So we get to learn about Annie Melson and your designs featured in Just BECAUSE. What would you like to share with us about yourself?
Oh my gosh, I hate talking about myself! LOL! What do I
say?? Um... I'm just an average regular person that lives in a beautiful
northern state in the USA. I truly am married to my best friend and we've
enjoyed 18 years together and we're hoping for many more years to come. We've
got two great kids. I'm an award winning artist in RL and have had my work hang
in several galleries. I love cats and have four (OMG!), which was completely
unplanned for I must add, so it's a good thing I love them LOL! We also have
fish and one crazy bird who thinks she's the queen of the house. :)
How did you get
started in design work, Annie?
My start in design work isn't really a happy one, but it has
turned out happy. I had been in SL long before creating and selling furniture.
That was going pretty well, but then I left SL. I was gone for over a year. My
dear husband, Terk, was diagnosed with
cancer and it threw us and our little family for a loop. It was the worst year
of our lives. He's recovered and is doing well now, but during that time we
were on the edge of losing everything because of the mounting medical bills.
And while being a RL artist is fun and fulfilling, it doesn't pay worth a hoot,
so I had to go to work to keep us going. It was my husband who suggested I come
back to SL and sell my creations, whatever I decided to create, that way I
could be here for the kids too. I spent the next 3 months spending hours
researching on creating a successful business in SL. Failure wasn't an option.
My husband and kids needed me to succeed.
I decided that I didn't want to go back to furniture. I hate
scripts, and working with them drives me batty, so I knew the best design work
for me was in clothing, which has been so much better than furniture creating
for me. It fit me so much better, and I enjoy doing it so much more. As an RL
artist, it made it perfect, because it dealt with painting, which is what I do
when I make my clothing. Now, with the mesh, it adds sculpting which is another
RL art I love to do, but instead of clay it is digital. :)
Just BECAUSE was
named as one of exclusive 24 menswear designers in The 24. What can you tell us about this?
The 24 is an invitation only event that features 24 of the
best men's fashion, 24 of the best women's fashion, 24 of the best home items,
and 24 of the best pose/animation makers in SL. Each of these designers has a
shop on one of the four sims (each sim is dedicated to each category) and they
are showcased in the shows they put on throughout the week. This event is put
on by Siren Productions, and they host many other incredible events throughout
the year, one of which is the Menswear Fashion Week which I have also
participated in.
Let's talk about your
textures for a moment. Are each of your
textures hand-painted and original creations?
All of my finished textures are my own creation, meaning I
never use templates. Every crease and fold, every stitch is hand painted. I
will buy and use background fabrics and patterns (like a cotton weave) to save
time because hand painting everything takes a lot of my time, but many times I
make those too. It just depends on how much time has already been spent. I
don't like taking too long because it is good to keep releasing new items in a
timely manner. But, yes, the final textures I upload to apply to clothing are
completely mine. They aren't someone else's template or creation.
However, there is nothing wrong with people using texture
templates to create and sell. They do good work and it allows many others to
have a business of their own, which is one of the wonderful aspects of SL. But
I like to stay away from it because as an artist I never want to infringe on
copyright, or make people question even
an inkling whether I have. I would never want it happening to me, so I do
whatever I can to stay away from doing it to others. So making my own not only
protects me from this, but it also gives the customer a creation that is
original and unique, which is also really important to me.
So Annie, you are
involved a few hunts ... Season's Palette, Menstuff, and Homestuff. Tell us about your part in these hunts.
Oh my goodness, I love hunts! Not only are they a lot of
fun, but it gives me the opportunity to give people something nice to enjoy.
It's kind of a way for me to help give back. :) Season's Palette is a hunt
that requires the designers to use 3 or
more colors from a selection of colors given to them to use on their creations
and I like the challenge of doing that. The Menstuff/Homestuff hunt is a combined
hunt. I don't make Homestuff items, so I'm participating in the Menstuff side
of this hunt. I'm also one of the Womenstuff designers from this same group,
but Womenstuff doesn't currently have a hunt going on. They should have one
coming up sometime soon though. :)
I noticed an
advertisement for Mad City on your event board, what is Mad City?
Mad City is a group of brilliant game creators who create
very cool interactive hunt games for SL. I absolutely love them! They create
hunts that are much more than just a hunt - they are games you have to play in
order to receive the prizes from each of the stores participating at the end.
They are usually spooky and dark in nature, throwing you into a mystery you
have to solve. The Mad City hunt I was participating in just finished. I really
look forward to participating in the next one they have. They are incredible!
You have a new men's
release, Men's Splash Collection. What
does this include?
The Men's Splash Collection are my latest swimwear for the
men and already it is proving to be incredibly popular! I created three
different swimsuit styles in mesh for the men to choose from - the longer board
shorts, the mid thigh length swim trunks, and the very popular speedo style
swim briefs. Of each of these 3 styles I created 2 different versions, which
has 5 different colors. You do the math and you come up with 30 different
choices of swimwear! I know, I went crazy! LOL! I also made full packs at a
discounted price so people who love them all can save a bit of money. :) These
of course come in all five standard sizes.
Just BECAUSE was one
of the solo shows participating in Menswear Fashion Week back in April
2013. Tell us about your involvement in
this event, Annie ...
Menswear Fashion Week is created by Siren Productions, which
I spoke of earlier regarding The 24, except this is strictly for the men. I was
thrilled that Just BECAUSE was one of their solo shows, meaning I had a fashion
show exclusively showing Just BECAUSE clothing. I had to create a whole new collection
to showcase called Modern Gatsby. I used this event to launch into making my
own mesh clothing as well as starting a whole new way of releasing clothes - by
collections instead of one item at a time.
Another outfit caught
my eye, Modern Gatsby. What's the story
behind this classy men's outfit?
Modern Gatsby is a pretty special collection of clothes for
me because it was when I learned how to make my own mesh clothing and I used
some of my new mesh in this collection. This is the collection that was debuted
during Menswear Fashion Week 2013. Before this I was using mesh created by
others because I hadn't learned how to make it myself yet. (Please note however
that the textures for these mesh clothes were solely my own, keeping with my
stance on originality.)
Current trends in men's fashion in RL was what inspired me
to make The Modern Gatsby collection. Men's clothing was taking on a 1920's
flair, brought about by the release of The Great Gatsby movie that just came
out at the time. I fell in love with it and wanted to make them for SL too, but
with a slight modern twist to it by adding jeans and a button down casual
shirt. Class meets casual. And that's how Modern Gatsby was formed. :)
Back in January, you
held a open chat, "Coffee with Annie". Tell us about this unique opportunity to
spend some time with you ...
Designing clothes is a very solitary and lonely process. I
call myself a Sky Platform Dweller because that's where I am always found! LOL!
All of my time is spent creating. I don't leave my platform much and often
times I may look like I'm online, but the SL window is shrunk down and I am
working hard in other programs creating, such as Blender and Photoshop. But I
like to be able to talk with my customers and give them an opportunity to give
me ideas, tell me what they love, what they would like to see changed, etc. I
like for my customers to have a voice. Just BECAUSE only exists because of them
and I want them to be a part of the creation, so I created "Coffee with
Annie" to give myself and them an opportunity to talk, get to know each
other, and hear their thoughts and suggestions. It's my way of helping people
connect with me, and for me to connect with them. I really need to have another
one soon.
If people can't make these events, or they just don't want
to wait for the next one, they can always connect with me through my social
media networks like Facebook, Twitter, and SLX Connect, among others.
You have a blog for
Just BECAUSE that you operate. Do you
post regularly, Annie?
Yes, I do! :D I post whenever I have a new collection
released, but I will also post work in progress pictures and news. I don't post
every day, but I do keep the blog updated at all times. If I haven't posted in
awhile it is because I'm working hard, not because I'm not doing anything, and
it certainly doesn't mean I'm not updating it regularly. I means an update is
coming. :D
Tell us about the
Just BECAUSE Fun & Flirty Collection.
The Fun & Flirty Collection was a lot of fun to make! It
was summer and that inspired me to make something... well... fun and flirty for the girls! LOL! Girls like
pretty ruffles and ribbons but they also like to show a flirty side and tease
those boys out there and what better way to do that but in the summer? ;) So
out come the capris and shorts, and cute hankie tops, camis, and tube tops! I
went with some really fun colors and patterns too, and since I couldn't decide
on which textures and colors to go with I added a texture changing HUD to all of
them but the hankie tops. Let me tell you, trying to figure out the scripts for
that HUD was NOT fun! I hate scripts and what an ordeal that was! LOL! But I
finally got it and the result is a really fun and versatile collection. :) The
Fun & Flirty Collection is my own mesh creations and you can see some of
the work in progress shots of them on my blog.
For those of us not
in the designer world, especially mesh, tell about Blender. How is this used in your designs?
Blender.... How can I talk about Blender in a simple way
that doesn't scare anyone?? LOL! Well, I guess I'll just be blunt and hope for
the best. :) Blender is a very complex and powerful program, incredibly
intimidating and overwhelming, especially to someone who doesn't know a thing
about hot keys and shortcuts, which was me when I first was trying to learn it.
I first started playing with Blender when I was learning how to make sculpties
back before mesh was introduced to SL. You should have seen me when I finally
"got" it! LOL! I have to admit that I was super proud of myself
because I am not a natural when it comes to techy stuff.
Blender is a free program, but that doesn't mean the program
in a lesser program. It has everything and it is very powerful. But it is also
very complicated and hard to get a grip of. It took me a month to get a handle
on it just to make sculpties, and then when mesh came out it took me another
solid week with very long hours to grasp that. It's intense! You definitely
have to have determination to figure it out and not let the frustration get to
you, because it is very frustrating at times. But once you got it, it gets very
easy and very rewarding. :) I use the Avastar plug in for Blender to add the SL avatar
easily, then I add a mesh cube and start molding it into a shirt or pants. It's
like digital clay. :) After that comes rigging it to the avatar and weighting
it to the bones so that it moves with the avatar. Weighting is my least
favorite part. It's tedious and finicky and I could tweak it all week long
because I'm a perfectionist. :P LOL!
I'm really enjoying
the mesh tank top men's group gift. Do
you offer group gifts on a regular basis?
I'm so glad you like the group gift, Michael! I wish I could
say I offer group gifts on a regular basis, but it hasn't been very regular at
all, nor am I happy with that. I truly need another pair of arms - maybe 2
pairs of arms! But I highly doubt I'll be sprouting a new set anytime soon. :P
Do you think cloning myself would work better?? LOL!
It's very hard to keep up with everything. My main focus is
on creating new collections for people to enjoy (and with them being original
it starts from the very beginning each time, making it more time consuming),
then I have a lot of events and hunts I participate in, next comes maintaining
the business side of things, and then after that comes group gifts and Coffee
with Annie. Often times I'm not left with anymore time for those. My husband,
Terk Sak, handles customer service, which is a big help, but he works a RL job
and that takes most of his time. But I do plan on releasing a new group gift
within the next month, which of course will be original. :)
You have a collection
named Shawn that features jeans, t-shirt, and a leather jacket. What else can you tell us about the Shawn
Collection?
The Shawn Collection was made when I was still learning
about mesh. I hadn't learned how to make my own at that time yet, so those are
made with premade mesh. There are a few mesh pieces in my store using these before
I learned how to do them myself. However, the textures were fully created by
me. I did not use the templates for that, nor for any others I used the premade
mesh for. I learn as I go, and these few items are the turning point pieces. So
the Shawn Collection was a fun new creation for me. It's when I fell in love
with mesh and decided that I was going to learn how to do it myself and never
go back to system layer clothing, unless in the rare occurrence it is needed
for a finished look. :)
Back in May 2013, you
released a mesh dress and floppy hat, Eden.
Tell us about this beautiful design that offers texture changing
options.
Eden was my first original mesh creation for women that I am
happy with. I had created a previous mesh dress called Gabby, which is my first
ever mesh creation, but it is not up to my standards, which is why I have it
for sale at an ultra cheap price. It's cute, but was part of my learning curve.
Modern Gatsby came after Gabby, and it came out well. Eden was my next creation.
I made Eden because I needed a new dress to wear to my solo show at Menswear
Fashion Week 2013 showcasing the Modern Gatsby Collection. I wore it to the show without having even finished
making all of the color options, and the hat hadn't even been created yet. The
hat was fun to make, and because I couldn't make up my mind on textures, I
decided to put in a texture changing script. Eden ended up being very popular
with the girls. They loved the classic style of it. :)
What would you say
are your best selling men's and/or women's items?
By far my mesh creations are my best sellers, and the new
men's swimwear is the biggest best sellers for the men, even more than the
Gatsby Collection, which sells really well too. My best sellers for the women
are the shorts in the Fun & Flirty Collection. I have to admit I am
particularly fond of those shorts myself. :D
Do you have any
suggestions for someone wanting to start designing inworld?
Before I opened my store I spent 3 months researching
everything I could about creating a successful brand and business in SL, and I
really think those first 3 months are what gave me a giant leap on the learning
curve. I learned so many valuable things from other business owners in SL
through this. It saved me a lot of mistakes. Those 3 months were spent
learning, creating a business plan, and creating some items that could be put
in the store from the start. Also, social networks are huge. I started my blog,
created my Facebook, and Twitter accounts before I even opened my store in SL.
Use the social networks. I believe they are imperative to success. But whenever
someone asks me for tips and how to start a business I always tell them to
start researching. The internet is a wealth of information and knowledge is
power. :)
Annie, you have a new store opening soon, can you tell us about it?
My new store is going to be mesh! It has a long ways to go yet to be completed. I'm hoping by the end of next week or beginning of week after that to have it put out and replace the old one. Here are a few photos of the work in progress!
It has been fantastic talking with you. Thank you very much for your time, Annie!
