Vent du sud gifts in the subscribo

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR from Vent du Sud. 

As promised, this is in the subscribo.

Four small but pretty frames. Touch the background to choose from one of the four colours.

24 hours only... but also on sale at the mainstore for a MASSIVE.... 1L.


See you next year!

Sailing into 2011, grab a dinghy, gifts, and rather too many links

If you feel like a quiet (romantic) break from parties and champagne and New Year celebrations... here's an idea.

I've blogged about R0bin Helsinki's fabulous Sea Fever exhibition before (here), which is why we are cheerfully sailing through a photograph in the photo... but since then we've added a few touches.  Such as this superb (free) boat ride.

... plus some seabirds and fish and a dolphin who escaped... and which if you look closely, is posing as a killer whale about to attack Menthal (over by the Vent du Sud rustic lighthouse *cough plug 50L*).

Back to the boat, though. Menthal Oh made the dinghy specially for Vent du Sud (thank youuuu). Rezz one HERE and go zipping along the rivers and the whole island (mind your head under the bridges).

The drawbridge near the BIG lighthouse (*cough plug also 50L*) raises to let you through - just click (admiring my buildery genius as you do so and buying it (mod copy) for 1L if the fancy takes you).

Drawbridge. Favourite Argrace hair 'modern rail

This is NOT a normal dinghy. It's sleek and sophisticated, has spray and a wake and can seat up to four people. Great build, as always. 

You can BUY the boat by the rezzer too, without the Vent du Sud flag, don't worry. Or contact Menthal when he gets back after the weekend for a personalised version, or even a rezzer for your land.

And finally (*cough again*) I will probably be blogging again later today since I have some cute gifts for my subscribo people, which will only be in there for 24 hours.

And why yes this post has way too many links so see below if you are totally confused.

Off to rescue a dolphin...


Link reminders (or just fly around!):
- Vent du Sud boat rezzer / purchase and rustic lighthouse here
- Art café entrance here (also Menthal's latest gizmos on the square)
- Subscribo and Vent du Sud main store here
- Big lighthouse here

The joy of sales, announcement, back to boring and useful tip

Much as I dislike December, I like New Year (although not sure why those across the pond call it New Years - but let's not get into grammar).

I mean, there are sales to start with.

All at 1L at Vent du Sud, sales or not.

But how do you do sales when you sell stuff at 1L, I wonder?  Except to make it free. But for those who are following my blog, I still haven't bought those boots, perhaps in the vain hope the fatpack will magically be reduced.

So no, not free. But nearly.

I am, however, going to continue the Vent du Sud policy of 1L for decor and 50L for builds in 2011. It was a good decision. And yes, even the new stuff.

What I did buy is some nice new textures and other goodies, despite the marketplace taking about 6 hours to deliver them (and some not at all). Bah. Read on for more news, then, brave people.

Pretty little things for 1L.

I need to clear out a few things to make room for some new, and also to put out a biggish build and generally do all the New Year sorting out and ideally moving some walls around.

So I shall be removing a few things. And sorry not sure what but some of the plumgasm line and pastel stuff soonish (I have this urge for bright, zingy colours).

Pretty BIGGER things for 1L

The patio stuff may stay but again I have this urge for strong, bright colours so it's due for a revamp and new poses and textures. Ah, resolutions. I have a whole LOT of builds on the go.

The patio set, due for a new colour scheme, but 1L an item

So the other point of this post is... come pick stuff up now...!  And while you're there hit the subscribo for news of the new build and other additions.

Pretty dress, disappearing prims.

Frugal old me DID buy something in the clothing line however. Back to boring old me I suppose and I really should have bought something other than grey. But gorgeous, gorgeous Fairy Dress from Gumi's Bad Box that floats and swirls and makes me feel all girly.Three lengths too. LOTS of colours available. Why didn't I buy red? WHY?

If you stayed with this post long enough to get here (have a cookie), here is a USEFUL TIP. Like other people, I am suddenly seeing bits of my jewellery and tiny prims disappearing, like the buttons on these gorgeous Camilla shoes (Baiastice, want the fatpack, can't afford it). But you can make them come back! Yes! Just click on edit and hey presto, they all appear again. For a while so you can at least take photos. And yes, I forgot for the photo. Go me.

Oh and pssst... the Vent du Sud Tower (direct link here, or just fly around) is also about to disappear indefinitely. Pick it up for 50L here TODAY (or tomorrow if I get all behind, but you get the idea).

Rambled enough. Going now.

52 weeks of colour, green (and good pears and dishonesty and building in lingerie)

OK, let's face it, I am one of those boring people on SL who usually tends to dress in rather predictable clothes and styles.

Sensible old Ari. Builds a bit, dances a bit, shops a bit. Protective of Vent du Sud and above all of real friends. A little gullible at times. A "bonne poire" or "good pear" as they say in French. Although why pears are a soft touch, je ne sais pas.

But they ARE... green!

I don't usually strip down to the frillies when I'm halfway through putting up a few extra walls and popping in some decor for someone, for instance (although at a guess, he wouldn't mind). 

Not quite the usual Ari, eh? But yes, there is another side to me. Boring and sensible as I may seem (mostly), there are times when I really lose my temper with people who are not what they seem.

So better get back to hauling prims before I ramble too much about not being  that gullible. Or quite such a soft touch when I find out just how much I've been taken for a ride.

Custom build, except I left off...

 


Yes, strange thoughtful post. There is a story behind it, but not something I want to blog about in any more detail.

Except to add that all is well with me and mine and with Vent du Sud. Just a little (OK a lot) irritated and no it has nothing to do with SL romance and everything to do with disliking dishonesty.

Back to the topic.  Green... yep yep. Custom houses or decor? Can be done. Just ask.  Oh and yes I did finish the build and the decor and got out of the lingerie, OK?


Although much as I love doing custom builds, no, I am not going to build for you in lingerie. Even beautiful green lingerie like this, which is Lilly from Insolence. 

And the more 'normal me? Surf Co Elsa boots, Decoy jeans, Oyakin top and lovely warm scarf from Tram.

Back to normal plugging of Vent du Sud next time, promise.And probably more normal clothing.

Free, cheap, gifts, stove, rant.

Overheard someone on a chat the other day saying that she was getting too many notecards from a group with offers and gifts and freebies and was 'bored with it'.

Eh what? My suggestion would be: leave the group, or just discard a few or... oh, for heaven's SAKE.

Anyway, stoves. I love them.  And I was making one while this was going on.

See this? I have it in RL. It's lovely. It's new.

 Then there was somebody else who 'didn't even have time to open all the freebie boxes'.

Poor darling. I closed the chat window.

So I made an SL version of it, for 1L.

(The stove in RL was a 'Christmas gift' that Mr RL and I bought for ourselves because... we fell in love with it and given the French electricity system's reliability.... *cough*). 
 
And then yesterday, an item was advertised as a gift (something that would normally, I think, be worth anything from 350 to over 1000L) and it turned out it was going for 50L.

NOWHERE in the notecard did it mention 0L. The writer was not English mother tongue, so 'gift' was probably not a good choice of words, no. I agree with that.

But.

Goes against a wall or in the centre of a room with open back - see notecard in it

Instant outcry. People felt robbed. People felt gifts should be free (well... yes I tend to agree there but then something at a fraction of its normal price is already something of a generous offer, no?).

Did the people who complained and criticised contact the maker of it, to see if it was an accident? Apparently not.  Much easier to make an issue of it and garner sympathy from fellow freebie hunters.

Logs too. Flames on and off, etc etc. 16 prims

'Free' sometimes seems to be about collecting, amassing, piling up as an end to itself, but it's a choice, so fine. I respect that choice.

And I admit that I am the first to snap up some great freebies too, just... not all the time.

Dollarbies, of course, are not free, as somebody on the same chat saw fit to point out so. So maybe I won't see them at Vent du Sud.

Fine also. I respect that too.

But no, I am not going to give my stuff free.   

Offering all my things at 1L to me is a TOKEN I ask for in return for my efforts and time to build stuff, and in terms of money it is... small. It seems to be making quite a few people happy, however, which is great.

French stove. 1L at Vent du Sud. Copy.

Please feel free to pick this up if you can spare one Linden... it is part of a new series inspired by things I see and love in the part of the world I live in. And I'm having lots of fun with it.

PS: It includes a build (for 50L) that I think I have finished. And if anyone is interested in looking, it is here. Also, the first 3 people to ask for one (IM to Ariadne Korda, please), I will send it to them... FREE. (And no, this is not a hint to blog about it but feedback would be nice).

Heh, so I do 'do' free now and then. And tend to give things away when I see people on the sim. My choice ;)

I am away for 24 hours as of a couple of hours' time, but I will get back to you.

(Ermmm having been inspired by the masterpieces by a French maker of stoves, vaguely wondering if I should credit them. France Turbo. Thank you France Turbo for helping Vent du Sud's owner to keep warm in this dreadful winter). 

Cerise sur le gateau and very short skirts - 52 weeks of colour

*(Cerise sur le gateau  = icing on the cherry (roughly))

I was all built out this morning, and moping in front of the Vent du Sud French stove, when I had an idea... that seemed more appealing than writing the notecard for the stove, but I did slip a cerise colour option into the bar stool.

French stove coming soon, barstool here

It was time to GO OUT.

 
Does my hair look OK?

Yes, this skirt IS a bit short but...

Nothing a carefully placed handlebar can't hide.

Gosh look the bar stools again. Lots of colours and poses, right here

 Or a carefully placed foot, for that matter.

Oooh look Agade's here!

Yes of course I know how to drive it. Well... sort of.

 

Ah, and Menthal's finished the boat! Of course I  know how to drive that, too.

Well, not showing the picture where I drove it into the lighthouse. So there.

Now all I need is sunset and a dance. That really would be the icing on the cherry, eh? (And no, no, I know Menthal is spoken for...).

More about the boat (it's great) in a post coming soon, but in the meantime don't forget to pick up the 1L bar stool on the Vent du Sud main square, under the parasol, (colour change, poses... read the notecard pretty please?)

Other credits: Scooter former freebie from MC19 in pink (cerise pink), T-shirt COco (tinted), jacket Aoharu, sneakers Jada Humby (free), socks MIS (gone, sadly) and VERY short skirt from Sascha Frangilli.  And the stove and stone farmhouse are upcoming releases from, of course, Vent du Sud...

...Where our skirts are short but our prices are just as mini!

Last minute panic and what colour Christmas are you?

OK so in the next two days I have to finish a massive RL job, put up decorations, shop, cook, and then (preferably) ... sleep a lot.

On SL, I need to  finish a big build, find something in cerise, and... hell no, I feel like shopping and socialising when I get online. Also good.

Before I launch myself into a couple of days of frantic activity please do help yourselves to the Vent du Sud 1L hammocks with, y'know, those animations (I forgot to take a photo of the blue and silver one, sorry) and other Christmas goodness for the same price.See previous posts for pics.

Or  offer yourself a new abode (check out our winter cabins, lighthouses, tower or tree house on a quick fly around the sim - all 50L).

If... if I get time, the new big build will be out but right now it seems unlikely. But do join the subscribo  for news.

Until then, whether you are the blue and silver sort...

... or the green and gold sort, enjoy the last-minute preparations in both RL and SL.

And most of all, ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS.

Vent du Sud says a huge thanks to all those who have visited this year and looks forward to seeing you again in 2011.

Choices (and what things are worth, and fatpacks, and a big fat chuckle and Cindy Crawford)

… er, can you just hold on while I stop chuckling?

There, better. 

Sorry.  Let's get on. Have a glass of mulled wine (here, 1L, gives glasses of hot wine)

See, a lady* who came to buy a couple of things at Vent du Sud the other day told me she'd come over because she'd heard my stuff was not worth more than 1L anyway, and  that other décor creators 'didn't approve of my approach'. 

I actually wondered if she was just stirring trouble but prefer to see the funny side of it.

 (pssst scroll down for another 1L wonder, and one EXCLUSIVE item *cough*). 

First, I am able to offer my stuff at 1L / 50L and I want to (while respecting that others can't or won't). 

I am, in fact, really enjoying the fact that this new approach of mine is really making me enjoy building.  I've met some really great people, too, which gives me the warm and fuzzies. 

The quality? Well,  it's not slapdash or clunky (well, I don't think so but hey, try something out and see for yourself). 

If it was I wouldn't be fiddling with  0.001 texture offsets or spending several hours finding exactly the textures I want, or pestering Geek for Yet Another Script and then tearing my hair because I'm too proud to admit I haven't figured out how to use it. 

(But hey, I do have windows in an upcoming build that change texture nicely together now on two faces only and even the right ones. Go me).

(and I can make snowflakes spring from my bauble platter on touch... get it here, 1L)

I admit all those hours of creating, of buying entire texture packs for ONE door, of sussing out prim faces (ctrl alt shift and T all at once, thanks Geek) will never pay off in terms of Lindens and even less in RL terms,  but this is not RL. This is, as I said before, my hobby. 

My choice.

I usually choose not to buy fatpacks (no, I am not going to use 'fatpack' as a verb because I am old and cranky). I am a frugal clothes shopper. I am never going to wear pink hair, or boots in gold or orange. 

But if a wider selection makes your SL a happy place, then go for it. Really.

(Nor, actually, am I going to become a furry, a Gorean slave, or fiddle with Very Expensive Shoes or Rather Expensive clothes from certain designers any more as I can NEVER make them look right on me *sigh*).

Very soon, though, I so am going to treat myself to some new Very Expensive High Boots and I can't make up my mind which colour so I might just have to, y'know, indulge myself. 

My one other fatpack ever was these, btw, and I love them, and no regrets at all (and I have worn every colour, often).

Again, my choice. (Oh, and armchair with poses. 1L, here).

Bootgasm. J's ankle boots. Wonderful.

 Sometimes it's worth spending a whole lot on something you really want, couldn't agree more. (But, um,  anybody know of some really cheap but totally gorgeous knee-high boots for miserly old moi?) 

Basically, though, what something is worth is what it is worth to you.  

And  I really do want those boots and I don't care if half the grid are wearing them.

(can you hold on while I do a Cindy Crawford pout and say 'because I'm worth it'?)

Thanks.  

Anyway, while I'm at it, and speaking of half the grid wearing them,  let's rant a bit about 'exclusive' .

Sure there is a market for it, sure I can understand having a special colour or style.  Sure the exclusive version may be nicer than the 'not-exclusive' one. 

But (frugal again) I would rarely if ever pay way over the 'normal' price for something on SL – or RL for that matter – just because only a few examples exist. 

 I might buy it because I fall in love with it, or if it's for a good cause, but I am not going get my kicks from knowing I won't find more than a few other people having the same thing.

But if that floats your boat, then I respect your choice. 

See this photo? That's my mate Agade. I just LOVE that hair but am way too much of a wimp to wear it. Wasabi Pill, she says. Her choice. Isn't it wonderful?

and last... one of those flowerboxes I loved making but that never sold... LOL... but with a wintry twist

. Totally exclusive to those who buy it here for 1L here  in the next 24 hours then it's gone. Because I can LOL. 

Do feel free to drop in to Vent du Sud any time.  Ask me to do something in your choice of colours, or just come and say hi. 

*No, not quoting names, and nor did I push for more information.  I sat on my hands for a bit, and then, er, chuckled.  Also, she bought half the store.

As Christmassy as it gets

OK this is as Christmassy as it's likely to get at Vent du Sud, over at the Winter Cabins.

But... there are LOTS of pretty Christmassy things for 1L (of course)

And for those who like their Christmas blue and silver, (or red and gold) this is the place; baubles with snowflakes, mulled wine (grab a glass, or buy your own and let people help themselves), and poinsettias and candles and penguins... well, lots of things.

The selection includes a couple (OK three) hammocks with THOSE animations. More on them another time. But come see!

(OK I am not usually a fan of Christmas but decking out Vent du Sud has made me all... Christmassy?  More to come, probably as I'm having FUN!)

PS. Did you join the subscribo outside the MAINSTORE? If not, do it quick - be the first to know about the limited time offers.

Mad skills and poinsettias and more

Loooooooooooook!
This may look like a simple little gif to you (it is) but it represents a quantum leap in my mad graphics skills.

*preens*

Now I have to get it onto my blog header. And I need more coffee right now and then go hit the icy roads for the fridge, eet ees bare.

Bad photo, nice poinsettia, 1L

Quick note, though... some festive stuff appearing at Vent du Sud at the winter cabins and, as the masterpiece says, just 1L. More to come this weekend (but some may not stay so go soon...)

(please, please dear little gif flash on the post, because it ain't flashing on the preview...)

Sea fever - 52 weeks of colour, yellow

 When I look at R0bin Helsinki's photos, it sends me back to my own and to mumbling over Photoshop... but OK, yellow. Simple. Reflecting some of the bursts of yellow in...

R0bin's new, unusual and simply gorgeous exhibition at the Vent du Sud Art café. The theme is John Masefield's beautiful poem Sea Fever (read it here), but the photos aren't just of the sea.

Urban scenes of seaside towns, tall ships, birds... it is sheer poetry. Haunting, thought-provoking, and totally DIFFERENT.

Waves lap over the gallery floor, and thanks to some scripting genius (thank you Jeddin Laval - more about him later) the poem drifts past your feet as you step out of the gallery and over to the seashore.

Really worth a look but even more so as R0bin has put each photo out at just 1L (I am stunned at her generosity). Some are translucent, but can easily be modified to become striking art works for your home ( just click on the texture and reduce transparency to 0 - or she will help you do it).

But please, please look. Right here.

I could look at this exhibition for hours, and dream. Much as Christmas red and gold is fun... this makes such a wonderful change.

Fashion? Whole Body Wrap by Ti Zvezda, white linen skirt by The Closet, chain belt by UME. Just the thing to look whimsical in. Oh, and that amazing fallback, the Helena sash by Persona to cover up the bits of tummy. And inventory staple (and the white one in the pack is tintable).

PS: more yellow stuff to come, decor-wise, but first I need to drag myself away from the sea... and I'm leaving you with this extract:
"I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying".

In which I get sentimental (and a tower and another of THOSE beds for 1L)

50L, copy, right here - bed 1L, keep reading

 My RL birthday, wedding anniversary, Christmas and my rezz day all fall within a month, and I do want to mark these things by sharing somehow. I love celebrating.

... anyway, stop being sentimental, woman, and get on with the post. First celebration special right here.

The tower was a build I made this year but had no spare prims to keep it out for long. Now I do, so here it is and I'd love for you to look at it. And if you have a spare 50L...  (it's copy, 40 prims plus 8 for the extras included: firebowl, chandelier, cushions etc).

Inside... is a special version of THAT bed, which is, of course, 1L. Deep rich red and no canopy this time. But click the tower curtain...

The bed - only for 2 days. The tower, maybe a week?




Yes, I am sentimental. Towers give a powerful message. From strength to being locked away, from dreaming to wistfulness when you gaze out from them. Places to celebrate or places to be alone.

Standing atop mine brought out a lot of thoughts last night, but not quite the place to ramble about that here.

Just... hit sunrise or midnight and watch the sea. SL can be so beautiful, no?

(The beacon of light at the top must say something too)

Anyway, hope you find a moment to drop in. I need to stop getting mushy and get ON. I have a bunch of things to finish and put out and share.

Oh, and feel free to use the place for photos or dancing. I have popped an Intan terminal downstairs, too.

Coco designs group gift turtleneck, hair Afterglow, cake