VaMpArT DeSiGnS is a collaboration between Wynternight Xingjian and Casper Priestman of Secondlife. In the fall of 2008 Wynternight was driving Casper crazy with wanting to do her own clothing designs but lacking the computer graphics expertise. She had a background in pencil and fantasy art but the beloved pixel twisting Secondlife is based on was beyond her. Casper had a long running love affair with computer graphics and 3d modelling and was just a geek in general.

Soon Wynternight had a new complaint, her efforts weren’t producing the results she wanted……sales. Casper wanted her to succeed as Wynternight was already months behind in paying him rent on her store so he encouraged her to be patient and go back to learning what she needed to know. He dropped link after link of tutorials on the frustrated Vamp and answered her questions when she ran up against a problem she just couldn’t seem to work her way out of.  Soon, the lightbulb in the Vamp’s nocturnal brain begain to grow brighter as things became apparent, and she was finally able to render from her mind’s eye to the clothing templates she was struggling with, and people began to notice. But Casper wasn’t getting off so easy…..oh no…not by a long shot.

Besides guiding the budding designer, he then had to get her work out to the masses and encouraged her to open a few stores while he opened more as well, all the while critiquing her work and making suggestions. What a bloody overbearing brute! He was blunt in his criticism and often had to yank the pixel blinded Vamp out of style ruts where she would do similar designs over and over as any artist would when they’re improving. But…as he explained, the patrons don’t want to see the same thing over and over…they want…variety…they want….choices…the bastards!

The coup de gras’ came to be when VaMpArT was chosen as one of the showcase designers in the 2009 Gothic Fashion Fair in May, a first ever Secondlife event! While the event was a major success, it was not without it’s foibles.  But, we’ll save that for a blog post later The outcome was sales far surpassing the entrance fee, a zillion offers to rent mall space from everyone and their pet monkey, an interview in Fang Magazine, and some well earned confidence in what VaMpArT was trying to do.