Front desks

I have been noticing that many large stores have front desks. They're not manned - or at least they haven't been while i've been there. They're impressive, make the store look a bit more upscale. Sometimes there are freebies on the surface, things to click to leave notes for the owner or to get customer service. Store policies can be displayed here. Usually there is information about how to join the store group or a subscribe-o-matic so the customer can get join the stores mailing list.

In each case pictured below, the color scheme and style of the store is reflected in the design of the front desk.

Display options

I went to a couple of sims of the Fashion Fair 2010. They have 9 sims all together. Here are some interesting display options I saw at different stores.

These dresses are displayed on mannequin cutouts - flat people shapes all in shiny black. They make the dress stand out. And i love the grouping. There's something powerful about seeing a whole collection in one spot. It makes shopping easier too because you can see all the colors. I'm sure the designer hopes that once you see all the colors you will buy two or three or four.

This next store was very under-decorated. Nothing on the walls or floors. There are cubes and sign boards filling the space. The cubes have pictures on all four sides so it's easy for the customer to see all the options by walking around. The sign boards had images just on one side. There was enough space between them for the customer to walk and move their camera to see better.

Shoe racks...They're deceptively narrow. From the front they look like traditional stepped displays. However, since the shoes are flat pictures, the shelves do not have to be very deep. From the side these displays are very shallow.  Users can see all the shoes though so it's another way to see a whole collection at once and compare features and colors.

Another display of a whole collection - one or two outfits and all the available colors.  easy to see all the options.

And a close up on the wall. Users just have to click on the picture of the color outfit they want to get the option to pay.

I like this wall. Big signs show the customer that these are the new items in the store and they're all pulled together on this wall. Each section of the wall contains one outfit in all the color combinations available.

A Cute "store"....inside Peas

Not all stores are square buildings. Here are some pictures from Split Pea. This store is set up like a group of peas just out of the pod....the peas are hollowed out of course. Here are some pictures arranged from far away to closer up. The store sells women's clothing. It's a fun store, and the design is memorable. Each pea has just a few items in it, so it's easy to see what's available and kind of fun to climb up and down into the peas. The items are fun too. I have a dress from here named Olive Garden Tablecloth...because it has pretty stripes in colors that fit the color scheme of the Olive Garden Restaurant. It has a hat too..but seriously..I am sooo not a hat person (see the pics at the end for a giggle).

Here you can see a couple of the peas hollowed out.

You can see the peas are pretty big. There I am standing at the base of one of the ladders to a pea.

Here's a closeup inside one of the peas. The clothes are displayed on the walls as flat illustrations. They're touching the curved walls so they're at an angle.

Kim in the olive garden dress

Store that doesn't look like a store

Not all stores have to be in buildings with ceilings. This store just reopened after a redesign...pods like ancient temples. The store is in a large box that is colored green. There are big open spaces between the pods that have seating areas. The pods are arrayed around a central plaza with the main teleport landing spot and some ponds and fountains.

And yeah..that's me in the cowboy hat in one of the pictures.

A fair - the Zombie Popcorn Carnival

The Zombie Popcorn Carnival is closing today. It's a followup to the Zombie Popcorn Hunt earlier this year. A lot of the same stores pulled together in one spot.  Here's the SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nocturnum/154/76/24

I went earlier and forgot to go back. Took a lot of pictures. A variety of display options. And they had carnival rides, a maze in the fun house, and cotton candy. And a big soap bubble you can sit in (see one of the pics near the bottom of the post.

Most of the stores are set up in small tents. the ones below are stand alone in the middle of hte grass. There's also a ring of tents around the edge of the carnival field. They're small, small, small. Room for a few pictures, a few props. The one below for some reason had a pink hot rod.

Here I am standing in one of the tents..seems bigger when ya get inside (hmm..tardis tents?) This store has some items ont eh wall in small photos, a few medium size photos. and then a stepped set of shelves on the floor with lots of tiny pictures of products for sale.

Another tent with small images...and that's about all - just stuff on the back wall.

I just liked this tent. Fit in the carnival theme. Clowns. Scary clowns.

This little tent had a sign to go to the main store, they'd covered the floor with their store image, and covered pretty much every inch of the walls with product images. This store is in the row of shops along the edge of the field.

Promised ya carnival rides...

Another big store with some interesting display options

Image via Wikipedia

Strolling down the Champs Elysees in SL is a lot like strolling down the real thing. On the side is a picture of the real thing. Your feet hurt by the time you're half way through and you can see the Arc de Triomphe. And there are some great shops. Fortunately no cars or traffic in SL.









Here are a couple of pictures I took standing on the street. The first shows a couple of the stores - notice the one has put large images of their clothes int he window to attract people walking on the street.

The second is just a long shot of the street. There are cafes on the sidewalk, French flags, long vistas, and the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the street.

Here some pictures of one of the stores - fashion design, lingerie - called  Elemiah- a big store that's open and light and has some interesting
 (SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Av%20Champs%20Elysees/94/194/2)

Happy Birthday Second Life

It's birthday #7 for SecondLife. I'll add some pics as i check out the many sims involved

Here are some pics of the main auditorium..Philip and M Linden are both speaking here this week. Life music performers will be here too.

See those little spots in the blue center? Thos are the people. The roof is transparent..That's us all sitting waiting for Philip Linden on Monday, about 40 minutes after the sims opened. There's about 100 people waiting.

A pic of the people around the stage

Here's Philip Linden on the right - - the man who hasn't updated his look since 2003 I don't think

And a close up - check out those pants!1

Some more pictures