but if you would turn your face away from me--

goto: Cariama.com.
goto: My account.
goto: CBoxes, subset: how to get one. Read page: You need to place and link inworld a CBox first before going further. More information can be found in How To.
goto: How To.
goto: How to get the tools package. You will get the Tools Package at the page account->sell (direct link here), select the "get tools" button on the right menu.
goto: Tools page. Search Tools page. See nothing remotely resembling a CServer or a CBoxes selling package. Go back to How To page. Read entire page. You can also get the Tools Package inworlds at the different CTerminals (a list of CTerminals is given here.
goto: Terminals page. Select one at random.



goto: Terminal. Click several times. Note two buttons that appear, "Information" and "Website". Click "Information". Read short blurb about Cariama. Sigh and click Terminal. Click "Website". Watch as browser launches website from SL.
goto: Marketplace. Scan side list.
goto: Business. Scan both items. Sigh and go back to Marketplace. Scan side list. Realize there's no precise category for CBoxes or CServers.
goto: How To tab. Again.
goto: How to get the tools package. Again.
goto: direct sell link listed on that page. Read information given. You need to place and link inworld a CBox first before going further. Please get the tools package on the right menu, thank you. More information can be found in How To.
goto: the right side of the page. Realize there's no right side of the page, with any listings, whatsoever. Contemplate tearing out hair.
goto: Terminal. Again. Click on everything. Read through much chat spam on how to get more information. Begin clicking terminals. Realize now, they seem to recognize user status, and read the chat spam they spit out: [17:28] Alpha Centauri C whispers: For the moment, you can get the Tools Package only via Cariama website at the sell page, please visit www.cariama.com for more information.

Giving. The hell. Up. Nothing is worth this. Selling dresses for ten times the price, guaranteed, would not be worth this hell. There is NO. WAY. To acquire the sales box. There is NO. WAY. To acquire the vendor box.

So for now, I am not selling through Cariama, and I'm not likely to go back to repeat this mass waste of time (as of now, it's been over ninety minutes trying to figure out how to get a server and a vendor box. Just those two things. ALONE). Commensurate with that decision, listing things on Metaverse Exchange is just too great a hassle, so I've killed my server box for them, as well.

As of today, then, your shopping options off the grid are:

Slapt.me. Not my favorite. Hard to navigate, hard to figure out how to set things up properly, hard to draw money out if I do make a sale. But I'm up there with a few holiday items.

meta-LIFE. Also not my favorite, but slightly better than Slapt.me. Difficult to list things, but big advantage in that anywhere there's a meta-LIFE vendor, there's an option to sell my products. It may not work out that way, and to be honest, I don't foresee tons of sales, but I'm up there.

Apez. This site makes it nearly impossible to list things, and you nearly need a degree in organizational substructuring to figure out how to get from A to B, let alone from blank to listed, but once I did figure out how to list things, it became easy to list things again. This is very important. Plus, everywhere there's an unspecified (not tied down to specific brand) vendor, there's a chance for my products to be seen. Plus, there's an Apez vendor in the Black Sands Beach store.

On the plus side, Adam & Eve have holiday outfits out. I never found the male version--I was too busy contemplating yelling at the Cariama programmers--but the women's gown can be seen here, on sachi Vixen's Flickr, and it's just surpassingly gorgeous.

And Miss Allegory Malaprop has a quirky holiday freebie, a carryable stocking packed with gifts, just for going to the Elephant in Starlust. (She also has a tricolor set of striped stockings for L$175 that I am dying to get the funds together to buy! But that's not holiday, that's just for fun.)

And Miss Draconic Lioncourt released three 'spirits of the season' for L$400 each: the all-white "Ghost of Christmas Past", the green and gold "Ghost of Christmas Present", and the grimly lovely "Ghost of Christmas Future", with ornate lace details. They're at Draconic Kiss in Koreshan, and they're only there until the 1st of January, 2010.

Finally, Mr. Nix Sands released "Mrs. Claws", a boot and hat combination at XCentricity in Penzance. (You can also pick up the holiday Dragonfly Pumps, "Ice Queen", there as well.)

In the meantime, the four holiday dresses I've put out I now have pictures of (having done the box art). They are:

Glimmermenthe



Glimmering, shimmering gold with snowflake accents; three interchangeable corsets, two flexi skirt options, a multitude of mix-and-match holiday looks. L$100.

Peppermenthe



Muted candy-cane stripes in red and white complement three interchangeable corsets and two flexi skirt options with star belt. L$100.

Spearmenthe



Muted spearmint stripes in green and white on simple satin, with multiple options of skirt, corset, and self-stockings and gloves. L$100.

Wintermenthe



Muted candy stripes in blue, silver and grey on shining satin for the holidays; comes with three interchangeable corsets, multiple layers, and two flexi skirt lengths to choose from. L$100.

Each dress comes with a notecard detailing where to get the items I didn't make, and landmarks to both stores. And that's all the news I have for now. Stay tuned!