most people know Pup Witherspoon as 'Miss CostaRica' but who is Pup Witherspoon? I sat down with her to find out...........

First I asked Pup about her motivation for entering the Miss SL universe contest..........
'Well anyone can put together an attractive avatar, and actually, it was Giancarlo who first approached me about the Miss Costa Rica Contest, I have land over there, and he suggested I might get involved, and that the winner would go on to the Miss SL Universe pageant. I thought about that, and decided, that it fit in with my goal to spend a bit less time working this coming year, and more time becoming involved in the various charities and other philanthropic things that are happening in SL, it's one thing for me to donate things for charity auctions or pump in some significant lindens, but that's not really becoming involved in the process and certainly doesn't do anything to enhance or help the long term goals.
Being Miss SL Universe can be a platform that I can function from. There will obviously be some publicity involved, and I hope that once folks realize my goals are oriented toward a working Miss SL Universe who's interests lie in public service, rather than perhaps in securing modeling contracts, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get involved at various levels with some of the organizations.
You've probably heard this quote before...
but it's one I've loved for years, and that I firmly believe in, and live by;
'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.'
It's from Margaret Mead, and over the years, I've found it to be very true, that a core group, a small group, well organized, with definite goals, can in fact, effect change. What is so great about SL.. is that you can build a core group from a much wider spectrum of individuals here."
We moved on to talk about her building, Pup is an amazing builder and sim designer.......
"The land and the landscaping are the setting, much like the setting for a beautiful piece of jewelry, I get a great deal of satisfaction in building structures, and designing sims.. but I get true joy, an inner joy, when I start to landscape, terraform, and then plant, particularly with the incredible selection that Lilith and Dolly Heart have of gorgeous trees and bushes and flowers!"
We went back to talking about the contest.......
"what have I learned most about myself since the contest started, besides feeling like a duck out of water. I've been telling folks I'm the token clod kicking builder in a bevy of models, there is more to it than having a beautiful av, just the process of learning to walk on a cat walk, the turns, handling the various poses and your ao. This is more than just about beauty, the judges have been asking some very interesting and provocative questions they're probing, looking for what's behind the av because when it's all said and done, what makes each of us unique in here isn't the parts we buy, it's the heart and soul and brain behind the avatar."
I asked Pup about advice she has been given in SL and her early sl experiences.....
"oh.. the best advice I've been given in SL was right at the beginning, when folks suggested to me that the best way to fully enjoy this amazing application, was to go take classes, and I did, I practically lived at Teazer U and a couple of the other places, drove people nuts asking questions it isn't about the visual for me, though that's important, my first couple months here, it was all about "how do you do that", what's happening behind the scenes that makes that work.
My most significant accomplishment in SL has to be the time I spend with newbies, no doubt about that, getting them to see that they need to put some effort into learning the application, so that they can truly reap the benefits. I'm constantly interacting with newbies, either who buy my low prim houses, or who come rent on one of my sims, or I see them in stores asking "how do I get this box off me?", and sometimes when I have a spare hour, I go over to help island and answer questions, we need to find a better way to integrate new folks into SL."
"As for early experiences the funniest was a very close friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, had just purchased some new Xcite parts. We’re standing in a fairly high traffic area, and chatting with some folks, and she decides to “try them on”. Well…NOT being one to read directions, she starts throwing Xcite bits on her avatar, and all of a sudden, finds herself on the ground, on her back, in a Nonna Hedges evening gown, legs in the air and spread WIDE, having away at herself with a huge pink vibrator. Of course, I’ve started to laugh, the other folks around us are being very, very quiet, perhaps watching the “show” and I start to get these crisis IM’s from my friend. “OMG.. make it stop”, “How do I turn this off!!!!!”, “Bloody HELL, it won’t detach”, as her avatar is going from one orgasm to another in rapid succession. Sadly, I was no help, since I had to go AFK rather rapidly, and RUN to the ladies room, roaring with laughter the entire way… the sound of her voice ringing in my ears “You useless baggage, get your ass back here!”
LOL
I asked Pup if she had anything she would like people to know about herself........
"Probably that my 'persona' in Sl is truly who I am - this outgoing, but in some ways, old-fashioned woman, who's deeply concerned about what's happening in the world, who tries to find ways to help people help themselves, and who's driven in part, by the knowledge that I don't have a long time left on earth, maybe 3-5 years at this stage, so that tends to help me set priorities.
I'm a stickler for politeness, I hate drama, and get incensed when I see someone intentionally taking advantage of others for their own profit.
I have a rare disease called neurological sarcoidosis, I've had it for 8 years now, it's forced me to quit working in real life. It's progressive, and incurable, part of that group of diseases in the autoimmune group, like MS, RA, etc..... it's not a disease that gets much research money but perhaps someday, they'll find a better way to treat it, maybe something will come out of the stem cell research. See Dana, my SL income, with the exception of 10% that I drop on my fav charities, goes right into the college funds for my 2 nieces and 2 nephews, when I was working, and pulling in the 6 figure income, I was funding those without difficulty but when I had to stop working, my ability to drop a grand a month into those disappeared. When I found SL, and discovered that I could actually make money here, I was able to start putting money into those college funds again, they're very special kids.. all Mensa level, bright, well rounded, eager to learn, caring, just amazing kids.
You'd be surprised at how many disabled individuals have found new lives in SL, you know what's really cool.. for me? when this disease struck me down, and I realized I'd never be able to go back to work and do what I did, I finally cleaned out my closets.. and sent all those lovely business suits and great clothes and my shoes off to St Vincent dePaul and I cried, I had great clothes, and now I can wear the shoes again in here I can't in real life.
When I was doing custom homes.. that's what I was doing, building their "dream".. what they might never have in real life, but so desperately wanted.

I asked Pup to give me three words to describe herself, her answer is not surprising......
"Intelligent, compassionate, driven"
I have to agree
Thank you Pup for taking the time to talk to me, you are an amazing lady good luck for the future.

Dana XXX
(picture by Harper Beresford)

A Rebel Heart and an Angel

By Nazz Lane

"I spent a good deal of time researching and reading about my cancer. I wanted to know everything I could," Heartlite Jewell told me shortly after I arrived to meet with her. We stood in the middle of the dance floor at her soon to be opened club 'Rebelhearts & Angels'. "Adrenal cancer is not all that common and there are not many treatment options at this point."

I wanted to ask her how long, but the words only formed in my mind and I couldn't speak them for fear of hearing her answer. She must have known that it would've been my next question and said: "I was diagnosed in 2004, they told me that it would generally run its course in three to six years." I could only nod my head after hearing her statement. After a brief pause, I was about to ask her generally how she felt when I heard a child's voice in the background, a little girl asking who grandma was talking with. She excused herself for a moment which allowed me to regain my composure.

"Sorry Nazz," she said. I told her that it was no problem. I understood that the little one required attention. She smiled and began to tell me about the club. "Rebelhearts & Angels is going have four levels. This one is, of course, the ballroom. It's nearly complete now, we only have a little work left here," she said. As she spoke, I scanned around using my camera controls, taking in the scale and textures of the spacious dance floor and adjacent areas. "There is a teleport to take us to the other levels. Let's go see the rest of the build. Follow me, Nazz, to the marketplace," she said and moved the short distance and worked the teleport.

As I arrived in the marketplace she continued: "We have ten stalls available. There won't be a rental charge to sellers. We're going to ask for a flat percentage and donate that to charity. In fact, all of the money we make operating the club will go to charity." I commented on her generosity and asked which one would be the recipient. "We're going to split the money between two charities, Make a Wish here in the US and Starlight Foundation in Australia," she replied. "We have two more levels to see, Nazz, we'll visit the garden next. I hope you like it so far." I told her I thought it a nicely done build.

"I call the garden 'A Child's Dreamland'. There is much work still before it's done, but I wanted to show you my carousel," she said. I could hear the joy in her voice and feel the love in her heart as she told me how special the garden was to her. "I have met so many amazing people in Second Life. All of my friends are like my family and I want them and everyone who visits to enjoy this as much as I will when it's done." I asked how she was feeling generally and, as we'd been talking for near an hour now, I was fearful of her becoming tired. "Oh I'm doing fine, Nazz. I've been homebound for awhile now and I have my oxygen. Second Life is my escape, I spend a lot of my day here working and being with people."

We used the teleport to drop down to the ground level, the "Oasis", which is an adult themed area with dance animations and couples poses and semi-secluded nooks. While we chatted there, one of her friends came by to say hello and gave her a warm hug. I commented that I hoped it would be my turn when he was through. "Of course, Nazz," she said and smiled. After we embraced she said: "I've learned to deal with a lot of personalities here in SL. It matters greatly what people think of me. It's why I treat people the way I want to be treated."

Before departing I said: "Thank you for the tour Heart. My very best wishes that your club is a huge success, especially for the children. When do you think the opening will be?" Her reply was that she's working to open shortly before Valentine's Day. "We're planning for a grand opening event. I do hope you'll be able to celebrate with us Nazz." I replied telling her I wouldn't dream of missing it.

"I do have to run Heart. Thank you again and I'm sure we'll talk again soon. One more hug before I leave?" I asked. She smiled and said: "Of course."