Thank you very much, and a Happy New Year

Thank you very much. The Fukubukuro mystery bags cleared in less than 12 hours, and both Skinkie and myself are amazed. Thank you so much for your love for the ~flirt~ jewellery, and for the trust to buy sealed bags. Skinkie and me took a look at the shop a couple of times and were amazed that there were visitors at all times. And our Japanese supporter Mayaka Beck – who in fact got the very first bag – reported on her blog:

そして念には念を・・・と販売の約1時間前から並びましたｗ　　誰もいないかな・・・と思ったら、既に並んでいる人がいましたえぇ　販売３０分前の１６時半から人がどんどん来だし、１６時５０分には待つ人でいっぱいになりました羆　ＳＬでもＲＬでも福袋を待つ列は同じだ・・・と思ってみていました＾＾；　　ちなみに待ち時間の間に待っている人同士で「Happy New Year!」と声をかけあい、和気藹々とした雰囲気になっていました。
(Rough translation: There were about 16 people waiting for the bags to appear at midnight, and greeted themselves with “Happy new year” wishes when the event finally started)

We wish you a wonderful new year, we hope you all manage to reach some of your goals, to stay – or become – happy, to live your first and second life to the fullest, to always maintan the balance etween the two. Our best wishes and love for your loved ones as well. May 2009 be a good year for all of us.

Fukubukuro – get your ~flirt~ New Year’s Lucky Bag (limited edition)

In the Japanese culture, stores offer Fukubukuro (福袋) “Lucky Bags” on New Years Day. While initially used to get rid of surplus merchandise, nowadays the “Mystery Bags” have become a constant feature of popular culture. The bags are sealed and contain randomly selected regular items at hefty discounts, causing some stores to have long queues around city blocks hours before the store opens on New Years Day.

As a Thank You to our customers and the success of the ~flirt~ jewellery in 2008, we offer Fukubukuro mystery bags on New Years Day as well.

• Only 100 Lucky Bags are available
• Each bag contains an assortment of ~flirt~ jewellery, personally selected and combined by Skinkie Winkler, as well as some surprise non-jewellery items
• Each bag has at least a 50% discount value
• Selling of the bags will automatically start on Midnight SLT on January 1st and will end after 100 bags have been sold (or 24 hours after the start)
• The jewellery in the bags will – like all ~flirt~ products – be no-transfer

Thank you very much for a great 2008 – enjoy your Fukubukuro bag!

~flirt~ Fine Prim Jewellery (SLURL)

~flirt~の福袋をお見逃しなく！

日本の文化では、商店は新年に福袋を用意します。最初は、残り物を処理するための詰め合わせでしたが、今では「（中身が）秘密の袋」は、大衆文化として定着しています。福袋は口が閉じられていて、定番商品からランダムに選択された品々が入っていて、かなりの割引価格になっていて、店によっては、開店前から何ブロックも続く長い行列ができます。

当店をごひいきにしてくださっているお客様と、2008年における ~flirt~ ジュエリーの成功に感謝をこめて、私たちも、お正月に秘密の袋を提供いたします。

• 福袋は100個限定
• 各福袋は、Skinkie Winklerがセレクトした、 ~flirt~　の宝石の詰め合わせでです。
• 各福袋とも50％以上の割引価格になっています。
• 福袋の販売はSLT時間の０時から自動的に開始になり、100個完売時（または開始から24時間後）に終了します。
• 福袋の宝石は、 ~flirt~のすべての商品と同様に、再販／プレゼントはできません。

2008年にお世話になりました感謝をこめて、福袋を楽しんでいただけたら幸いです。

December blog roundup

Skinkie and myself are absolutely amazed about the love the blogs showed for ~flirt~ during December. Naturally, the nsowflake-inspired Esprit de Neige got a lot of attention, for example from Nissa Nightfire:

I can’t do justice here to the amazing non-bling sparkle of these gems. You have to see them in-world to appreciate the beauty of a twinkling snowflake. Fortunately — you can do that! Skinkie offers free demos in her store. And, as with all her jewelry, this set is easy to resize, and has a low ARC.

Freyja Nemeth combined Esprit de Neige with a gown from SF Designs and managed yet again a stunning combination:

The most striking feature of this jewellery is perhaps the delicacy of the prims, which really echoes the frail beauty of a snowflake. This is further emphasized by the texturing, which does a great job of getting across the feel and appearance of cold, crystalline snow. The earrings, in particular, are very lovely.

Dorothy “Dot” Willis is especially impressed by the traditional primwork of the choker:

Many unique snowflakes comprise each piece and I love the snowflake design as it’s very pretty and, it’s winter after all. I especially like the choker and the bracelet, and wow, i just looked at how many prims the choker has – 240!

My friend Laleeta Xue mentioned the ~flirt~ gift for the Peace on Earth hunt on her collaborative blog “Baking Cupcakes“:

This set looks so delicate, I simply adore it! While there have a look around at the new releases, I personally bought the new Bloom Ring. It never leaves my hand anymore!

And finally we know what Willis is talking about (clever pun, eh?) – Willow Zander showed her love not only for Esprit de Neige but also for the Bloom ring series:

I absolutely love this Choker, it comes with 2 options, glow and non glow and with 2 body attachment places too, so no more fiddling about effing it all up. [...]It’s an adorable mesh of snowflake type prims and exquisite workmanship and I for one am happy I have a copy!

The Bloom rings also got reviewed by wonderful Alicia Chenaux:

Something that I know a lot of partnered women will love is that rings for the right and left hands have been included, so there won’t be any fussing about having a partnership ring knocked off, or having to reattach to the other hand and move around. Let’s face it, sometimes you just don’t have time to do that! There is a resizer script included as well, which is a feature I love in prim jewelry since often the prims are too tiny to be reduced with a plain Stretch.

The Bloom ring in Onyx was also seen on one of Cajsa Lilliehook’s wonderful outfit combinations.

Jhuzen “Ketsy” Ketsugo, our landlady at Retrology, used the Tiffany ring in Amethyst in one of her “Look of the day” outfits:

A big ~flirt~ Amythyst in Platinum Tiffany Ring pulls in another dash of purple to round out the look. Having fun with a dash of colour makes me oh so very happy.

Achariya Rezak chose the Hearts & Diamonds choker to complete one of her “Dress me up” challenges:

Second, and contrasting with the toughness of the hat, is this choker from ~flirt~. I really like the quality and color-changing ability of the choker, too.

And finally one of the Wedding bands was featured on one of Second Life’s best known male fashion blogs – SL Men – by fashion blogger icon Ben Vanguard.

A warm thank you for all those wonderful reviews!

XstreetSL and OnRez updates

~flirt~ Xstreet SL storefront

Over the past couple of months we slowly switched the inventory and vendors over to the ~flirt~ store alt Flirtacious Magic. Using an alt account for business purposes solves quite a few problems, mainly seperating the transactions and circumventing the 25 group limit. The last major step was to update the web storefronts on XstreetSL (the portal formerly known as SL Exchange or SLX) and OnRez with the recent creations. This task has now been completed, so you can get the full range of Tiffany, Fragile, Hearts & Diamonds II, Pearls of Wisdom and Esprit die Neige via the web. This is also useful when you want to send ~flirt~ jewellery as a gift, since those two portals allow you to have the items delivered to another avatar.

~flirt~ OnRez storefront

We hope you enjoy browsing and buying ~flirt~ jewellery offline, and we kindly ask you to use the rating/commenting feature of both webshops to let other shoppers know that you like the ~flirt~ creations. As a sidenote: OnRez allows comments also by people who did not purchase an item via the web – so maybe some of our esteemed existing customers feel inclined to leave a comment too.

Click on the photos or use these links to find the webshops:

• ~flirt on Xstreet SL / SL Exchange
• ~flirt on OnRez

Thank you!

Reviews without lingerie

Sorry to disappoint you – no lingerie this time, even though our friend Quaintly Tuqiri did quite some teasing in her review:

I figure I’ll never need to buy another piece of jewellery in SL coz this will match absolutely anything I decide to wear, lol. See how versatile it is! And how pretty and elegant!

She has some impressive photos in that article, showing how versatile Hearts & Diamonds can be combined to various styles of clothing.

Quaintly shared her thoughts on jewellery pricing (and pricing in general) on her blog today, which is interesting to read as well.

Efemera Bisiani, who reviewed ~flirt~ creations before, combined the classic Tiffany Diamond set with a gorgeous gown by Ivalde. The resulting ensemble is formal yet stunning, monochrome yet sparkling and makes you stand out at any event. Read Efemera’s thoughts in her blogpost.

My dear SL-sister Trinity Dechou recently married in SL, and Skinkie’s gift for the event was a specially crafted choker with variations on the number 3 (as in Trinity). While this is not (yet) a jewellery line for public release, Trinity posted a gorgeous photo on her Flickr stream, and finally there is also some lingerie in this post:

Esprit de Neige jewellery line released

The Esprit de Neige (Spirit of Snow) jewellery was created by Skinkie Winkler for the Peace on Earth hunt in December 2008. The special hunt gift is available until December 31 in the ~flirt~ mainstore:

Esprit De Neige comprises many tiny snowflakes formed from the inner core of twisted and tortured prims. Within the entire set there are no two snowflakes the same, each one is unque, individual, beautiful in it’s own right, moreso when joined with others in structured symbiosis. Nature reflecting human nature? Human nature reflecting nature?

Today, the full range of Esprit de Neige is released, adding a bracelet, a choker, earrings and a ring. All are build with hundreds of regular, tiny tortured prims. The items are available with or without subtle glow effects and look different at any given time depending on the athmospheric settings in your viewer.

~flirt~ jewellery and Avatar Rendering Cost

Each piece of ~flirt~ jewellery is hand built and 100% prim-based. Care has been taken to assure the lowest possible Avatar Rendering Cost (contribution to sim lag) possible. Where required, your jewellery is fitted with a resize script. Simply click on the root prim, usually the largest central gem, to open a dialogue box and follow the instructions. A full instructions notecard is included should you need it. You are strongly advised to use a pose stand when repositioning your jewellery, one is provided. Should you run into difficulty, and if your shape is transferable, I will be more than happy to fit your jewellery for you. This service is only available for transferable items.

Customisations

We offer customisation services for all items. This can be changes to metals and stones and – where applicable – engravings. An additional cost of 500 L$ per customisation applies.

Pricing and availability

Available in the ~flirt~ mainstore and at our booth at the “Winter Fairytale” expo at Vanity Universe.

~flirt~ Esprit De Neige:Choker[MResize]BOXED Choker 700 L$
~flirt~ Esprit De Neige:DropEarringsBOXED Earrings 350 L$
~flirt~ Esprit De Neige:Bracelet[MResize]BOXED Bracelet 450 L$
~flirt~ EspritDeNeige:Ring[MResize]BOXED Ring 400 L$
~flirt~ Esprit De Neige: Full Set 1,500 L$ (save 400 L$ compared to individual items)

Please contact us in case of script issues

Over the last couple of days we received two reports of customers having issues with the resize/retexture scripts in the ~flirt~ jewellery. In both cases, clicking on the items failed to bring up the menu. Though we were not able to reproduce the effects – it consistently either always happens or does never happen – we were able to track it down to some recent server code changes and to fix it. If your jewellery fails to bring up its menu, please contact Skinkie Winkler via a notecard in-world. We need your name and the item you purchased, and once cross checked with our logs we will send you a new copy with the fixed script.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Let your Beauty Bloom

December, the Northern hemisphere has cold and dark nights. Snow, sleet, rain. Scarves and coats. And yet summer was just around the corner. Memories of warm nights, meetings with friends, taking a Latte Macchiato on the plaza. Take back that summer spirit with the Bloom rings by ~flirt~:

• Twelve crystal textures
• Six metal textures
• Resize script
• Multi texture change

Available in the ~flirt~ mainstore, Journey (next to the TULI mainstore) and Thistledown.

Bloom comes in five stone colours, denoting the central petals – Red Jasper, Yellow Jasper, Turquoise, Black Onyx and Pearl. Although these stones cannot be changed, the outer petal crystal and the metal comes with a variety of texture options which can be selected by simply clicking on your jewellery.

~flirt~ Bloom Ring Black Onyx

~flirt~ Bloom Ring Pearl

~flirt~ Bloom Ring Red Jasper

~flirt~ Bloom Ring Turquoise

~flirt~ Bloom Ring Yellow Jasper

~flirt~ reviews October / November 2008

Over the past – ahem – “weeks” we got some wonderful reviews of the ~flirt~ jewellery again. A surprisingly large number of fashion blogger combine the creations with lingerie, thus underlining the subtle erotic impression of the pieces.

SL supermodel Ana Lutetia, who normally does not review jewellery on its own, dedicated a whole post with wonderful photographies to the sensual lingerie by Ornamental Boudoir combined with the whole range of ~flirt~ creations, including the Tiffany Range, Hearts & Diamonds, Fragile, Pearls of Wisdom and the Interactions range. In Ana’s own words:

“Skinkie really did an amazing job creating the pieces and the textures are distinctive.”

Nissa Nightfire posted a wonderful picture, suggesting that the Tiffany Ruby set is perfect for your Holiday wardrobe:

This beautiful set is from ~flirt~ and features about a gazillion tiny prims, tortured into brilliant gems. [...] You can’t go wrong with these jewels in your holiday wardrobe.

Efemera Bisiani of “Efemeral Style” uses the newly released Hearts & Diamonds to enhance a more formal outfit.

This really is the sort of “fine” jewelry you expect to find in up-to-date high-end stores, the traditional gentle glimmer of diamonds set against highly polished metalwork, or smoothly shaped gemstones.

Resourceful Gabby Panacek of “Couture Conundrum” has reviewed our items before, but grew especially fond of the new Hearts & Diamonds set:

“Just one more note about ~flirt~ jewelry. I don’t know about you, but often I use jewelry to add a little “shine” to my wardrobe. The challenge, though, is often in finding the little bit of shine and glitz you want without the dreaded bling. Skinkie has solved this challenge for me. Her designs sparkle without being the least bit blinding or ostentatious, and they are so meticulously designed.”

“Baking Cupcakes” author Laleeta Xue praised the free gift for Calla’s second anniversary:

My favorite gift is this gorgeous brooch from Flirt. The brooch has a menu when you click on it that allows you to resize it and change the textures of the flowers and stems separately so you have tons of different ways to wear it!

And Reid Lorefield of “Free Finds for Men” concludes:

Skinkie Winkler of ~flirt~ has included a gift for the guys; this spectacular lily to fit on the lapel of a suit. It is stunning. I look forward to seeing what else she comes out with for men.

Thank you very much all of you, the reviews are wonderful!

P.S. If you reviewed ~flirt~ jewellery in the past and are not featured here, please let us know!

Official Release of Hearts & Diamonds (Version 2)

Back in March 2008, “Hearts & Diamonds” was the first set of jewellery Skinkie Winkler did. Now the completely redone version is back, with better metals, better stones, more variety and smarter scripts. Hearts & Diamonds version 2 contains a multi-script written specifically for ~flirt~ by Tecak Oyen. This allows you to not only resize your jewellery, but also change various texture sets.

Hearts & Diamonds is sold as either Metals, Stones, or Mixed Metal and Stone, the texture change options varying between each version.

Hearts & Diamonds can both be combined with formal outfits, as well with everyday casual wear. The single jewellery items do not impose on any combination, but add a subtle high quality note to whatever you wear.

The earrings are small enough to not hijack your carefully arranged presentations, but are large enough to enhance a stylish apperance, giving you countless options of combining and mixing.

The chokers enhance a beautiful neck in an understatement way, combining the hearts with countless diamonds to present love and appreciation.

The combinations possible with the bracelets are countless. Mix stones and metals, to find the perfect match to every outfit.

~flirt~ jewellery and Avatar Rendering Cost
Each piece of ~flirt~ jewellery is hand built and 100% prim-based. Care has been taken to assure the lowest possible Avatar Rendering Cost (contribution to sim lag) possible.

Where required, your jewellery is fitted with a resize script. Simply click on the root prim, usually the largest central gem, to open a dialogue box and follow the instructions. A full instructions notecard is included should you need it. You are strongly advised to use a pose stand when repositioning your
jewellery, one is provided. Should you run into difficulty, and if your shape is transferable, I will be more than happy to fit your jewellery for you. This service is only available for transferable items.

Customisations

We offer customisation services for all items. This can be changes to metals and stones and – where applicable – engravings. An additional cost of 500 L$ per customisation applies.

Pricing and availability

~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Bracelets:Mixed Metal/SPStones 150 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Bracelets:Semi-Precious Stones 150 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Choker:Metals 250 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Choker:Semi-Precious Stones 250 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Chokers:Mixed Metal/SPStones 350 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Earrings:Metals 150 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Earrings:Semi-Precious Stones 150 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Set:Metals Set 500 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Set:Semi-Precious Stones Set 500 L$
~flirt~ Hearts&DiamondsII Set:Mixed Metal/SPStones Set 650 L$
~flirt~ Hearts & Diamonds Everything Pack 1,250 L$

Right now, these items are only availbale in-world at the ~flirt~ mainstore (SLURL). It will take a bit until we have listed them on Xstreel SL (SL Exchange) and OnRez – please bear with us.

You will also find DEMOS of the pieces, so you can try them on before you buy.

Please enjoy Hearts & Diamonds!