Designer Feature: Ariskea

FEATURED DESIGNER

Ariskea

Writer: Taylor Wassep Title Page Photography: Kiana Jarman Editorial Photography: Divos Titanium

econd Life™ is essentially one large digital medium available for whatever purpose someone might use. Whatever wonders we can dream up in our minds can be created and exported right into the virtual grid for residents to enjoy. The clothing we wear, the avatars we choose, the homes we live in - all the way down to the scripts and codes we use to move us are all examples of this creativity in action.

When it comes to the homes we live in, the figurehead of acclaimed decor store Ariskea - Diaxm Resident, also known as Aris - consistently dreams up amazing items we just cannot live without. Ariskea is a bohemian-inspired store that brings an eclectic vibe to Second Life ™. With its earthy toned items, floral patterns and all-around hippy attitude, Aris wanted to break down her inspiration and elaborate more on where she gets her style. One place she can spend hours at is a site called Anthropologies.

“[That’s] where I get all of my inspiration, mostly because it [is] so relaxing and soft. I felt myself when I go look at their pages,” said Aris.

Beyond the presence of this wonderful boho aesthetic, Aris went on to say that she also gets inspiration from vintage 70’s looks and woody, earthy textures and feels. Growing up in the great woods of Canada, she learned to really appreciate the tones and textures that

nature has to offer and how time seems to never affect these gigantic behemoths of trees.

Those elder forests of lush greens might be akin to antiques in a way: something that stands the test of time, yielding remnants from the past and are appreciated in the present. Her mother is a fan of this style as well. Aris shared that she owns her grandmother’s old cabinet collection of so many precious 1970’s items. With all this inspiration and passion behind Aris, she channels this bohemian and vintage aesthetic and creates from her heart.

With Ariskea’s aesthetic cemented, or rather petrified in wood; let’s dig a little deeper on the origin story of Ariskea. The year was 2012, and some friends of hers from IMVU were trying to get Aris to join a new social game. It was supposed to be this very immersive and gigantic platform. Needless to say Aris was nervous to join, having never been a part of something as sensational as Second Life™. But those friends who brought her to the grid set her at ease and thought she should take advantage of what Second Life™ has to offer by becoming a content creator.

And that is exactly what she did. Aris already had a background with IMVU with creating home & garden items, so bringing that same mentality to Second Life™ was not that large of a stretch.

68

style credits

69

style credits

70

71

style credits

72

7374

“I love how [an] environment creates an atmosphere and ambiance. Seeing that we can build up a world made out of pixels and cubes is just mesmerizing,” said Aris.

Aris went on to talk about her love of video games, but Second Life™ was something totally different than what she thought it would be like. Once she logged in and saw other talented creators and bloggers alike using decorations to enhance an image, her desire to be a content creator was solidified. It was the simple love for creation that ignited her passion to stay and create.

Aris’ first store was called Oceana. To start, Oceana was a skin store that created system layer skins. Aris also made swimwear outfits and other accessories. These outfits included bikinis and other bohemian beachy creations; again staying true to that vibe she brought with her to Ariskea. Regardless of how much time and energy she would put into Oceana, she felt like something was missing; a new challenge to attempt in Second Life™. Back in IMVU she was known for her home and garden creations. That was something she had yet to attempt in Second Life™ and that was exactly what she wanted to create.

That is when Ariskea was born. Aris said that a friend of her noted that her new store should be something like Ikea. For those unfamiliar with what Ikea is, it is a Norwegian home decor megastore known for their unique items and having nearly everything needed to decorate a home. So that is where the “-kea” section of Ariskea came from, but where does the rest come from? Aris’ name in

style credits

75

style credits

76

77real life is Isabelle, so “-is-“ was added into the store’s name. Lastly, she wanted to have an “Ar-“ in the start of her new store’s name. Piecing everything together, Ar-is-kea is what she came up with.

With a fresh start to her new venture, Aris began learning how to mesh. To start out easy and test the waters, she mainly made accessories with plans to expand to decor once she was able get a better grip on meshing in Second Life™.

“I wanted to show what I could do and get better because for me, it was about my personal journey to learning [how to mesh],” Aris said.

Seeing other people´s creations, Aris wanted what she was releasing to be perfect and to make her customers happy so she could be proud of what she was creating. She was so inspired by other designer’s works that it drove her to be better. After a while she came to the realization that she cannot be like someone else - she could only do the best Aris could do. That mindset has followed her along her journey with Ariskea, reminding her that her best is all that matters.

releases, “Louise” incorporates a painting she made in her real life.

“Louise is a collection [that involves] my last painting I did in real life. Louise is the woman in the painting, she is a character that looks at you from the frogtail plants,” Aris would go on to talk about how in her life she was going through a rough patch so this collection meant so much to her. It was quite personal to her, so of course, like Petite Paris, it has a special meaning. This was not the first time Aris released something in Ariskea that had her own paintings in them. 2017 was the first time she attempted to do this. The collection is called Kezia and received positive feedback. For Aris, being able to bring her real-life talents into her virtual world and mixing them to create something wonderful felt so great to her. That is all she could ask for: to be able to create and bring happiness to those who enjoy her work.

“The love for creating [has] never stopped. It’s a never-ending love and seeing that I did improve over the years makes me so happy”, Aris noted.

Fast forward years later and Aris is still creating and expanding her Ariskea catalogue. In 2015 Ariskea released a collection named “Petite Paris”. It has a special place in Aris’ heart since releasing it. When asked if there is anything that might sit next to Petite Paris in her heart, Aris revealed that one of her newer

79

IN-WORLD LOCATIONMARKETPLACEFLICKRFACEBOOK