Because the last blog entry was written weeks ago, I decided that it may as well be time for an update.  And who’s better to update the blog than I am?  LOL.  I’m only kidding–don’t hit me!  It’s 4:00AM, my time, eastern USA, so if you find typos, know that I’ve made them when I was weak-minded. 

What am I still doing up at 4:00AM, you ask.  Well, I was shopping, asking Dea millions of questions, and trying to figure out which hair demos fit me best at Minnu.  Tonight was my first time trying on the new Minnu skins that were released weeks ago.  And I must say that they’re not as bad as many people have told me they are.  The Gen 2 skin collection, with the shiny, glimmering lips, still remains my favorite skins ever created by Minnu–I was saddened that Minnu retired the collection.  The Minnu Zero skins have much of the same shadings as the controversial Gen 4 collection, a collection that became the topic of many accusive and, perhaps, slanderous blogs.  In a recent interview with Minnu in the Best of SL magazine, Minnu has finally revealed her side of the story–that she has never been sued and that pulling both Gen 2 and Gen 4 was her decision and not due to a legal reasons.  Why has Minnu become the attack of blogs when it is obvious that so many other designers, perhaps, do the same thing as Minnu has–used sources from RL 3rd sites in the creation of their own skins?  A blog has compared the images of both her skins and the supposedly original skin that it claimed Minnu stole; perhaps the evidence was there for hers and not for the others.  But contrary to blog accusations, Minnu did not steal the file template-she used certain parts of the template in the creation of her skins.  It’s kind of hard to explain to anyone without the slightest idea of how skins could be created, but if you check out Minnu’s own blog, you’ll be able to find a statement by her own attorney.

When Minnu retracted her Gen 2 and Gen 4 after weeks of accusations and pressure from blogs and closed her store for the launch of her Zero skins, I had thought that, perhaps, Redgrave has already become the sensation that Minnu had once been.  In terms of popularity, has Redgrave skins become the new Minnu?  In my opinion, yes.  Redgrave has become very mainstream–I see a lot of people wearing them–even some Modavia models.  Redgrave skins have stronger, darker and more pixelate and radiant details than Minnu skins.  The shadings in Redgrave skins, especially in the face, are mostly done with lighting–so some of the Redgrave skin, when looked from afar, seem as if they are discolored from the face.  In terms of body details, I think Redgrave ties with Naughty Designs.  Redgrave skins are also less expensive, though not by much, than other leading brand name skins.  I still believe, however, that Minnu skins are best for modeling–the details are there and evident, yet they’re subtle and striking.  The tone and shading of Minnu skins seem more appropriate for photography to me.  There may be a lot of critics, but in my opinion, Minnu knows how to translate RL high fashion into SL.  She knows high fashion–and you can see this in her photography, in her magazine and profile picture.  But will people ever “forgive” Minnu in order to fully support and appreciate her work?  I don’t know.  I, too, like everyone else, believed half of everything blogs fed me, but what’s theft when the creations in question weren’t actually stolen?  What’s theft when it hasn’t been proven?  Why, as asked by Minnu herself, are people so eager to condemn without clear and distinct evidence, without hearing both sides of the story?  

I had intended to visit Minnu when it had first reopened with the Zero line, but was bogged down by my preparation for the fashion show and after party that I was planning to celebrate the official launch of our new shapes at Beautify, Inc.  The fashion show was the first show that I had ever produced with my business partner.  We virtually started from scratch, with the information we knew from our own experience with modeling.  There were a lot of sleepless nights, mostly due to the deadline and many last minute decisions, such as moving to a new sim, building a venue, etc.  We had less than a week to pull off the show because it had taken us longer than we thought to secure a designer, especially during and after the 4^th of July weekend.  We moved at the last minute due to drama with our neighboring stores.  I never expected so many obstacles to overcome in the production of the show.  The funny thing is that it was a two women show-my business partner and I were both able to pull off the show on our own, with little to no help from anyone else.  Hard work and a miracle.

For a first show, the show went relatively well, even if there were heckling from people next door.  The fashion show had conflicted with a neighboring launch party; while I had informed the owner next door about the shouting of our announcer days before the show, the warning seemed to have eluded her guests.  Drama aside, we had a good turn-out and slide-show pictures of the show and after party with DJ AZU can be found at the following link: http://flickr.com/photos/tillie/sets/72157606135354250/show/

The fashion expo featured shapes by Beautify and featured fashions by Amanda Bolero of the Bolero Collection, Avagardner and Barbra Kungler of Kunglers Designs, and Forda Fairlane and Moxie Polano of Haute Couture & Style.  All the designers were chosen for a reason-the quality and creativity of their designs spoke to us.

Okay, I’m finished with my rant?  Bored?  I thought so.  At least I was entertained.