Never mind the quality, read the breathless prose (rant)

Sheesh my blogs are getting boring and all about - well - SELLING stuff.
And oh dear, it's one of those days.

Well, I could get into a rant about nobody caring about my utterly exquisite creations. Or I could go away and make some more...


... or continue staring at 'bloggers' raving about an extremely marketing-savvy designer whose stuff I wouldn't buy if you paid me. But hey, kudos to her and her little band of breathless prose writers. Really. I do mean that and why of course I'm a little jealous.

Because marketing is most definitely where it's at. And I'd rather be either making things* or watching virtual waves or dancing on the square.

(I actually wanted to put this photo lower down but Blogger hates me this morning and it won't budge. So, plug*. ). I'm only human. Lousy photographer, but human ;)




Snob, you are no doubt muttering to yourselves. Who wants a 3-D arty-farty... thing for their walls anyway (although please note that it is actually at 90° despite the lousy photo.


And what about poor Ms Newbie who needs to be encouraged?

Well... yes. Definitely. But...



I was thinking about my first wonky glass bowl yesterday, and horrified at the thought that I actually tried to sell it. But (fortunately) I met a very pleasant builder-guy who was a lot SL-older and wiser than me, who said ever so politely 'you may want to work a little on your building, however tempting it is to jump on the oooooo let's do business' bandwagon.

He was so right. At this point I could show the said glass bowl, but it could be extraordinarily embarrassing. I rather hope it's fallen into the Big Inventory Void. Oh to hell with it - here it is. Why does SL save that and eat my seagull?

And no, it's not at 90°. But behold the huge discovery that you could put dimples into spheres and slap a freebie texture on. Way to go!


(Sadly, this amazing item is no longer for sale, please don't flood me with requests).


What am I actually writing about here? Good question. It's Saturday morning, and I should be running around doing laundry and gearing up for a long work trip as of Tuesday to a Long Way Away.


Actually, I think I'm saying I'd rather be making my silly fiddly things * that nobody buys than churning out same old, same old or really making the investment in time and Lindens to get my stuff known. (*another plug while we're at it).


But at the same time, much as I admire people who do get their stuff out there, I sort of prefer discovering that it's good stuff. Quality may be in the eyes of the beholder, but sloppy, blurry textures and wonky seams / alignments tend to stop me in my tracks before I can admire the 'look' for its 'artistic value'.

Here endeth a fairly useless ramble. Better than laundry, though.

And did I say plug?

Quality is subjective. And pigs can fly.

Look quick, it's the inevitable plug for Vent du Sud and of course is the most amazing patio set with colour change and lots of poses and, well, you get the drift. However, this is a rant about quality. Be warned.

You may read this rant before rushing to purchase the set, or vice-versa (joke. Almost). You may even criticise it, but you can actually sit on it - see rant below.

Sooooo... (pause to take deep, deep breath). This morning, I saw a statement on a blog - that shall be unnamed - which stated 'quality is totally subjective'.

No it is NOT. Really. It isn't. And it's my pet soapbox.

To start with, quality is usually shorthand for 'good quality'. If you see something called a 'quality item', one presumes it doesn't mean 'will fall apart and/or cause damage to your person'.

In SL, if you open a box that says 'stunningly gorgeous, detailed, high-quality gown' and get something that is basically a few badly-textured, non-mod, non-copy prims, then you've got dodgy quality. You might like the style, the colour, but if it doesn't fit / work then there are quality issues. Simple as that. So what if it's free or cheap so it 'doesn't matter'. It's a lack of respect for your consumer at best, and downright dishonest at worst.

Good (or acceptable) quality means, y'know, medicines that aren't counterfeits that can kill you. It means cars / computers / condoms that don't fall apart at the wrong time. It means instructions for something that are clear and readable. It means food that doesn't come with free salmonella. It means that a sit pose permits you to sit rather than forces you to do a triple backflip. Just examples offhand.

You may like certain aspects of something and get frustrated when others criticise them, but that has nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with the basic criteria of 'do they perform the purpose for which they were intended', i.e. is their quality at least satisfactory.

Sure, it's great to encourage 'new designers'. A pat on the back never hurt anybody and maybe that idea, that colour is great. But have the sense, dammit, not to get spluttery and hurt if you (or your very bestest friend)are putting something out for grabs that is shoddy and people dare to say so.

Either wait until you (or the friend) master the skills to create something that at least fulfils that 'basic purpose', or expect those who acquire that item to react as consumers do: by remaining silent but never coming back, by hurling abuse (not pleasant, but human nature), or by offering constructive criticism. Yes, it can hurt if that criticism is public, but you've put your product out for the public, so live with that.

OK, stepping down from the soapbox now. Really.