St Patrick's day at Atelier

In my opinion, there isn't quite enough 'special days', and so, St Patrick's Day is a festivity that I like to acknowledge, if not necessarily celebrate, after all, I cannot boast to be of Irish descent. It's possibly got something to do with the colours, and definitely something to do with the shamrocks - all that lush greenery after a dull old winter.

This year, visitors to Atelier can celebrate St Patrick's Day in style in one of my charming Tiny Toppers, a bargain at 75L, and complete the look with a shamrock choker - a snip at 45L. Additionally, this year I have a limited number of shamrock trees, which I have patiently cultivated and now am able to offer to all at 50L. Just three prims a-piece, they can be planted in the garden, or shrunk down and shoved in a pot for the parlour, they make a welcome change from aspidistras!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Sublime Storage

There aren't too many things I would like to possess in RL, but I'd love to have my brand new workshop cupboard. It's in a subtle pallette of turquoise, blue and gold, inspired in part by copper oxide colouration, and, of course with a touch of trademark damask. Who says that workshops can't have pretty things in them?!

I've set it for sale along with two large drawers and two small ones, so people can arrange them how they like, and put whatever they like in them too. I'm going to keep the following in mine: clouds, cogs, feathers, dreams, tiny seashells, small copper butterflies, ozone, mist, confetti and the merest wisp of opium smoke.

The Optometrist's Topper

Perhaps my silliest project yet (even sillier than clockwork squids), I put this new topper for sale at Atelier this evening. I'm not sure where the inspiration for it came from - a monchrome striped topper with lenses and aparatus from the optometrist profession - but I am hoping it will do well, even though it was pure indulgence to build.

The actual hat has been ready for some time, but there was a fanciful twelve verse tale of how the hat ended up in my shop to write, and then a little Punch and Judy-esque device to construct that enables people to view and read the accompanying poem. It's all filled a space in the ground floor at Atelier very well.

Happy Birthday Mr Tesla!

Today is Mr Tesla's 153rd birthday! And also one year since I commemorated his birth with the Tesla Topper, still one of my favourite creations. This year I decided to make a nice little freebie to match the Topper which I know so many of my group members purchased. And so here we have ... the 'I <3 Tesla' brooch!

More info on Tesla at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

An exciting new main store

Atelier has had a few homes, and I have been extremely fortunate to have had a succession of wonderful landlords behind my retail career. It all started with a dear little shop (something of a broom cupboard!) above the Bakery at Loner Lane, Port Babbage, back last May, when Loner Lane was owned by Miss Kaylee Frye. Miss Frye came up with the generous notion of small spaces for new builders - rent free! 

I had 50 prims at my disposal, and it was a very successful introduction to selling. When the plot was sold to Mr Albus Weka, he was kind enough to ask me back. In the interim period of Miss Frye selling Loner Lane to Mr Weka, I took one of the little shops at my good friend Mr Max Queller's Queen Victoria Arcade in Wheatstone Waterways (now no longer standing). Looking back, I have had some lucky breaks, for which I am very thankful; I have had a chance to play, build and develop my style.

It became apparent recently that I had pretty much done all one can do with a 50 prim limit, and needed a new base and a new project. I was again fortunate to hear of the perfect plot very quickly. And so, I am pleased to announce that Atelier has found its new, much improved, and permanent home, in the Canal District, New Babbage.

Tyger and I had already started a lovely new shop for Atelier - with me haphazardly throwing prims together in roughly the kind of thing I wanted, and he, pulling them into shape, aligning, straightening and generally un-wonkifying them as I went. Not to mention dealing with the cumbersome mega prims I find so tiresome to work with. So when the time came we were pretty much ready to go. And here is the end result!

JUST REZZED Boarded, for now, but soon to be up and running, 

the new main store at Babbage Canals

My favourite parts? The two bay windows on the lower floor, reminiscent of lighthouse lanterns, the copper-hatted 'egg' window above, the wonderful palette of colours in the roof tiles, and the chunky beams in the open attic, complete with a little barn owl - a welcome to the neighbourhood present from my new neighbour Miss Canolli Capalini.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Babbage%20Canals/56/87/105/?title=Meadow%20McBride%27s%20Atelier&msg=New%20main%20store%21

Back at the Lane for Christmas

Last weekend I finally had a chance to move Atelier back to the new updated premises at Loner Lane in Port Babbage. Mr Albus Weka has done a splendid job of keeping the fundamental elements of Kaylee's old Loner Lane - which was much loved - and has updated all the units, and more besides, with wonderful new details.



I am extremely grateful to Mr Weka, for I now have not one, but two fabulous rooms for my goods! Both are quite different to each other, so I am planning to have two loose themes. The lower room, which has a curved glass window with some very pretty ornate iron work and a lovely tin roof, will have a workshop feel to it and will showcase more of my 'mechanical' builds such as the clockwork cephalopods and the Time Flies pocket watch. I have already built a new workshop cupboard for this area, which is on sale at 35L, has some very pleasing perspective on the shelves, and is an amazing 2 prims!



Heading up the little ramp and through the wooden door at the rear of the front room will bring you to a beautiful back room. When Mr Weka showed me this room a few months ago, when he was remodelling the site, I instantly fell in love with it. It has wonderful semi-circular windows on two sides, which, outside, are surounded by a litle balcony that runs all the way round both rooms. It's a great place to sit, with a cosy atmosphere, and I have placed a sofa so that customers may take a seat while they peruse the goods. At present the La Mort collection has found a home here, along with the Poisoners and Cupid's Heart brooch, and so this room has aquired a gothic parlour atmosphere in red and black.


My new premises are on the same site as the old Loner Lane Atelier store, so anyone still with a landmark in their inventory will find that using that will bring them directly to the front room! Here is an SLurl for those without - do pop along!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Port%20Babbage/25/217/110/?title=Meadow%20McBride%27s%20Atelier