In this capitalistic metaverse, we all love to shop. Because of this demand for places to fritter away our hard earned Linden Dollars, shopping malls are a dime a dozen. Anyone with any land, seems to throw together big blocky square buildings, divided into regimented cubicles, rent out the spaces to sl entrepreneurs eager to get their wares seen in as many places as possible, and sit back to let the money roll in. Many have clubs attached, in order to attract people to these rectangular towers of uncreative materialism, and maintain some form of flow of curious residents who might purchase the products held within, but as with the construction of the building in the first place, the bare minimum is done. Fortunately, there are still places in SL that show things don't have to be this way.

I first discovered Plunder because it has an outpost of one of my favourite stores there, and having seen before that they are quite good at placing their stores near one's of a similar style, I decided to pop by, and see what other wondrous things were on offer. When I arrived, I was completely distracted from my quest for grubby clothes and battle worn attachments. Plunder is located high, high in the air, unusual for a mall, since it means it doesn't get much browsing traffic, when people are wandering by, happen to notice it, and have to go in for a better look. Which is almost a shame, since if you were lowflying over the grid, and spotted this, that is EXACTLY what you'd do. However, there's a reason Plunder is in the air. The place themed as an floating airship hub, a place for flying craft to gather to trade and meet. Unlike many skystructures, this isn't just, there, high in the air, with no apparent means of support. Each structure, every ship, house, platform or shed is held aloft by balloons, thrusters, propellers, or in some cases, flying robots or giant insects that have been lashed to the build. Here, there is thought, variety and imagination in abundance. This is not a simple money making enterprise, but a labour of love, which makes the customer go "ooOOoo... look at that" as much as "must buy that, gotta have that".


I then noticed one thing, that, to be honest, made my heart sink a little. "Click here to teleport to Plunder Lounge". Even this place, it seemed, is not safe from the club/mall partnership. When I teleported up to the "lounge", I looked around, and was completely amazed. There was no dancefloor. No DJ booth. No podium with half naked dancing girls. No Sploder, no swirling textures, and no comp boards. As described in it's name, it's a comfortable, relaxing lounge, located in the passenger area of a giant zeppelin, where you can chill out and chat with interesting people, while occasionally gazing out at the gorgeous build below you. Which is exactly what I did, with the owner of Plunder, Posy Trudeau:


Voodoo: So, what was the inspiration behind the build here?
Posy Trudeau: Well, my boyfriend Donovan Brennen introduced me to anime... and we watched Laputa Castle in the Sky. It’s a wonderful movie with lots of airships... Steamboy was also an inspiration. I just thought it would be a unique idea in SL and I wanted to do it for a really long time so I finally bought the land and did it. It's truly my pet project. Vendors are here by invite only... rent free... and most are close friends. I'm very fortunate to have very talented designers who are friends ^^
Voodoo: Now each of the vendors areas are very unique, but all keep with the theme.... Did the vendors themselves make those, or did you make the spaces ready to be used?
Posy Trudeau: Well, I know how difficult and time-consuming it is to set up a store, much less building the store itself...so I gave everyone a choice...they could build their own airship, or I would build one for them.
Voodoo: How many of them took the plunge, and made their own?
Posy Trudeau: Several built their own, like Disembodied Hand, Vas Legend and Tyreak Takashi... all incredible builders. I surprised some who were close friends, like Zabitan Assia... he's a HUGE fan of Japanese toys, so I made his store held aloft by a giant Japanese toy robot; and Keishii Roo...who's a Neko...I gave his a gothic cat theme. It was really fun for me ^^. I also purchased a couple of the airships. The one we're in now was a present for me from Donovan :-)
Voodoo: There's a really personal feel throughout the whole project.... do you feel that helps give a warmth to the place, or is there a danger of making it too cliquey and alienating potential customers?
Posy Trudeau: Hmmm... well if the positive comments from customers are any indication, that's not the case. I've gotten wonderful feedback :D and to be honest...my whole purpose in SL is to have fun and do things that I like...and hopefully others will like it too.
Voodoo: So, make something you want first and foremost, and hope that other people will enjoy it too. Not a bad philosophy.
Posy Trudeau: Exactly...otherwise it wouldn’t be fun for me, and would seem too much like work, and I already have a RL job for that, where I have to answer to a boss and please other people. This place is my true creative outlet, where I do things for me. I know that it may sound selfish, but that's how I view Second Life and why I spend hours of my free time here.
Voodoo: Have you had any problems running Plunder, either from customers or from your vendors?
Posy Trudeau: No problems at all...the vendors are all good friends of mine... definitely one of the benefits
Voodoo: Superb.... we should all be so lucky :)
Posy Trudeau: :-)
Voodoo: Finally, what is next for you? Do you have any future plans, either with Plunder or with other projects?
Posy Trudeau: Well... I'm absolutely dying to own my own island...with Plunder in the sky, and my other store Miau Haus on the ground. It would be nice to have Plunder without the neighbouring structures floating around and I have a few friends I'd like to add as vendors. I think it'll be a few more months before I'm ready for that move
Voodoo: Well, best of luck with that, and congratulations on such a great place.