nouvelle vague française - collabor88 goes french new wave!!!

i LOVED the theme. this months collabor88 was "french new wave" and the colors were fab. i enjoyed making this retro swim suit (with optional ruffle skirt) so much! i've always loved vintage stuff and this was a great little project.

i made it in the 5 colors of the palete we had to work from... i hope you enjoy it. lots of other great stuff too!!! great for mixing and matching!!!

have a great week!!!

xoxo, callie

my personal cat tale... (the edited version)

domino and me in the park

 a few years ago i started working on a little project making little cats that my customers would be able to carry in purses or use as fashion accessories. when the whole maxim/pontiac thing happened that project, was put on the shelf. when i began designing i had a cat in each of my little stores that walked around and bumped into my customers. i've always loved them and own about 8 different kinds of SL cats. (non breeding ones)

my first SL cat who was copy and in each store

in RL my first pet was a cat. a grey persian my parents bought me for my one year old birthday. susie was her name. i don't remember her at all now, (she sadly got ran over when i was very young). but my whole life growing up i always had a cat of my very own. i grew up on a "farm" not a real farm but for southern california, 5 acres with pigs, horses, sheep, cows, ducks, peacocks, chickens, a goat (yes i had to milk it before school) and horses and more i guess can qualify for a farm of sorts. i collected eggs also before school... i didn't like the milking and egg collecting so much, but the horses and my cats always. we also raised dogs. english springer spaniels, german shepherds, doberman pinschers and... staffordshire terriers (yes, pit bulls). it was always fun to have little puppies running around and stuff. but nothing every took the place of my kitties to me. (ok well my pet raccoon did when it was a baby before it bit me)

adoring domino

fast forward to now...  early this week, KittyCatS! was launched.  it's a project i've been working on for quite a while with 2 people i met in SL who are also cat lovers. Equniox Pinion & Dennis Lagan. We've created a pet KittyCat that can breed, and play and cuddle and interact and it's been quite an adventure to say the very least. (they come in 5 types to start and can be bred where a LOT of different kinds of cats will be discovered. they can also but turned into pets which require no food and don't breed but just are nice pets who love you.)

this project though challenged me as an artist in a lot of ways, mostly learning to paint in a 3d program. YIKES! i'm still learning and have a LONG way to go, but it's been fun too. (my main job was making the cats and the visuals, and all kind of stuff)

sometimes i wonder if all of us in SL are a little bit crazy, and i surely thought i was many times during this project. fighting sculpties was NOOOO fun. thankfully some awesome people we there to help me on that part of the project, Gospel Voom, Maxwell Graf and Anthonys Repbulic were invaluable in their input and encouragement and willingness to offer tips and support. awesome people!

anyway... lest i go on and on... if you'd like to see our little KittyCatS! you can get a peak at them on our sim... named simply KittyCatS . you'll find them walking around, chasing butterflies, sleeping, running, washing their faces, lying around and more. our store was built by my longtime great friend barnesworth anubis who has stuck with me in my first venture into the SL animal world when we started making posh chicken housing... and boy what a wild ride it's been. he's created some outstanding stuff for the KittyCatS and it's available in the store as well.

in closing this post, i'd just like to thank a few people who's support really was so so appreciated personally by me. words really can't say how thankful i am to them. well first to equinox and dennis, thanks for everything and most of all being committed to excellence and hard work. i'm amazed by both of you in more ways than i can express. jaz zephyr & moondoggy, harper beresford, meara deschanel, sexypandora bailey, bho, barnes, stroker serpentine, tab scott, gospel, maxwell, anthony, night singh, and also jon, who i worked with on the sculpts. he wouldn't dare come into secondlife, but i'm gonna try to get him to read this post! (hi jon!) (we worked together on RL projects i've done) there are a lot of other people who gave me a lot of support during this time so if i have forgotten anyone... please forgive me!

well that's my little cat tale for now... it's a story i hope will continue on for some time.

i've missed blogging and will hopefully do more soon!

xoxo,

callie


p.s. there is a cute little movie chantal harvey made where you can see a bit of the cats in action.

jeans... and little birds

(click to see larger image)

i have been limited on what i can do in SL until my new computer arrives so i felt like taking some photos... this is one i did, sort of an art type photo... i'll use the concept for an upcoming ad... but i love the colors and feel of it :)hope you do too!

POSH FARMS... chickens, turtles and bunnies OH MY!

if you want a FUN hobbie... raising virtual pets is FUN... and very different. (no, boyfriends don't really count as virtual pets, but that could be argued as they do need to be fed, trained and they like to breed and well, nevermind, i'm going WAY off topic)

anyway... posh farms located in SO CAL, has an array of things from chickens, eggs, turtles, and soon bunnies.

so what makes posh farms so special? well... have you owned a pet bred from your favorite designer like katat0nik pidgeon before? or a house/chateau for your pet made by barnesworth anubis?

OR... a cute little habitat for your turtle by moo money? or..... or... or... or...

head on over to POSH FARMS and visit "chickywood" and find everything you need to start raising your OWN virtual pets! bunnywood will open soon and we have ALL things need for starting to raise virtual chickens and TURTLES!

go see what the fun is all about, after all, it's the new black you know :P

xoxo,

caLLie

oh you will find the POSH farm booth in the courtyard where you can buy egg starter packs with 3 eggs (that hatch baby chickies) a pen and toys for 99L. AND at benedict & florentine you can find all sorts of fun pens and stuff, and you can also find "petable" and sion chicken vendors for turtle and chicken needs, like food, lol.

beautiful becca... new CC street model

introducing becca rivera, the newest caLLie cLine street model!

i used to have a STREET MODEL team comprised of mainly enthusiastic customers who had a flair for modeling, fashion and liked to wear my things.

we had a lot of fun with it, and today while in my shop this lovely girl was looking for things to accessorize a shirt and pair of pants. (from icing) we got to chatting and added a "fat belt" in black/silver and a "paisley parade" scarf, and a "cc signature bangle" (customer gift) her look really came together. we did a quick photo shoot on the spot and i asked her if she'd like to be a street model and she said "YES!!!" yay!!!

her photo will be displayed also in my store and she will have an offical  "caLLie cLine cg model" tag she can wear when she is out and about wearing my stuff (if she wants to, as there are no OMG-you-weren't-wearing-your-cc-model-tag police out there on the grid... haha)

anyway thanks becca for being the inspiration behind reinstating my cc street model team.

so how can YOU be a CC street model? well it's sorta easy. if i or one of my employees sees you in my store sporting a very cool look that's stylish, fun or "funky, flirtatious and fabulous" we'll IM you and ask you if you would like to be a street model!

OR.............. be proactive and join the CAL GAL flickr group and submit photos of you in any CC items (free or bought) that you have and label it "cc street model" and make sure you put your avatar name on your photo and we will contact you if you are selected! BTW... i proudly LOVE the fact that my customers range from "fashionistas to furries to fairies" i do NOT discriminate :)

have a great day!
xoxo,


caLLie


fat belts come in 4 styles and about oh... 50 or more colors :)

caL gaLs stop by...

i LOVE my customers. old and new, pink or blue... it's so much fun to meet them and some of my good friends in SL i met as customers.

since i've had computer issues all summer i've not gotten to do as many in store events, and a new customer who joined today was hoping to meet some of my great group so i decided to do a quick in store meet up.

i got to see a lot of new and old faces and it was GREAT!

here's a quick screen shot i took :)

love you girls! (and guys) i hope you enjoy your little gift :)

xoxo,

caLLie

divine...

i'm a bit reluctant at times to "buy ads" where i don't have input on the model or photography. if others do it on their own i'm fine, but when i am paying, i like to know i am going to like what is done and that's not possible.

when i agreed to be in the modivia fashion directory i was a bit unsure due to the reasons i just stated. when i say this photo, i have to say i was VERY happy. i wanted to share it with my readers as i just think they did a great job showing one of my favorite dresses, the divine double bubble.

so here it is!

this dress is available in my store in caLLiefornia upstairs in the gown section, it comes with a set of jewelry that includes earrings, a ring, and a bracelet. the jewelry has 12 gemstone options on touch so that you can customize your look by tinting the "gems" on the dress itself on the jacket layer.

i've seen some of my customers really do some interesting things with that feature :)

the dress with the jewelry set sells for 950L.

i hope you like this photo.

xoxo,

caLLie

10 more things...

ok well yesterday's post got a lot of feedback too. since my graphics card issues are still not fixed i'm going to use this opportunity to share a bit more.

today... 10 things to try to strengthen an existing business or friendship relationship or otherwise known as "nice things to do that may cheer someone else up"

we all have days, week, years and stuff that SUCK EGGS! we can all relate to that huh? unless we live in utter denial (i try but it just does NOT work) we could all use a big of encouragement. even those we think of as uber successful, totally confident (not possible) or whatever we may think of some who seems to have it "all together" i can PROMISE YOU they do NOT and encouragement and nice things can really steer the course of someone's day in a very positive direction.

i find that VERY exciting, don't you?

ok so here are a few things we can try to just encourage each other along... i am thinking off the top of my head on this and some i do, have done or will do hopefully!

1. write your entire friends list and tell them you're thankful for them in your SL... this is FUN and OMG you will see the most interesting conversations emerge when a group of people start posting. it's a lot of fun.

2. send a little note of encouragement to a friend in SL you know is down. even a few words can really uplift someone.

3. write a Linden (pick one) and let them know you appreciate their efforts in making SL better, if you name something specific, even better!

4. visit a store of a "competitor" *gasp* and buy something you've been admiring for awhile. it's so much fun to actually SEE a REAL person who you know is a creator buy from you, and not just their alt.

5. invite a friend out for a 10 minute random tp adventure! (click on the map, go, then tp them! then let them do the same) this is one of my favorite games EVER... though once i ended up at the "diaper academy" (don't ask)

6. reach out to a friend who in your SL past was a bigger part and let them know (if it's true) that you miss them.

7. find 5 people on your list to just say HI to. (example: "hey, can't talk now but wanted to say hi and that i was thinking of you!")

8. send a few people a funny freebie. (i love the huge octopus) and name it, "the new black" must wear NOW.

9. say hello to a new person you may have recently met just to encourage them.

10. do one of those things you've been "meaning to do" when you had time. write that note, send that gift, just DO IT (sorry nike) :)

ok now since TIME is so limited, when doing anything that could turn into a long dialogue, simply state upfront, "i don't have time to talk but.. .wanted to send you this!"

i hope some of those things help you, i know i love when people take time to encourage me, i need it, daily... and anyway there ya go!

10 more things just cuz...

well, after yesterday's post i got a lot of feedback and a few asked me to share about another issue in SL... customers!!!! this is mostly for those who have businesses but it can be applied to a lot of other areas in life.

there are a lot of varying views on the importance of customers and how to treat them, what to let them get "away" with, etc. my view is pretty strong and i've followed it since day one.

"a customer is a person who of ALL the choices they have in SL, have chosen to spend their often LIMITED lindens in YOUR store." got it?

they do NOT have to buy your things.
you are NOT their only resource.
they have MANY choices.
they can LIVE without your item. (even if they think they can't)
there are many who do what you do better.
they have MANY choices.
they do NOT owe you anything, not even respect.
YOU are providing THEM something.
you don't have to like them and they don't have to like you.
they have MANY choices!
you can act how you want even if they don't like it.
NO ONE can make YOU do anything.

ok so now that i've listed what i believe are a few absolutes... let's get down to how i see customer service.

from when i first joined SL i realized there were many choices, i even put a coupon in EACH item saying 'thank you for your purchase, i know you have many choices' i was thankful someone would part with 499L on a dress i made. like thrilled.

so ok, people don't get things, people don't like things, people want to return things, people write to ask you what hair is on your ad, and some people even want you to pick their hair and skin to go with their item the got from you. it can be overwhelming at times.

ok for the most part i don't have nightmare customers. i never have. maybe one or two who were very angry about something, and i "think" in every case (unless they changed their minds) their issues were resolved to their satifaction, and then some.

i've had people yell, demand, insult, etc. and i do NOT get upset. i don't mute, ban or eject. i don't feel slighted. i don't get in a huff. i don't complain about them to everyone and do the "woe is me" designer thing.

why?

well a few reasons.

1. if someone is upset, they are going to act upset. it has nothing to do with me. they are upset and most likely venting. so let them vent, get it out of their system, let them type away w/o defending or demanding they "speak to you with respect"... i mean really, they are upset so just let them cool off.

2. they may feel totally justified in their rant, and actually they may have every right to be upset... so why get all upset yourself?

3. it's NOT that big of a deal. what is a big deal is how YOU handle it.

4. if you realize their value as a person and customer, how YOU choose to respond will be the key.

5. ACT do NOT react to an angry customer. (the difference is "action" is what you do independent of their behavior. "reaction" is what you do cuz "they made you do it!)

ok so... what am i trying to say.

realize that when someone is upset, they WANT to let you know. so let them know you know and you are comitted to doing everything you can to make it right. let them know early on 'i care about this issue and want you to know that i will do all i can to make sure you are VERY happy'. believe me this stops MOST people immediately. like WAIT, she WANTS to HELP ME? and i just called her a *&$#$#$*#( @#(*#(&$#*!!! wow!

personally i replace, resend, trans or no trans items and i usually throw in a few free things. my goal is TO KEEP THE CUSTOMER AND TURN THEIR NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE INTO A POSITIVE ONE.

i am often really appalled by some merchants who think their customers owe them all this respect and to speak to them like they are god's gift to the design world. news flash YOU'RE NOT!! neither am i, we're just parts of a greater community. not one of us is so AMAZING we should be treated like we're some sort of deity. save that for your role playing, hahaha.

if you WIN over an angry customer, in my experience you have a customer for life. if you LOSE one, they will make DAMN sure they tell EVERYONE they know. and again. YOU are not their only choice.

i personally LOVE to win over an angry person. i'm sorta weird that way. i try to see why they are so upset. and i love when we can resolve it.

again i don't get too many angry people maybe due to the fact i try to defuse it at the beginning by letting them know i am committed to making them happy.

do people take advantage of this? maybe. often? nope. usually i have people saying, "oh not this is too much, this will be fine".

when you really think of it, no one can "disrespect you" really. not unless you take angry people's words as some sort of huge offense. angry people yell. don't let it surprise you. i wish i had the maturity to always handle myself with composure when i am angry, but alas, i don't.

i have banned ONE person. i was happy to do it after many warnings. why? he was annoying MY customers over and over and i felt NO guilt, and it was the easiest time i hit "ban this avatar". of course he yelled at me but that is ONE thing i won't tolerate is hurting my customers. i value them and each time they step in my shop, i am thankful. i know there are about a bazillion infinity other places they could be shopping at.

that for me keeps things in perspective.

hope this bit of info helps.

xoxo,

caLLie

p.s. excuse any typos. i just typed this very fast :)

THE CHICKEN LADY HAS SPOKEN!

Don't let me catch you putting your feathered friends in one, or you shall be tarred!


Feather Frychester
Grande Damme of Chickywood Manor & Posh Farms

NEW TANKS - RACER BACK - RIBBED

in 3 packs, ON ALL LAYERS, (undershirt, shirt, jacket) max pack available too.
these look REALLY great and fit great and are priced at 150L per color pack.
max pack available too for 750L (like getting 2 packs free)

available in my shop in caLLiefornia.
(top of my picks)
copy only.

thanks for looking!
xoxo, caLLie

big thanks....

thank you to all the bloggers, readers and designers who participated in bloggers appreciation week. whether is was via the fashion blogger group, notices and party or done privately, there has been a ton of positive feedback from bloggers saying how great it was to feel appreciated.

i've heard so many amazing comments about how they were just blown away by notes, gifts, cards, kind words from designers each other and readers.. most of whom they had never met at all.

i had no clue there were 250 (and counting) fashion bloggers so the week just became much more than ever imagined. thank you to all the officers who worked tirelessly adding people, sending gifts, answering questions, and more... i know it was much more than any of us anticipated and you all just blew me away by your conscientiousness, professionalism and kindness... AND willingness to shift plans and a moments notice AND make amazing suggestions that really helped keep things going well.to these people who gave gifts via the group, thank you...

CatniP, Opium, barerose, Cihuaé!, Cat Tracks, Stylissimo, DCNY, IBIZARRE, LeLutka, Shapely Designs, Tiny Bird, ROMP | Creve Coeur, Bax Boots, SXY2ND, Prelude Prefabs, Chaisuki, (Clio), Audacity, Hourglass Shapes and =HooT=, ** Angel Dessous ***, Pema in Pieces, *REBEL*, Fashion Nomads, creamy cooljoke, DM Designs, 50 Flats, Calla Cela, Lost Dreams, *Evie's Closet*, LaKira's Designs & TempT:, NISHI DESIGNS, bai bye,[chuchulet], {flowey}, HOC, IEVL, Aimesi Design, BabyMonkey, Shoefly, Stringer Mausoleum, Rfyre, Indyra Originals, {SMS} So Many Styles, Cyanide, ~LilyPads~, Pretties, Miss Muffett, Prism, Dulce Secrets, {Bingo}, (Elate!), Pffiou!, Stellar Designs, ~flirt~, lilith moriarty, *Ticky Tacky*, Kitty Otoole, Marlys, ICING, [MC], "YS & YS", nicky ree , Rara Avis, [lessthanthree], *Beauty Avatar Couture*, Maitreya, Pixeldolls, ! ~ CE ~ !, Prelude, (Nushru), Duh!, Rosie's thingies, Genesis, Magika, Adam n Eve, Sam's Secret boutique, Vanitas Vesture, Aurora Borealis, Philotic Energy, House of Heart, Baiastice, SYSY, Analise, The French Farm, Lemania Indigo, teagan blackthorne ~TL~, Eclectica, **Trubble**, Tuli, VPoses, Chav Paderborn, , Seduction, Inc., Feles Seitan and Halfpint Pennell, The Bittersweet Collection., :::MONO:::, A Piece of Candy, the Loft, seven ultra lounge, [S.LOVES], Zoe Demar , mhros baxton, sasha's designs & malt, insolence, & moonshine!

(if we left out anyone it's totally by mistake and not intentional)

also a HUGE thanks to the officers: willow zander, annessa stein, harper beresford, voshie paine, sexypandora bailey, winter jefferson, shelly toonie, tuli asturias, graciana macmillian, sharron schuman, gabby pancek, and if i left anyone out i am VERY sorry. im me and smack me on the head.(just be gentle)

special thanks to charlotte bartlett for the amazing job on the sim! (of scarlette creative)


ok well again thank you all for a great week and ty from all the bloggers to the bloggers, team, designers and readers!!!

til next year!

a few updates :) - time flying, a 77L sale and 8-8-8

*** ALL RAINBOWAS™ - PANTS - WILD CHILD DRESSES & MIX-N-MASHUPS™" ON SALE FOR 77L*****


wow, it's hard to believe it's august already!!! we're deep into summer and fall is just leering around the corner. living in a warm climate, i don't notice the season changes as much but i sure to notice time flying!!! i always seem to be so busy in all lives and often as i get ready to do a "new" project, i realize it's not "new" at all.

i've been working on my little "nekoture™" and "tit-4-tat™" brands and realized i first blogged about them LAST OCTOBER!!! i about fainted! just where does time go? do you all find it passing by as quickly as i do???

since opening my new store, (which is not done but sure has been fun) i've found oh about 80 unreleased things in my inventory from gowns to eyes to some other stuff, and some of the clothing was shown in shows MONTHS ago! i'm REALLLLLY glad SL is SL and NOT RL cuz you know we don't have "official" seasons and really we get to follow our own fashion trends as what's in today is out later in the day and back in tomorrow. or so it goes.

i'm just reflecting a bit and have to say i am VERY happy that we do NOT follow RL trends, well actually, RL has a hard time following trends too which i think is a great thing. if you're old enough to remember or have done any research you'll know at one point in time in fashion MINI was 'the' length of a skirt and EVERYONE did them. poeple waited to see "what the new black" was, and "WHICH" colors were the ones of the season.

i remember this year looking thru fall fashion mags and seeing everything from pale pastels to primary preschool colors to the predictable muted browns and rusts for fall, ALL FROM TOP DESIGNERS! and with mini's, maxis, long and every other skirt imaginable.

so why am i saying this?? i guess because as i've spent a lot of time this week with customers who have been chatting and wondering what's "in" and what's "out" and it's brought up some great discussions. we talked about "running" out to get the NEW shoes, hair, and skins often and seeing all our friends and other ppl with the same thing on, to just dump them a week or so later (or day) for the next new thing to all wear at the same time. we pondered about that and what's so "cool" about it? yes it's FUN to get the latest and greatest, but we also talked about how much fun it is to find the OLD great NEW stuff in our inventories put them on and have ppl say OMG WHERE DID YOU GET THAT???? only to tell them oh that's year old!!!

(i recently was wearing my naughty designs "beach hair" non flexi mind you, and have had MORE ppl ask "where did you get that new hair" than when i've worn NEW hair, lol) it's funny and a subject some of my good friends and i have discussed a lot.

i have more thoughts about all the "what's in and out" in sl... but for now i'll stop as i could go on and on and since i don't know how to do a cut yet, i don't want to have all this take up space in the feed.

(it would be nice to have only some posts hit the feed and some left for ppl who even care to read stuff like this)

well it's 8-8-8 and this will only happen once in my life time!!! i doubt i'll be around for 8-8-88 (never know) but it's supposed to be a lucky day!!!

have a great weekend...

and do something special at 8-8-08 at 8pm :)

xoxo,

caLLie

PAZAR!!! caLLie's FIRST RL printed magazine COVER!!!

caLLie was in SHOCK this week when the journalist from PAZAR sent her an im, and told her she HAD BEEN PUT ON THE COVER!!! she knew she was going to be inside on the fashion page of this lifestyle magazine, but NEVER did she think she'd be on the COVER.

this was special to caLLie for many reasons... in her words "first of all, the journalist of this magazine was also the one who interviewed for ELLE and MARIE CLAIRE magazines last year. during the interview process, we started to become friends as it was quite a lengthy process. this magazine is from a small island called cyprus and the whole magazine is in turkish which is so cool to me. (Cyprus is just beneath Turkey and is made of two communities Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots)

since meeting her, i have met more turkish people in SL and have found them to be quite lovely people, full of love, life, passion and amazing style. i am constantly humbled and honored about the people i meet in SL, their background, lives and art. it's truly a cool world we are all a part of."

so with that here are the photos... ok, i'll admit the cover is a GREAT thing, but OMG.... THE INSIDE PAGE!!!! has 2 of my favorite designers on it!!!! christian lacroix and dolce & gabana (ok i guess with d&g that's more like 3) but still!!!! how cool is that? i'm almost as excited as caLLie i think.


here is what the text says.. the translation:

"Like in Couture, creativity is at its peak in SL. And the most reknown designer in the virtual world is CC"...

"Because of this, famous brands like Armani have opened stores in SL. However SL has its own fashion celebrities. And one of the most important name here is Callie Cline who has been selected in 2007 by RL US magazine Maxim as one of the "100 sexiest women" in the world. CC started off as a photographer then was into modeling. Now has a fashion house and a decoration and home shop. She has also been contracted by Leo Burnett - a leading agency to shoot and style a double pg ad for Pontiac which was printed in the RL Maxim magazine. And after this she was contracted by pontiac as a spokes avatar in SL. Cline also has built and island called Calliefornia where she presents her clients with a whole CC lifestyle. She also been the December beauty for a calendar, sold both inworld and outside, called "12 Avatars". She is now also the spokes avatar of the famous British Insurance company Swinton Bikes who is the sponsor of the famous Irish 250 GP driver Eugene Laverty for Aprilla. Everything in SL is virtual and everything is real..."

thank you to bing :) for this very very sweet surprise... that came at the perfect for caLLie. she even put the pages in her new shop.

selam!

Elle

(for caLLie who's in a rezzables show now at black swan)