Mon Jolie Cadeau

Article by Gia Blossoms Illustrations by Fayah Rey

INTERVIEW WITH AVALON BOUVIER

Avalon Bouvier, co-owner and curator of one of the well known destinations in Second Life, Mon Joli Cadeau. A romantic French themed destination for explorers and couples alike displaying art by artists around the grid. A versatile lady with multifaceted talents living in full spirit in both worlds. In this issue we will get to know more about the person, her work and her contribution to Second Life.

Mon Joli Cadeau - https://monjolicadeausl.weebly.com/ Landmark - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Enchanted%20 Woods/81/84/26 Effortless Events and Decor - https://www.flickr.com/photos/155622333@N05/

GB: Avalon Bouvier, should I introduce you as the wonderful DJ, or the cofounder of Mon Joli Cadeau, or the owner of Effortless Events and Decor, or the blogger at Swank Events, or the chat moderator for Apple Falls or the.. That list truly goes on. A resume in Second Life so sound which is nothing but a fruit of her passion and what she loves to do. Or should I simply introduce you, as the most elegant, humble, hard working lady who knows how to find the perfect balance between work and life. From a third person point of view, I could go on and on about this amazing person. But, how would Avalon describe herself?

Avalon: The same as I am in real life, driven, motivated, determined. I hope to be loving, patient and kind. A lot of people come to Second Life and this world changes them. You meet people angry and jaded. You hope that people just continue to be kind, gentle and patient. I refuse to give the people in Second Life any power over who I am as a person.

GB: Please tell us more about your love, Yoh Boa. How did you two meet? When the spark happened? How do you keep the fire on? Avalon: About 8 years ago we met briefly at Tempura Gardens. Then about 4 years ago we met again at Fogbound Blues. The first time we met we were both partnered; the second time I was partnered and he was not. The third time we met was at Muddy’s in June 2018. Finally, we were both single, but we really didn’t start talking until September.

Yoh and I crossed paths again in June of 2018 and had a few brief but great 40 Sisters in SL Magazine

conversations. Then he was gone, as so many are in SL. The summer came and went and in September he appeared again at Muddy’s. We quickly dived into a conversation but I had to go , it was Saturday morning and my dad was coming over to make Salsa. Salsa, in North America, is traditionally made with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic, paprika and spicy jalapeno peppers! It is served with nacho chips but I use it in all sorts of other dishes as well. Yoh was very enamored with the idea that I was creating my salsa with my dad. For Yoh, how much he loves his daughter, this is the moment he knew I was the lady for him. He told me later that he knew if I got to know him, I would love him. He was right! We love to walk together. We just walked 5 miles together while on phone talking to each other. And there is always something to talk about. He wants to walk 10 miles a day. But I can keep up till 8 miles. I will complete the rest of our three miles with him after this interview. He is American and I am Canadian. We try our best to stay away from politics. We much prefer to read a lot of books together.

GB: You must have talked about politics at some point of time. How did that go?

Avalon: We differ on very fundamental levels. For example, National Health care. My view is that if all the people are willing to pay as they are able to keep everyone healthy. My taxes pay for education, health and core infrustructures. We do this because it‘s the right thing. But in the USA it doesn’t work that way.

We swayed back and forth the interview with real life topics like corona and health care services in different countries. I shared what my point of view and the corruption that trickles down its effects over the years that accumulates at the time of need.

GB: Which is the latest book you read?

Avalon: “Beneath the Scarlet Sky”, it’s set in Italy by Mark Sulliean. “Things You Cannot Say” by Kelly Rimmer. It is set in Poland during World War II. This week we are going to read “Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

GB: How do you choose your books?

Avalon: We go back and forth in choosing books. Since I am a teacher librarian in real life, it‘s not really difficult for me to choose one. Sometimes it‘s either fiction and sometimes it‘s nonfiction. In the past year we have read about 12 books.

GB: So, you both grow with each other too.

Avalon: As Yoh says, “Steel sharpens steel”. I think it is a quote from the Bible.

GB: Not many people can open up in their Second Life profiles. I for one, have a very professional resume for a profile. And you talk about friendships, relationships (both past and present), love and care.

Avalon: I am not a character, I am me. Bodhi was a part of me, every day for seven years. We remain close, in fact Bodhi and I see each other once a week. Bodhi and Yoh write letters to each other. We are still very good friends. We are still talking about a day, when we are old and eating mushy peas and wearing diapers. Yes, I do talk a lot about my feelings. Bodhi pushes me to achieve more and Yoh stands by my side while I do so.

GB: Why Paris for Mon Joli Cadeau? Is it because it‘s a destination for lovers? Do we see that love displayed in the landscaping of Mon Joli Cadeau?

Avalon: Yoh and I have very happy memories of Paris. I also speak French. I took Italian for 2 years. We both love to travel. I have seen Paris, Italy among other places. The landscaping for Mon Joli Cadeau was done in 3 days, an example perhaps of being driven! I love to decorate.

GB: In the short time, you have been able to achieve so much with Mon Joli Cadeau. You have the best designers of the grid like “Chop Zuey” and “Flower Dreams” at your place. The beautiful ballroom parties. Giving artists a place to showcase their work. What is the success mantra?

Avalon: Our plans were to have ballroom parties and art galleries where people could come to the parties and explore around the place looking at the various artwork by various artists of SL. But, now we have closed the doors to the ballroom as it is a full time job to manage hosts and DJs. It has never been difficult for us to attract artists. Yoh is in charge of the artists, he asks and they oblige. Once, we even had a waiting list. We do not invite artists with demeaning art work, instead those that are classy and elegant. There are few who have stayed on with us since the beginning. Yoh and I are a good team together. It is difficult to count on other people

Mon Joli Cadeau, set in Paris is one of the featured destinations on the Destination Guide in Second Life. Mon Joli Cadeau means my lovely gift; started by Avalon and Yoh Boa. It features about 17 artists a month giving each artist their own space where they can showcase and sell their art.

in SL. I feel like your success is make or break on the dependability of other people. So, we decided not to give up on the artists. Everybody thought it was a bad idea to give up on the ballroom. But we still get people as we are in Destination. Lots of photographers come by as well. Once a month we have a photo contest among the pictures posted in Mon Joli Cadeau Flickr Page.

Each month, there is a gala organized to encourage more views for the featured artists. Pre-written paragraphs about the artists’ highlighted artwork are read by Avalon while she Djs as well. The paraphrases written describe the pieces in detail capturing the emotions and the style.This month Jamee Sandalwood, Jenny Ravendark, Jolie Parfort were featured.

GB: There could be many creative ventures that could be taken up. Why choose art? What’s the innate passion behind it?

Avalon: Yoh and I are both blessed world travellers. We both have been to Italy, Greece, London and Paris. We both love art. And this is something we could concentrate on contributing together. What we have found is that there are three categories of artists in Second Life. Photographers who do post photography work and that is an art which comprises about 90% of the total agglomeration of artists in SL. 8% makeup for the artists who work on an art from scratch. And the rest 2% are those who make art forms out of objects, prims, sculptures or even mesh. The second category is rare and the third is the rarest of all. There are a lot of galleries in SL. The artist community is mostly supportive of each other‘s groups. Any other organized activities have a cut throat competition in SL. However, this community is supportive and kind

GB: How do you spend the spare time you have in SL? Assuming now that you have more time on hand.

Avalon: I returned to Muddy’s Music Cafe as a Dj which I love to do. I have 4-5 sets a week. I have bi-monthly events at Elysium Theatre. I am also pre-booked for Djing at weddings by Aisle Be With You Weddings and Make It Perfect. I worked with Sisters in SL as an events coordinator for sometime. I resigned as I had a lot of things at hand. I had a teaching job at Police Academy for 22 hours.

being interviewed for SIS Magazine?

Avalon: I am very honored and thank you.

GB: You have a great voice. Have you tried singing in SL?

Avalon: I used to sing with a friend. He used to play guitar and I used to sing along. But that was just where we used to find a crowd on voice. I never tried singing as a profession in SL. And I love what I do, I love to DJ. I know singers make a lot of money. There are many people who are solely into making money in SL. This being their full time job. I make enough in the sets which are added to the income from art galleries and stores to pay for the weekly tier for the land.

GB: You are also a blogger for SWANK and a moderator for Apple Fall. Plus you have a landscaping and interior decors company. Please tell us something about that.

Avalon: Yes, I was asked to join SWANK as a blogger this year. I love to decorate for people. Landscaping sims on various themes. You can look in my Flickr for a few samples. My charges are fairly reasonable. I charge 2L$ per prim am allowed to use. So, let‘s say here are 2500 prims available, and I can decorate with 2000 prims so it‘s 4000L$.

GB: With the number of things that you are already involved in. How do you find the time to spend with your loving husband in SL?

Avalon: Like I said, building a 1/4th sim just takes 3 days and decorating a room, like the ones you see in Flickr, takes me just an hour. We share a calendar where we mention what we are doing in real life and in Second Life. That is the reason I know he has gone fishing now.

With the varying time zones, it is difficult to maintain a long distance relationship. Even in our real lives we forget to spend time with each other as we are so engrossed to earn our incomes. The past few months have certainly given us a peek at what family is and how to spend time with a loved one. Avalon and Yoh have developed a way to communicate with each other and to be together overcoming the hassles of life. It is certainly a good habit we could adopt as well.

GB: How would you say the road map is for a new artist in SL?

Avalon:There are 20 different art groups for promotions. Plus there are social media platforms like Facebook, Flickr and Social Vr. Start at one gallery. Artists are usually invited from seeing their work in other galleries.

GB: You are a RFL Dj as well. What does Relay for Life mean to you?

Avalon: I have been involved in several RFL charity events, probably because a few members of my family have battled; some have won and some have lost.

GB: What’s the one thing you have not done in SL and would like to do in future?

Avalon: I would love to learn to be a better photographer/ blogger. It is funny I only started to really take decor pictures about a month ago and applied with Swank to blog, and was accepted right away! It is truly therapy to decorate a space and capture the perfect shot!

She is modest, kind, gentle and elegant. Everything she strives to be. She is a business woman with a heart of gold. As Yoh Boa says, “Avalon I‘m so proud to call you MINE. Your accomplishments in SL speak for themselves. What people won‘t see in this article is what an amazing person you are behind that pretty Avalon avatar. I‘m thankful everyday to share Laughter, Learning and Love with the „real“ Avalon. You are forever my Bride.”