Changes Are a Good Thing! New Store 2025

In November of 2019, I created a blog post entitled: The One for Nostalgia, you can read the full post here:

https://laminaksl.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-one-for-nostalgia.html

In it, I showcase a new store, the start of my return to creating in Second Life, following a gap of around 6-7 years. At the time I thought I was being silly, there was practically nothing on sale! I'd spent an entire year, following my return in October of 2018, learning how to create mesh, and if I'm honest, all these years later, I'm still learning! Although it is a heck of a lot easier now, I still have days when I think of something to make and wonder how I'll do it!

Over the last week or so I've been painstakingly moving my store from a sim I'd been on for almost 2 years, to a new sim, joining forces with a wonderful lady called Mara, who manages to create the most wonderful landscapes. 

Mara is also creating a new, safe space, for witches and wizards alike to assemble, but I'll create a post about that when she's finished working her magic, at the moment it's a work in progress, but I digress! ...

This morning, I opened the new store for people to come and see, and realised I needed to update the the landmarks for my various social media outposts, and of course here.

I suddenly remembered the post from 2019, opened it up, and oh my, I had a flashback to the day I wrote the post, how amazed I was at myself that after a whole year I'd managed to craft something I felt was ok to put out on sale! I had 2 items! The decorative lanterns and the writer's desk set.

That store didn't last long, it felt cramped, claustrophobic, and far too dark! it was also in the sky, and I don't really like being in the clouds.

I changed it for a new store, but again, it was too dark and I decided I really did want to be on the ground.

In June 2020 I bought some land, and a new chapter for Laminak began!

I at least had more items by this point, but as time moved along (and I ran out of space) I needed another change! And so, in the December of that year, I moved again, this time to a homestead with another creator. 

Going back through my posts I'm a little surprised at how quickly I expanded! Because by the April of 2021, I had moved again. This time to a homestead of my own. I kind of liked this next move! With the store on rafts!

If you know anything about land in Second Life, you'll know that a homestead only provides capacity for 5000 Li, and I quickly outgrew it.

And so, in the September of 2022 I created my current castle to house Laminak, moved to a full half sim (10,000Li thank you very much) and I stayed put for a while. Filling up the store as the years rolled on.

By June of 2024 I started to wonder if I could maybe, just maybe, buy my own sim again. Ultimately, I knew I couldn't afford it, no matter how much I'd love to go to that next level, Laminak (you might be surprised to hear) remains a hobby, not something I can earn a living from or rely on to pay the tiers a full sim would cost, but then, in December of 2024, during a random chat with a wonderful friend, a lady who has created some of the most magical sims/projects/homes for people I've ever seen in SL, asked if I would like to join her on her sim. It was, I think, a passing comment on her behalf, and maybe not something she'd have thought I'd say yes to, but it made complete sense!

And so, here I am today! 5 years on, with a store that is almost, almost! the vision I had in my mind all those years ago, I hope one day to fully reveal that vision, but I feel truly blessed to be where I am now. 

Mara is creating the most wonderful landscaping around Laminak Castle, there are plans this year, between us, to create a place that is not only magical to walk around (thanks to Mara) where witches and wizards can roam, at peace, safe, and conjure up the odd spell (again thanks to Mara), but where, if I can do it, you'll find a magic project sits comfortably in its surroundings, but that will have to wait for another blog. 

If you've made it this far, thank you for taking this nostalgia trip with me. I hope it shows any budding creators out there how far you can go in the wonderful world that is Second Life. 

I hope to be more active on this blog this year.

I hope you all have fun exploring Mist Valley, the new home of Laminak.

I hope you all have a blessed 2025!

Much love and many hugs, as always.

Casey

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