I am not a big wave maker -- in RL or 2ndL (wink) but as I went to drink my first lovely cup of City Coffee of the day I found that something was nagging at me and just wouldn't let go. The blogs were full of news this morning that Armidi had added to their team ( http://armidi.com/workroom/?p=57). According their post Sofia Gray, Public Relations Manager, states that these new avatars will work "within the style boundaries set by Armidi".
When I came to our joint virtual world a year and a half ago it was MUCH smaller and to be fair, it wasn't nearly as pretty as it is now. We had a few big name designers and even fewer small shops. What we did have was INDIVIDUALITY. The whole point of "Phil's Place" was to go forth and create (or enjoy the products of those that did if you weren't a creative sort). Now that the world is growing and people are coming to it with dollar signs in their eyes -- are we going to lose all that?
And no, I am not upset that I wasn't asked to join up. I just make everyday clothes at everyday prices. That's the tag line and within that I try to get creative now and then. If my seams match and the clothes look good on most avatars, I'm a happy camper. There is no way I want to be in the "fashion world" and I can say with certainty that I would still be in my own shop had an offer appeared in my mailbox. Others have and I have said no. I just want to do my own thing.
But what about all the other wonderfully creative designers out there that are having trouble making their tier or getting their names out there. Will they follow suit and become a mesh of cookie cutter conglomerates? I SO hope not.
As Ivey says (I'm paraphrasing here so I hope I get it close to correct) - Buy what you like, not what you think you should because someone tells you it is the style.
Addendum: Apparently this was all an April Fool's joke. Since it seems like a lot of people did NOT get it (smile) it is probably a GOOD thing it was out there? Joke or no. Something to think about.
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There was a lot of chattering on iheartsl.com about this post. I am just adding my answer to that here so that it can be referrenced :) in the future.
I am not upset that the "joke was on me". I however do not think it is very funny. For many people -- and especially those that have been watching "from a distance" this is not far from the direction things have been going. Especially all the new (cough) three month old designers and new (cough - wink) shops that are springing up. I wonder how funny this may seem in a year --- or not. A very happy April 1st to your all. I'm going back to work when I can log in again. Cheers.
