Images By Wurlitzer Seisenbacher

Wurlitzer: What’s your avatar history in Second Life?

Sachi: I've been in SL since May 2005, I came from another 3D chat that was far behind SL even then and I was wowed by all that SL had to offer. I loved the creativity and the gadgets but I didn't like how cramped the land seemed. Where I had come from, everyone had their own space, like a sim, so land in SL seemed very cramped and expensive to me.

Wurlitzer: What is Adam n Eve and how did you get involved?

Sachi: Adam n Eve is a Second Life store selling clothes, shoes, skins, shapes and hair. I started the store in July 05 with my partner Damen Gorilla. We make pretty much everything for kitting out the avatar and we also opened our own nature sim and store this year with sculpted trees, water and rocks and things.

Wurlitzer: Where is Adam n Eve located?

Sachi: Yes, on our sim Genesis. We have three Sims. Genesis, which is the home of our flagship store, Revelations where we have a nature sim and sell sculpted trees and water and rocks and things for a more beautiful Second Life. The last sim is Artis which is an open space we use to display raw terrain files and terrain textures.

Wurlitzer: How long did it take to create Adam n Eve?

Sachi: About 2 weeks initially, it started out very small with a little rental spot at Teasers and half a dozen outfits. I didn't really know what I was doing back in those in those I just enjoyed making things and the thrill that someone might actually buy it.

Wurlitzer: Who are the staff involved with Adam n Eve, & what are their roles?

Sachi: Damen Gorilla and I are the designers, we don't have a big team of designers and we are both self taught in our areas of design. We do have help with the store and customer service from: Freya Nemeth, Ran Garrigus and Alicia Cyr, who all work in store as customer service reps.

Wurlitzer: What made you decide to call your store Adam n Eve?

Sachi: When I started making clothing in SL there weren't very many shops with things for guys so I decided to try to represent them also and the name Adam n Eve developed from that, things for both male and female avatars. Also my partner Damen had used a hip priest avatar in another chat so the biblical theme came from there. Over time I confess the girls do get more content but both Damen and I do have a commitment to our dedicated men's section.

Wurlitzer: How did you start in business Adam n Eve in Second Life?

Sachi: I began by making flowers, plants and skyboxes but soon progressed to making my first dress, a Victorian day dress in 3 colors. With the encouragement of friends, I made more dresses then, Adam n Eve was born in July/August of 05. My first outfit was cringe worthy, I'm glad to say I've improved over the last 3 years.

Wurlitzer: What were your desires for joining Second Life?

Sachi: I was just curious initially, I knew people who had come to SL and I came to see what the fuss was about. Damen still had dial up back then so I used to tell him about it in yahoo chat. He joined me about a month after I came here, once he had broadband. I certainly didn't come to SL planning on making a business, it just happened.

Wurlitzer: What are some of the inspirations that inspired the various items you feature at Adam n Eve?

Sachi: Inspiration comes from everywhere, things you see, things you'd like to have or wear history. I do follow fashion a lot more these days to keep up with what's hot and what's not but a lot of my designs come from my head.

One of my favorite things to make are skins, I recently developed a new method of making them by constructing them directly onto the SL avatar in a third party 3d program. The results are some really striking looking photo real skins that I am immensely proud of and they seem to be grabbing a few peoples interest.

Wurlitzer: do you possess any backgrounds in the creative arts field?

Sachi: None, my partner and I are both self taught in Photoshop and the other programs we use. I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity to earn some real Life income from my creativity. It's very special to be able to do that and I enjoy the freedom of coming to work in my lingerie! My previous experience was in literary fields and teaching.

I get an idea and I tend to go with it. I am a perfectionist so I won't release anything until I am completely happy with it. Both Damen and I feel that quality is very important. I use Photoshop for the bulk of my work but increasingly I am using a 3d modeling program where I am getting some very nice results.

Wurlitzer: What are the price range for the items that Adam n Eve carries?

Sachi: Prices range from 0L$ to 1500L$. I like to think our prices are competitive and below average, particularly in view of the quality of the items we sell. We also have a bargain basement at the store with many items priced as low as 50 or 100L$. We often put items in there before we retire them.

Wurlitzer: What are some of the issues that you’ve faced with Adam n Eve?

Sachi: It can be a constant struggle in SL to advertise to people successfully and keep your store name in their minds. SL can be a very difficult market. The growing issues of content theft are also a serious trial, it can be pretty demoralizing when you work hard on an item for others to take it and profit from it. We work hard and I think others should do their own work.

Wurlitzer: What are your favorite ways of promoting Adam n Eve?

Sachi: The most successful things seem to be via in world groups, word of mouth and by utilizing our blog posts to attract attention to the products. I have been featured in real Life magazine articles about the store and I was recently nominated as an entrepreneur of the year in SL which is quite flattering. They are all things that I hope promote the store but I think the most important thing to garner good will is our commitment to supplying good customer service. We always respond and we care.

Wurlitzer: How did Adam n Eve get involved with Duettmann & Frankel Modeling?

Sachi: I've known Helke Duettmann for a while, she is a member of our group and I've chatted to her many times. I can be a bit reclusive with regard events and she persuaded me to go ahead with a fashion show on 22nd November 08 and also a filming of the show and this very interview.

Wurlitzer: What were some features of the recent fashion event for Duettmann & Frankel Modeling?

Sachi: We showed a selection of our new skins and some of the many clothes and costumes from Adam n Eve. The team at D & F was very professional and well organized and the show was rounded off by a lovely firework display. I have a great weakness for SL fireworks so I enjoyed that a great deal.

Wurlitzer: How did you get to work with a film advertisement company in Second Life that is responsible for such promotions for many Hollywood movies?

Sachi: It was via our group and a personal approach from a group member who knew the head of the company in SL. They were looking for someone who could make celebrity avatars so we were introduced and it all developed from there. This led to us making avatars of various celebrities, including Bruce Willis, Zack Snyder, Frank Miller, Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Shia Lebeouf, Michael Bay and Megan Fox for press conferences in Second Life in connection with movies 300, Die Hard 4 and Transformers, through the PPC who own Silverscreen sim. We also have made free costumes for the 300 and Die Hard 4 projects that are available from Silverscreen sim. We've also made the avatars of the French Minister of Culture, and a German band (Juli) and TV Star. Free costumes connected with these events and made by Damen and Sachi of Adam n Eve are still available at Silverscreen Sim. You can find it on the SL map by typing Silverscreen in search. There are some pics of our celebrity avatars and more information on the notes attached to this.

Wurlitzer: What are some groups that members can join regarding Adam n Eve?

Sachi: Adam n Eve Sachi Vixen update group is our group; they have a secret room in the store where we place special promotional items at a discount. Soon we are introducing a loyalty card system where people can save up points they gain from purchases to purchase items for free at the store.

Wurlitzer: What do you think Adam n Eve has to offer that is different from other SL stores.

Sachi: It was a natural process for us as a shop which sold skins and hair to provide demos across the board. I had heard of another store offering some for clothes and felt it was a sensible idea. It’s important to me to stand by my work and allow people to try before they buy. They are spending real money after all and the least I can do is offer them the opportunity to try one on their avatar before parting with their cash.

Wurlitzer: How many members would are active in the Adam n Eve groups?

Sachi: I think it was around 1700 members the last time I looked. I know more would like to join but many people have limited group slots because of homes and land being deeded to groups and other essential groups. It would be great if Linden Labs would give us a larger group quota as I think more people would join in world groups if they had more space.

Wurlitzer: How many times do you hold special group events for Adam n Eve?

Sachi: A few times a year, usually at special times like Christmas or Halloween we like to hold event.

Wurlitzer: Does Adam n Eve feature any sponsors?

Sachi: No we don't.

Wurlitzer: What are some of your goals for Adam n Eve for the future?

Sachi: To keep going, to grow in popularity, to be the best that we can be!

Wurlitzer: If you weren’t involved with Adam n Eve, what you have been doing?

Sachi: I might have been involved with one of the role play communities, I used to enjoy role playing a long time before SL and Caledon and some of the other role play environments look like lots of fun.

Wurlitzer: What do you like to do in your spare time in SL away from Adam n Eve?

Sachi: We go boating! Damen has a little boat and takes me off sailing every Friday on our hour off! Sometimes the store staffs who are all valued friends come along with us too.

We also like to make things for our beautiful nature sim Revelations as a form of relaxation. Around the sim we have adorable TP maps that remind me of pirate treasure maps. They take you to features or to the store simply by left clicking where you want to go. We really enjoyed adding those little touches and making the trees and sculpted water and other features there. I think its one of the prettiest Sims in Second Life and I love that people can also buy the items and make their own space beautiful with he things we make too. It's fascinating to watch people use their creativity and see what they can make on their Sims and land parcels with items that others have created.

We hope that people will enjoy our beautiful sim and take pictures there. We recently changed it to winter scene for the Christmas period and I added some couples poses for people who are visiting and want to take snaps.

Wurlitzer: How do you see the future of Second Life to be?

Sachi: I think it go in two possible directions, it could continue and grow and develop as a new and exciting platform, or it could die out. I think which way it goes very much depends on the decisions Linden Labs makes and on them keeping it as affordable as possible for users to enjoy owning their own land here. There was a lot of controversy recently over the changes to open space Sims, so soon after allowing people to buy them with a few more prims and as single parcels. I think LL need to listen a lot more to their user base fro SL to continue to be a success. It’s not a good thing to alienate your customer base.

Wurlitzer: Where do you see Adam n Eve 6 months from now?

Sachi: I hope it will be growing and filled with wonderful creations, as it is right now. But in a global recession it’s really hard to say, I hope that we are established enough to continue through lean periods in the economy. I think it’s understandable when money is tight that people have less to spend on SL which is essentially a luxury item.

Wurlitzer: What would you like to be known for in Second Life?

Sachi: Excellence, Quality and Great Customer Service. I'd like to be thought well of, I think that is the same for everyone really.

Wurlitzer: Do you have any favorite advice you would like to share with the audience?

Sachi: Keep trying and working to be the best that you can be.

Wurlitzer: Have you ever been affected by content theft?

Sachi: Everyone is affected by content theft, as is the SL economy. A short term cheap fix from

someone who is selling texture they have no right is long term damage to everything that SL is. It is a serious issue and if Linden Labs doesn't start to take it more seriously in future I think it could be the eventual undoing of SL. Content creation is huge here, it is a major driving force of SL and something that most users are interested in from a business and consumer perspective. If content theft becomes so bad that it drives creators away or makes, they take decisions like closing their Sims to some users, which I something I heard had happened recently, and then SL is going to be a very dull place without the wonderful diversity of content. I don't think that Linden Labs do enough to deter theft.

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