Those who've been paying attention may have recently read my article on Linden Bears, where I pointed out that it seems to be becoming more common that people with the surname Linden are now choosing to have someone build their Bear (the gift that they give away, that's meant to represent them), rather than taking the time to make them personally. At the end of the piece, I explained, by making a bear of my own, that making something personal and cute is not that difficult, and put out a challenge to other sl residents to make their own bears, and send them to me, to show the Lindens how it's done. I'm delighted to say, I've not been disappointed.

First of all, I nagged our very own Trinity Dechou to make a bear. Eventually, she put together this adorable plush toy, which due to it's little ears, has a mole-like charm. It comes complete with a replica of Trin's favourite sniper rifle, and if you're wondering what it's reading, well, it's a lil copy of everyone's favourite Rez Magazine, of course!


Not wanting to be outdone, Trinity's partner and master builder, Aimee Trescothick, put her skills towards bear creation, and sent me this ethereal animal, with amazing use of glow, and a swirling inner beauty, giving it an amazing ghostly beauty. Oh, and I've heard of a special version that only Trin has, with a glowing heart inside.


My partner, Allanah Tomsen, also rose to the challenge, creating this Koala-like red and black bear, which she specially scripted so that when you click it, it gives you a notecard with a hug for you, since there are never enough hugs going round, and this hug you can keep and treasure, much like the bear itself.


Meanwhile, Tucor Capalini had been working on themed bears as prizes to go with the carnival stalls he'd been designing (which you can buy here.. I particularly recommend the Clockwork Orange Bear). When he heard about my bear challenge, he designed this superb Tucor Bear, complete with his signature visor, and some rather fine flexi hair.

Neko Cummere Mayo sent me this fabulously feline cuddly toy, as a simple bear would not have embodied her kitty tendencies. This adorable teddycat has Cummere's crimson hair, and a happy little flicking tail.


Squirrel Wood sent me this very existential "Bear Inside", a kind of Schrodinger's Bear, where as long as you believe that there is a bear is inside the impenetrable box, then there is.


Tal Chernov's avatar is that of a furry polar bear, who wears cyberpunk goggles, so that his bear represents him more most, being in fact, almost a miniature version of himself. And at over 100 prims, there has been some definite time and effort put into constructing this adorable albino.


I even received a bear from an SL Legend, the King of the Hobos, Orhalla Zander. In between the many projects he has going on, he also found time to make one of the cutest bears I've seen. This chubby little cardboard box dwelling bear is definitely all hobo, with the happy go lucky scamp sporting a cheeky wink, a can of beer, and Orhalla's trademark barrel outfit.


However, the bear which has brought the most sheer joy was this Magician Bear by Joeseph Albanese. As well as being a fantastically cute bear in his own right, the delight comes when you click on his wand. The little fella attempts to dazzle you with a magic trick, but unfortunately sets his hat on fire. Once he realises his mistake, he then conjures a magic fire extinguisher (more successfully this time) which you can click to put out the fire, and save his hat from fiery doom.



So there you go. Once again the residents of SL show just how creative they can be when a challenge is thrown down. I only hope more people rise to the challenge. After all, one thing I've learned from this whole experience is how great it is to be given a little bear that someone has taken the time, effort and thought to build. So why not give your friends a bear today? I think they deserve it!

Some of the worlds finest examples usually stand proud and tall, dominating a position and looking down on us all. I doubt many of us would be able to look at a bridge and have no feeling about it whatsoever; even if that feeling is from the purely practical point of view that the structure carries you from here to there. For bridge enthusiasts (of which I am one) around the world, bridges can invoke many different thoughts and even emotions. From the finer details of how it’s been constructed to how it can symbolise a physical and sometimes even emotional journey to the other side.

With these thoughts in mind I decided to use my SecondLife to embark on an exploration of bridges. From the large, well known, showcases bridges, to the smaller lesser known structures.

One of the best recognised bridges in the (real) world is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In SecondLife this bridge is located at Ponderosa as part of the Australian themed sims. In excess of 1,000 prims this virtual representation of this immense bridge is wonderful, my only complaint is the area lacks its world famous Opera House. However from a ‘things I’d like to do before I die’ point of view, I was able to walk up the Sydney Harbour bridge and I never even left my seat.


Another unmistakable giant in the world of real life bridges is the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. I found the SL version of this bridge on slexchange and following an IM to the creator was given a landmark to view this in-world. This bridge can be bought for 17,000$L and utilises over 900 prims however it is frankly astounding. The attention to detail is flawless; from the cables with particle emitting lights to the support towers and even a city skyline in the background which all go together to paint a rather exceptional picture.


For my next SecondLife Bridge I decided that while the two structures mentioned above were indeed stunning they were not something most of us could have on our homes or islands very easily. So instead of looking at bridges over 1,000 prims I brought the limitation down.

Any connoisseurs of finely primed boats in SL will be very familiar with the name Maximilian Milosz and his in-world location at Max Marina Yacht Club and MaxMarine. A short walk from the Marina I discovered a beautifully detailed foot bridge which is under 200 prims but manages to look more like 600. Like his boats Maximilian has paid particular attention to the structures fine details and textures. Custom textures create the correct light for the footbridge and the right amount of steel shine used to make it stand out. It’s a beautiful example of something that looks rather understated on first appearance and exceptionally well made upon closer inspection.


My journey of discovery then took me to one of the Rezzables Sims. Connecting Cannery Rezzable to Dump Rezzable the bridge here is a Bascule bridge, or swing bridge, although it’s not scripted to act in such a way here. This bridge is less than 100 prims and fits the whole theme of the surrounding area perfectly. On my travels I did find some bridges that were dropped into place to fill a gap, this cannot be said for the structure at Rezzable.


I went off in search of sculpt natural bridges next and came across a rather fine example of such at SkyBeam. The bridge here made entirely of sculpts and using less than 45 prims also has the added excitement of some poseballs for romantic sunset/ sunrise watching. You can even click the ‘dive’ animation and watch as your avatar takes a giant leap of faith into the water below.


As I was beginning to tire from my trails I wanted to stop off at another bridge you can buy for your SecondLife land and one that has been seen consistently popular on SLExchange for the past few weeks. At Skye Castles Homes you can view the Skye Faery Bridge. This bridge captures the essence of any good bridge and also the purpose of SecondLife. For me a bridge does represent an emotional and physical journey, this example also encompasses some fantasy into that practical journey. With lights and even wings in my very humble opinion this bridge captures the best of both our worlds.


Here ends the great bridge journey for the meantime; however there are many bridges out there for us all to see. Some are to be visited and some to be bought, I hope you have a look the next time you’re wandering and hopefully you find a bridge which makes you think.

There are certain brands in SL, that pretty much everyone has heard of. Businesses and products that have become so popular everyone will be aware of their work, if not have something by them in their inventory. One such brand is Barerose (or B@R as a number of outfits I own have stamped upon them). Operating out of their main HQ at The Bare Rose sim, Owner and Designer June Dion produces a wide range of clothing for both men and women, all at highly affordable prices. One thing that sets Barerose apart from the rest, apart from their long standing in the sl community, is the high standard of design on the textures, along with the variety of styles and colours contained in each pack. To learn a little more about what happens behind the scenes at such a massive operation, I managed to get June to agree to meet with me, along with general manager Tori Heart, who also helped with the discussion, since my Japanese is a LOT worse than June's English:


Voodoo: So, when did you you start Barerose?
June Dion: 3 years ago, when I starting SL after while :) I guess 2005 Aug
Voodoo: What were your reasons for starting to make clothes?
June Dion: Because I shop lot in SLX. I spent $30 in a day, and thought should make by own X)
Voodoo: Do you have any experience in design in rl?
June Dion: No but just could use photoshop so, I tried to make it, and still learning about design and art :)
Voodoo: Barerose has become one of the biggest brands in SL. Did your success surprise you at all?
June Dion: Yes didn't know such a big, as you can see, our logo is very simple, I was just enjoy to make clothes and didn't thinking it gonna be so big store
Voodoo: What would you say has been the secret of your success? After all, there's a lot of competition out there?
June Dion: Like Tori here, we are working with staff together, only alone, couldn't make it :) and just keep think how to make smile for people as we can possible
Tori Heart: I think you can say that June makes clothing very affordable at super high quality. For instance, almost all her sets come with 3, 4, 5, or more colors all included. Most places give you 1 color, and she always tries to keep her prices low under 200L. Most are even cheaper 180L or less. Plus she makes it fun to shop at her store. For instance there's a raffle ball in all our stores that give away free clothes, we have fun parties and events. Since our clothes is transferable, can share with friend or can combination with another clothes too :)
June Dion: There is another fun they can get, also made it easy to change color. If it take time, I will release separated, like Kimono released today.
Voodoo: What would you say your aim is with Barerose?
June Dion: Hmm how can I say, can be clothing store as entertainment, if we can be.
Tori Heart: You mean have clothing and entertainment together?
June Dion: yes X)
Voodoo: Think that says it very well. Has the success of the business, and the sims, brought many challenges, and if so, how have you tackled these?
June Dion: Not so much difficult with our friends help, and don't I start something if I haven't time or budget. But idea is most hard to get,
Tori Heart: Ah trying to decide on an idea of clothes?
June Dion: Ya, and things like SIM environment and such :)
Tori Heart: One thing, too, Voodoo, June builds all her own stores too. Shes quite the builder on top of designer and all 3 of the sims are different too.
June Dion: Yes we have casual section, formal section, goth section, japanese section and couples section on another SIM, but people come hq mostly X)
Voodoo: One thing that comes with popularity is that with more people wanting to come and get your products, the lag increases...
Tori Heart: One thing we cant control is that the more success June has the more people in the sim, so its a sl issue to be sure, but we try to keep the lag to a minimum as we can. For instance, on the black cat sim there are 3 other stores of ours: a couples store, a branch store, and a haute couture store, so people can shop there as well. Plus white wolf sim, which is Japanese and goth only. So they don't have to shop at just one store, there's options =)
Voodoo: Finally, what advice would you give to anyone wishing to follow in your footsteps and become a designer in sl?
June Dion: Just enjoy to building what you like, it's key to doing what people like. And love lot of stuff as you can possible, if not just try :)
Tori Heart: June is a great person to emulate for success, her pricing and customer support would be great to follow.