Past Guests & Transcripts

Wurlitzer: Whats your avatar history in Second Life?

Siddean: My interest in Second Life began in 2003 when my brother (also an artist) casually mentioned that he'd heard about this game where you could make real money so I thought I would check it out. My first look in 2003 and the second at the beginning of 2005 didn't result in anything other than this vague feeling that SL was a kind of cool, but also weird place that my computer would never handle, and that I would never get the hang of development in the virtual world since I had no clue about C++. I think that was the development tool back then? My memory is hazy. Finally in early 2007 I saw a media article about Anshe Chung being the first person to own a million dollars worth of virtual property and I thought I would give it another go. This time I logged in with Siddean with the express purpose of learning how to create stuff. I read a billion tutorials (thanks to Natalia Zelmanov for some of the best SL tutorials out there) window shopped and and played with prims until I made myself ill. I gave camping a go for about 20 minutes while I went through the hundreds of freebies I had picked up, but decided camping was a huge waste of time and bought myself $10USD worth of Lindens, and that's how it all got started.

Wurlitzer: What is SLink and how did you get involved?

Siddean: My business really got started when a fellow who was sharing the sandbox I was playing in asked me about what I was doing (walking around in half a leather coat) and commissioned an outfit for his SL girlfriend and told me in many words that I was going to be famous! I was so inspired by that that I went out and bought a little piece of land and SLink was born. The business has been growing ever since then.

Wurlitzer: Where is SLink located?

Siddean: I bought my own openspace island , named Slink, a few months ago, it's right next door to my friend Delora Starbrook's sim Sanctum. I was contemplating buying an island after LL implemented their automatic sim creation system and Delora convinced me I wanted to be her neighbour, and a friend of hers actually bought the island for me. The location can be found in my picks! I also have a cute little satellite store on Gogolita's sim Juicy, which I have been in forever, and really like!

Wurlitzer: How long did it take to create SLink?

Siddean: Slink is a work in progress, it will technically never be finished. I started creating clothing in May or June of 2007 and I have retired pretty much everything I ever created back then, apart from the very best, and most recent. SLink as a business is very much still growing. It wasn't one of those immediate successes and I put my inexperience in marketing and newness to the grid and the fashion industry in SL as part of the reason it has been slow. But I am learning, and growing and there are exciting times ahead for me!

Wurlitzer: Who are the staff involved with SLink, & what are their roles?

Siddean: Well... Siddean Munro is my designer, shelf stocker, photographer, model, tester, best and worst critic and customer service girl. Caine Munro is my RL husband and part time (verrrrry part time) script writer. He has little love for Linden Scripting Language :) He's also my brand manager and I have lengthy discussions about SLink and it's future direction and marketing with him. He proofreads my announcements so that silly spelling mistakes don't slip by at 2 am, and makes sure I don't release anything flawed. If I try to get away with that, he sends me back to the drawing board!

Wurlitzer: What was your first customer experience in SL like?

Siddean: Most of my customer experiences have been pretty good. I've never really had a bad customer service experience in SL, either on the giving or recieving end. I have a long background in customer service in my RL career, so I am very, very aware of what makes a customer go from a disgruntled one, to a very happy, "fan for life" one. I am also happy to do custom modifications to existing products to allow someone to get the exact option they desire, that tends to make people happy. People LOVE to get to know the designer behind the art, and once they discover that you are personable and friendly instead of a huge scary monster, it really makes them comfortable. My customers have helped me out more than I can ever thank them for.

Wurlitzer: What were your desires for joining Second Life?

Siddean: My strongest desire was to learn how to create clothing and skins, hair and shoes. I didn't start out with a lot of spare $L and I really wanted to wear my own stuff. I had a pretty strong idea in my head for the appearence of this character and I shopped and shopped but didn't find what I wanted. It was a great learning experience though, seeing what other people were doing, getting used to the interface and figuring out how things were created. Also, finding my way around this massive world! I have pretty good memories of my first weeks in SL.

Wurlitzer: What are some of the inspirations that inspired the various items featured at SLink?

Siddean: I am inspired by all sorts of things for my designs. Sometimes I find a piece of fabric or lace that I really like and build an outfit around that, or I see a certain current trend that appeals to me, it might be a style of shoe or clothing article, or even makeup style. I don't make stuff that I don't like and wouldn't personally wear, so you won't find me in miniskirts and bikini tops. Sometimes I see my colleagues or friends wearing something very cute and have a strong urge to make it for Sidd - the little stone necklace was inspired by a friend who bought something similar in Egypt last year.

Wurlitzer: Whats are the price range for the items that SLink carries?

Siddean: I have items in my store that range between 20L to 1200L. Some of my skin packs are up to $13500L, but you get a LOT of bang for your buck for that kind of money. I tend to price things on what I would expect to pay for them in RL. So if an outfit would have an expected price of $250 in RL, then I set the price at $250L. I don't like to charge too much, I think you alienate your biggest audience if your prices are too exclusive. I'd rather make ten sales at $100L than one sale at $1000L

Wurlitzer: What are your favourite ways of promoting SLink?

Siddean: One of my favourite times is right after release, standing in the entrance of my store and greeting people. I like to chat with them, offer assistance and generally get to know my customers. This is one of the best things I can do to promote SLink, because people leave with a good feeling and memory of a good experience even if they didn't make a purchase. Next time they are thinking of buying something, SLink will stand out as a place to go. Apart from that I really enjoy writing my blog posts at release time and I usually can't wait to present the latest releases. I also very much enjoy when others use my items in their blog posts, even if they are not directly reviewing the item, rather simply using it in an outfit. It shows me that people appreciate the work I do, and they don't need to rave about it to show that

Wurlitzer: How did SLink get involved with Duettmann & Frankel Modeling?

Siddean: I met Helke when she was voicing her opinions about skins in the Fashion Café channel, and as Isabelle was in development at the time, I sent her an IM and asked her whether she liked handpainted skins. She was keen to check out what I was doing, so I gave her a couple of prototype skins to have a look at. She gave me a very enthusiastic, honest appraisal and some great constructive criticism which led to some final tweaks, and from there we got into discussing how I was planning to launch these skins. She suggested a show, as D&F had just finished a successful show for Second Wave Apparel and launching via runway show seemed like such an excellent idea!

Wurlitzer: When was you first event with Duettmann & Frankel Modeling?

Siddean: My first event was the recent Art of Beauty show, which after a false start thanks to grid issues, went down very well. I had a very large number of people come through the sim over the course of the show and I have received a lot of very good feedback as a result.

Wurlitzer: What were some features of the recent fashion event for D&F?

tSiddean: The most prominent feature of the recent show were the new skins, both Isabelle and Christopher. They were interspersed with my clothing designs, both new and classic, but the whole show was really about the skins.

Wurlitzer: What are your future plans regarding SLink and D&F?

Siddean: My plan for Slink in the future is to bring my SL income to the point where it can support a fulltime income, and start working fulltime on my designs. My goal for this is the end of 2008, but it's a moveable goal, depending on the numbers. I will definitely use D&F again for future shows and promotions, Helke and her team were professional to the very end, and it was a pleasure to work with them!

Wurlitzer: What are some groups that members can join regarding SLink ?

Siddean: I have 2 ways to get updates in world at the moment. First of all I have a subscriber group that will allow people to get news and gifts without using a group slot, and the other way is my SL group which allows members to take advantage of the discounts I offer on most of my products. Being in the SL group will also make it easy for members to pick up the Picks Rewards gifts that I release on occasion.

Wurlitzer: How many members would are active in the SLink groups?

Siddean: Currently in my subscriber list there are almost 800 members, and there are just over 100 members in my SL group as I have only just opened the group up to the public.

Wurlitzer: How many times do you hold special group events for SLink?

Siddean: I don't hold special events as often as I would like, cos it's just me! I hope to remedy this in the future. I recently held a photo competition to celebrate the opening of my sim, which was a great success. I received some brilliant entries and it was very hard to decide on a winner.

Wurlitzer: Does SLink have any sponsors?

Siddean: I don't have any sponsors, no. The subject of sponsorship is not something I have thought a great deal about. That said if the right offer came along, I'd have a good look at it!

Wurlitzer: What are some of your goals for SLink for the future?

Siddean: As I mentioned before I would really like for Slink to support a fulltime job for me. I absolutely love doing this and I would like to be able to stop working for a wage and work on my skills here.

Wurlitzer: If you weren't involved with SLink, what would you be doing?

Siddean: If I wasn't involved with SLink specifically, I would most definitely be involved in the creative side of SL in some way or another

Wurlitzer: What do you like to do in your spare time in SL away SLink?

Siddean: In my spare, spare time when I am not working, or working on something for Slink I'm a keen gamer and have played Everquest for the last 5 years, now less than I used to, but it's still something I like to do. My husband and many of my friends keep my gaming addiction alive, there is always something new to play and do. Aside from that I have 2 very energetic and messy cats which keep me busy running around with the broom after them, or investigating what they have knocked off the windowsills. I am also very keen on watching tv series, and I try to squeeze in an episode a night. I am currently working through The West Wing and I have a number of other series to catch up on like Heroes and Battlestar Galactica. I think Avatar is up there in my all time favourites, along with Full Metal Alchemist.

Wurlitzer: How do you see the future of Second life?

Siddean: I think that the virtual world arena has a lot of growth potential, and I would expect a serious competitor for Second Life to emerge at some point. I am optimistic for Second Life though, I think there are some issues that need to be sorted out, and grid performance is definitely the big one for me, but I am very excited about the possibilities of the technology. The brilliant minds at Linden Labs are really making huge leaps in the implementation of the cool new features like windlight, shadows and sculpties. I am very excited about the possibility of flexi sculpties!! Imagine that!

Wurlitzer: Where do you see SLink 6 months from now?

Siddean: I am hoping that in 6 months I will have a full sim bursting to contain my clothing empire!! And when I stop dreaming, I hope that the next 6 months will be an exciting period of growth for me. People are starting to sit up and take notice of this little Aussie sole operator and as I get more products, and I get better at what I do, I hope it will reflect in the success of my business. While my mainstay is items I would wear in real life, I have on occasion done more high fashion items. I would very much like to do more of that

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

Siddean: I guess I would like to be known as a nice person, someone who takes care of her customers, and someone who strives to be the best at what she does.

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