Scoping Out Scope Cleaver

I've mentioned Scope Cleaver a number of times in the pages of this blog. A master-builder, possibly best-known for his amazingly detailed office furniture and his high-tech bespoke buildings, Scope has now joined forces with another of SL's top designers, Maximilian Milosz, to bring the SL buying public a one-stop-shop for quality furniture and prefabs. They also have plans to develop a community of rentals, and provide a range of SL consulting services.

The twinned sims of SCDA and Maximum Minimum officially opened their doors yesterday. I was my usual, fashionably(?) late self, having been delayed in getting inworld thanks to the excess of basques and suspenders alluded to in my previous post. I met with Scope, who kindly took me on a tour of his sim - though I need to go back, as I ran out of time to look at Maximum Minimum.

Scope has split the construction on his sim into 3 components - office furniture; residential furniture and his offices. The residential stuff is a relatively new area for him, and there's not a great deal there at the moment, but this will grow in due course. The office furniture is more established, with a more extensive selection. I seem to see it everywhere, but Scope told me that, although it sells well, he does not have a wide enough selection to make that much from it.




What impresses me about Scope's work is the exquisite and meticulous detailing. There is also a indefinable "something" that makes his work easily(?) recognisable. He was a bit surprised to hear this observation (again) as he doesn't see it himself. We spoke about his approach to construction: I don't know if this is rare, but he likes the building tools supplied by Linden Lab, as they both challenge creativity and enforce rigour, and are thus ultimately more satisfying to use than fancy 3D tools. I guess it's like an artisan or craftsman in RL, who would rather use basic tools well, than sophisticated tools badly.

We also touched on sculpted prims, and it comes as no surprise that Scope is not a fan, at least not when it comes to using them in his own work. He was happy to oblige with with a quote: "The answer you are looking for is: They look good as mushrooms...[but] I think the main problem I have about them is precision."

It will be interesting to see what sort of community emerges out of this union of 2 leading designers. I only wish I had a fraction of the talent these guys have... b*stards! :-)

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Here's some info from their Press Release:

What's new:
Scope will open his sim to the public for the first time and unveil his magnificent new store. A sleek new line of furniture will also be made available for the first time. Maximilian will be releasing a whole new range of various furniture, home accessories and the first release in a line of new products.

The future plans:
As a result of outstanding support, positive feedback and accelerating demand from their loyal customers, Maximilian and Scope will reveal more details regarding their joint effort in the time to come: A Modern Virtual Lifestyle Community. Six additional sims have been reserved that will be able to expand up to at least 44 regions. Maximilian and Scope want to meet, engage and stimulate the people in Second Life who are ready to live and lead this world in design. Collectors and enthusiasts will also have the opportunity to acquire limited editions and exclusive content.

Why:
As full-time designers in Second Life, Maximilian and Scope's motivation lays in the need to create something truly exceptional. Unlike many others, both Maximilian and Scope are _purely_ children of the virtual community, for the virtual community. They utilize their experience, skill and design integrity to create stunning, meticulously-crafted buildings, and the distinctive quality is evident to connoisseurs and casual design fans alike.

In what way will this benefit the community?
Both SCDA and MM will remain separate entities. While they will be competing within the same market offering similar products and services, there is more than enough room for both, and a lot of room for synergy that will benefit their audience. Learning from each other, improving product and service quality. The joined Modern Virtual Lifestyle Community will benefit its residents by concentrating like-minded, sophisticated, design consioucious people.