I had the honor of recently meeting with Kira Paderborn,
Style by Kira owner and creator. She is one of the most respected and well known shape and skin creators in Second Life. Kira came into Second Life November 16, 2006 after seeing a news segment about Second Life. At that time, she was a stay at home mother in real life and was attracted by the ability to meet others from around the world without leaving her home.
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| Kira in Nessima Skin |
Upon entering Second Life, Kira quickly became interested in creating and was tutored on designing shapes by a few friends. Within three months of entering SL, Kira was selling the shapes she had created! About two years later, Kira became interested in creating skins and began learning Photoshop to design exquisite skins. It took a bit of time before she was happy with the skins she created to place them for sale. As stated by Kira, "I would never release something unless I would use it myself. So, I had to wait until I had a skin that I would actually be proud to wear. "
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| Style by Kira -- Serenity Skin |
At Style by Kira, you will find amazing shapes and skins for females and males. She started releasing items for males soon after her first female releases to meet the high demand for quality male shapes and skins. I asked Kira about the challenges in creating for males and she stated, “I am a woman and my tendency is to make things soft and pretty. You can't do that with male skins.” She did state that she has some new items for males that are even more manly and sexier than those previously released. I received a sneak peek, and I have to say that the men, and their admirers, are going to love them!
Though you will see a wide selection of stunning skins and shapes at Style by Kira, you will also see a vast fantasy skin line. Kira’s fantasy skins are truly works of art! I asked her about her expansion into this line and she said, “ I love making fantasy skins. There is a rather large group of people who use fantasy skins here in SL and so providing them with great skins is a priority too. I have a bunch more coming out at the Fantasy Fair at the end of the month. ”
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Style by Kira -- Current Fantasy Releases
Top Left: Lulu Skin (Out of This World) & Top Right: Wood Elf 01A
Bottom Left: Dorothy Full Avatar & Bottom Right: Fantasy Make Up 1 |
We all know that Second Life changes quickly, and I was curious about the changes Kira had seen since she started creating shapes and skins. Her reply was, “…I think that the biggest change I have seen as far as shapes go is that when I started, people were all HUGE. Everyone was so tall. Men were all triangle bodies with tiny heads.” She went on to say, “ Nowadays, a lot of people go for the wide hips, short look which is also cute. I really like the way that SL is so diverse. “ In regards to the changes in skins, she stated there has been a dramatic improvement in skin creation and that “Photosourced skins that have touches of hand drawing on them, they are so beautiful and detailed now. Much better than back in the old days!”
Though skin and shapes are Kira’s primary creations, she does enjoy building and creating other things when she needs a break. At her shop, I noticed a wonderful photo studio and asked her about what else she had built and she said, “Along the way, I have learned to build also and I LOVE to build, but I do not get much time to do that.” She went on to say, “…I can make clothes and while it is very rewarding to make clothing, I just don't really enjoy it as much as I love making skins.” You can view some of her other items in the back rooms of at her main store.
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| Flawless Sim & Kira's Main Store |
Kira’s main store is located on the
Flawless sim, and the sim is also home to the Designer Showcase, a location offering items from well known designers for L$100 or less, and a fantastic shopping district! There is a huge event coming up on the Flawless sim and I asked Kira to tell a bit about it. She said,“We wanted to do something fun for spring. I try to do a large event on the sim every other month. This month, we had Easter. I knew that everyone would have sales going on then so I decided to organize a sale for after the holiday. The idea is for people to do a little spring cleaning and ditch some of the older items in their inventory and replace them with brand new items. We thought it would be great to offer new and exclusive items to everyone for just 50L each. The items cover everything that you need for your avatar from skins and shapes to shoes and clothes, accessories, makeup, etc....it will all be there. We have 50 designers from around the grid joining in this huge event. At the same time, we have a hunt on the sim. So, you can look for a hunt item from your favorite designers and grab their new and exclusive item all at the same location. The sale begins on the 14th of April at 12:01am and will end at 12:00pm on the 29th. It should really be a great time for everyone on SL.” She also mentioned that people can visit the Flickr page at
http://www.flickr.com/groups/flawlessSpringSale to see what designers have in store for them.
It was a pleasure to have spent the time talking to Kira Paderborn and I hope you have enjoyed getting to know her, her creations, and the events she has planned.
Credits
Top three photos supplied by Kira Paderborn
Bottom photo of the Flawless Sim and Kira's Main Store by NatashaAngelfire
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