Kiss the Sky, Persian Style

I spent a few hours at a furniture/skybox seller named Lavanya’s Prefabs the other day, and have some good news to report. If you’re looking for lovely builds for that special skybox, you have some great options at Lavanya’s.

There’s no shortage of prefab skybox vendors out there. Loyal readers know that the three things a vendor must deliver to gain an unqualified ‘yes’ vote from me are, and I quote;

1. Great Quality
2. Low Price
3. Interesting Shopping Experience.

Lavanya’s delivers on counts one and three, and needs to make no apologies for not hitting on number two.

First, the furniture and skyboxes are, with only one or two exceptions, some of the highest detail stuff I’ve seen to date. There’s no question that if you’re looking for interesting furniture or lovely skyboxes you’re likely to love their pieces. The designers, Ardent Mars and Lavanya Hartnell are talented and interesting, and I love supporting vendors who really put themselves into the package. The selection is not huge, but you might find yourself considering a remodel to build around one of these pieces. They’re that good.

I especially loved the tree house build and the slave arena. The tree house stopped me in my tracks, and made me consider breaking the covenants on my land by placing it in the middle of a medieval sim. The slave arena took me to my collection of silks for a quick dance on the slave auction platform, but probably enough said about that little moment of weakness… :)

The prices are a bit steep, especially on the bigger skyboxes. They say so on their sign; you’re going to pay a premium price for a premium product. I do appreciate honesty in a vendor. But again, the quality is there, and I don’t mind paying for quality if I find exactly what I’m looking for.

The shopping experience is nice at Lavanya’s. The shop is very uncluttered and attractive in a minimalist way. I especially loved the way they enclosed some of the shopping areas with transparent walls. You can see the entire build from most any location, but you won’t fall to your death if you accidentally step off the edge. It’s dangerous for someone as distractible as me; I call it the “ooo look over there” factor.

All in all a lovely build with great products. Have a peek at Lavanya’s if you’re needing to put up that special private place. They can be found at Cervinia (230, 48, 301).

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Builder of Dreams: Second Life's Insky Jedburgh

About a month ago this reporter decided it was time to create a special home in Second Life, one that would meet my somewhat unorthodox needs. A good friend who knows my need for exploring the weird and wonderful sims of SL led me to a special place and a custom castle manufacturer named Insky Jedburgh, the Builder of Dreams.

Insky built a place called Fizzdrake Castle, which I explored last summer. Although it's not a commercial sim, it's certainly worthy of its own writeup. When I knew that I needed a medieval build to fit into the covenant of the sim I’d picked out for my own land I looked up Mr. Jedburgh and found his sales lot at Twilight Gates.

Any SL Master Builder is going to excel at picking and placing textures, and Insky is no exception to this rule. Inside and out, the textures are marvelous… rich designs well matched and fitted to the structural look and feel of the builds.


Textures worthy of a master builder

To make matters even better, you’d expect to pay much more for such lovely designs. I found the prices to be a very pleasant surprise, considering the quality of the builds and the ease of the interface. There’s a huge selection on the lot as well, to make sure you get the perfect building for your perfect need. I even saw a complete “village kit” with multiple buildings to set up the centerpiece to your own medieval sim.


Hello Sailor.... : )

Topping things off is Mr. Jedsburgh’s courtesy and helpfulness. I asked for a few special favors and he was spot on in helping me out. I’ve found a few stuffy sim owners in my time, but Insky is top notch and friendly to boot. I felt like an important man had taken his time to help my SL experience be truly special.

In short, if your tastes (or land covenant) lead you to a medieval build, you can’t go wrong at Twilight Gates with one of Insky’s designs.

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