CULTURE: EAGLE'S RAVE: FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO FLY HIGH- Piper SecretSpy Reporting...

Overview of Eagle's Rave

We are at Eagle's Rave, Italian land where there is still a perfect combination between commerce, entertainment, romance and socializing. Here you can find really everything, going from the many fashion shops, to the romance of a beautiful gondola ride along the canal that surrounds the land remembering the beautiful city of Venice, to the adrenaline given by a parachute launch, or simply to meet for a night out. The owner Robert67 Soulstar believed much in his project and with time has been able to create a truly multi-functional land with the help of trusted and talented employees. And today we have had the pleasure of meeting one of his right arm, the manager Mara Klaber, that in this short interview gave us the opportunity to know and appreciate the many shades of Eagle's Rave.

1) How did the idea to open the land has born?
Like so many apparently crazy ideas. Without a single well-defined, easily identifiable reason. A bit for fun, a bit maybe for a touch of boredom you feel when you go wandering around with nothing to do in SL. Or maybe, probably due to the unconscious desire to prove yourself, to show that you can give form to something that could not be found on SL and that could create an idea, very vague at the time, a classy commercial space that could combine "business with pleasure, business with leisure. In short, a place to find classy clothes and accessories, mainly of Italian fashion, but also where you can spend your free time having fun, dancing, playing and especially encountering serious people, with the same desire to spend nice hours in SL.





2) How long has the land being created?
The first stone was laid in July of 2009, a few months before I look out for my "second life". But at that time Eagle's Rave was not where it is now. Spread over about 8000square meters, then gradually expanded to about 48,000 sqm. When I arrived the first time, little more than a "noob" it also looked nice to me, perhaps due to the beauty of mind of all the friends I've known. Actually, those 48,000 square meters, because of the particular shape of the SIM, were not flat. Indeed, it seemed one of the terraced land which is found in Liguria. The spaces were distributed on 8 floors, and only that central entrance was a decent size. To reach the other, there was either the teleporter, or a sixth grade to be done for stairs and ramps steep enough that a little lag was enough to let you tumble below when thought to have made to reach another level. It is clear that, with such a distribution and with all the space lost to make the shift from one level to another, the shops were suffering a lot. I must say that Roby, the owner, and Jaimie, our builder (as well as our most successful fashion designer) they did miracles in building even in that situation. However, viewed with hindsight and stated on how beautiful Eagle is now in this new SIM, I must say that the its original location was sacrificed. And the shops outside the main level were suffering greatly, mainly due to lack of traffic. The AVI arrived, they found a nice entry level, with good shops, the catwalk for fashion shows and dance clubs, and you could not move them from there, not even pulling...
Thus in January 11, 2010 the current SIM Eagles Rave was born (not Eagle's because the apostrophe is not accepted by SL ... funny that they are American, should be used to the Saxon genitive, perhaps ..), this time private and all plan. I was there, since the end of 2009 I started working with Roby, and together we have cared for the transfer of the best store from the old land.
3) Why the name Eagles?
Easy. Roby is the nickname of the owner: RobertBob Aquila, Eagle in English. It 's also a tribute to the beauty and majesty of this magnificent bird of prey. Roby wanted to add Rave, at the suggestion of his dear American friend, to associate the idea of a young, carefree and open air environment we had in mind to build. And you know what? A little playing, but mostly doing things very seriously, especially when interpersonal relationships are involved, we managed to attract a lot of people, starting with Federica (nurse89fede Janic), my loved colleague manager, our designers and all the girls who work with us, young, dynamic and carefree, that are giving the SIM the impression of unmistakable class and professionalism, tempered with a very warm, happy, playful, but never lightly atmosphere, never forgetting that behind every AVI there is a person with his temperament, his feelings, sometimes his problems, his troubles, his joys. And slowly everyone who comes here, maybe by chance, perhaps looking for a nice and fashion dress, perceives this atmosphere and returns, more and more often, both for new purchases, or just for the sake of being in the company.
4) How is your land structured?
Eagle's Rave currently occupies an entire SIM. Spread over a flat area where 29 stores of various sizes are located, from 400 to 2500 square meters, always on two levels, except for 2 stores that have 3 floors. If you look from above (by the way, we have a nice balloon that makes you admire the land from above, and if you come at sunset you enjoy a light show with all the warm hues of sunset, from orange to blazing blood red of the last light of day that you will hardly forget!) you will grasp the layout of stores following the square perimeter of the SIM, and another square block located in the center. Between the two a nice little brook, as if to remind the ancient moat to defend castles; along whose shore the road connecting between them all the shops and all the outdoor spaces of the SIM. The graceful bridges, reminiscent of Venice or Bruges, depending on location and what taking us back to memory, allow access to the shops of the internal block. As you see, a simple path, in the form of a ring, where you cannot lose, and that allows you to visit so easily and intuitively the whole land. Even if you start in the wrong direction, it will be a little longer, but you will get where you wanted.
5) In addition to the shops, which other attractions you are able to offer?
Although Eagles Rave began as a land of fashion, and Italian fashion specifically, we wanted to distinguish it from the other commercial lands, including high-level. We want that everyone who comes here find many reasons to return, not only the desire to shop. So we tried to add attractions that make a point of meeting, fun and entertainment. I've already talked about the balloon. But is not the only way to tour the SIM. For hopeless romantics, we have a gondola that runs on the river automatically, so you can enjoy the view without worrying about direct it. And I assure you that the tour always has a special charm in any time of day, because each day has its light that creates ever-changing reflections on the water. Dawn is perhaps the greatest moment of magic, when you feel like you get in all the freshness and rosy serenity of the moment. At noon you enjoy all the details. I've already said about sunset: seeing the reflection from the sky by the basket balloon or in the gondola on the water, is always an explosion of light and romance. And at night there are the reflections of the lights of the shops and the moon that create intriguing and mysterious play of light. And then ... there is the "Tunnel of Love" where romantics can find the courage of the first kiss... And if then you want it to become a second or third or.. well... instead of the gondola, which runs automatically and does not stop, there is the  canoe. It is a bit more hard work to get there, but then you can stop ... Then we have our dance floor, where Roby, Marjory, Federica and Dada enjoy DJing, and we - lag permitting – unleash dancing, chatting, joking, teasing and welcoming all the new visitors, trying to make them feel part of the same group of people who are here to enjoy all the healthy fun - and let me stress out "Healthy" - that SL has to offer.
I insist on this concept, as I want to make this SIM a place where you can also reflect a bit, and not just something to try artificially to forget a rl that inevitably, sooner or later, re-emerges. Better, much better, try to make it a place where closeness and friendship of other AVIs, and a touch of disinhibition that SL gives, if necessary, also help to make rl a little more livable. For this we also have our little literary corner, where you can stop, sit at the cool of a gazebo and a fountain, and read a good book. We now have an anthology (which I edited personally) of poems taken from a real book, published by our friend, Towanda India, that is our poet and, with her sweet voice and her verses, sometimes equally sweet, sometimes bitter, reminds us what life gives us of beautiful and less beautiful, but also teaches us to never give up, and look forward with a smile, because only then we can find a smile of comfort in who we meet. I hope that those who read us now, become curious, and when wandering in the SIM comes across in our corner poetry, stop a moment to read and then go away, as well as, perhaps, with a dress more, even with a smile in the hearts. It 'a small help to make this SIM something truer and more worth living in return.
6) How would you define the life that takes place in the land?
Serene. The serenity that comes from deep friendship born here at Eagles, including all of our staff, and from deep respect human and professional towards everyone here that, in one way or another, work playing, or, if you prefer, play working. Even when we had to cancel some contract, because, unfortunately, keep this SIM has a cost, and if the shops do not have a revenue we run the risk of closing too, even in those cases all was held with deep respect and calm and without trauma. As I always say, our designers are, first of all, sisters and brothers. Then the people with whom you develop business. In many cases has led to a deep friendship with our designers or their manager. As with Jaimie (Jaimie Earst), architect in rl, that has helped us building the SIM and always gives us valuable advice, or Melusina (Melusina Parkin), the CEO of MEB and the creator of the furniture and carpets Vintage Deco Melu, lovable person of exceptional culture, which is always a pleasure to chat and compare the views on how to grow the SIM. And Priscilla, Thera, Matilda, Marakella, Niche and all the others. This spirit of understanding makes life so peaceful and pleasant here in Eagle.
7) What led you to create a land that can put together various activities, from simple shopping, an entertainment area with a disc, special attractions such as skydiving and the classic and romantic ride in a Gondola?
What I told you before. The desire to do something different from the usual commercial land, where it is only possible to buy and then we forget having been there. The desire to make SL less trivial and less granted. The desire to understand how stupidly trivial is the usual sentence: "This is SL and you have to be falsely happy and carefree because rl there is of no concern." No, instead. Rl is always rl, even when we are attached to the keyboard of our PC and connected to SL. Denying it is just hypocritical. Here you can be in SL, trying to satisfy your desires with fairness, bringing our own experiences, sharing them with others, listening, joking, but never forget that an AVI is always the screen of a human being in SL. I honestly do not know how much we have succeeded. Maybe it’s not even for me to say. But certainly we'll try!
8) There are other ideas and surprises in the future?
Yes, at least we would like to. We would like to organize other events, in addition to the usual dancing. For example evenings presentation of new collections of our designers. Something between the parade and the small party with friends. We are preparing a catwalk, but also "pocket" versions to be rezzed in individual stores when necessary, for more "intimate" events… small collections to be presented to selected and loyal customers. And then I have a dream that I'd like to see accomplished. I love music, especially classical music. I'm sure there are many other fans like me in SL. I would like to find a way to organize a "concert" at Eagle. Maybe at first I'll be just me, but I want to go on ... time and costs allowing. However, among the projects on which we are already working and reveries, something in the pot is boiling. Want to know something more? Pass at Eagle occasionally, go for a ride, take the group, read the notice and find out!
9) Do you have entrusted to professional builder to create the land, or did it all by yourself?
As I mentioned before, Roby is very good at building. But at the cost of making him mad (I always do, once  more or less doesn’t change nothing!) Eagle's Rave would not be as beautiful as it is without the genius of Jaimie Earst who developed the project. From that project RobertBob Aquila before, and Robert67 Soulstar after have realized the current land in all its details. And to see Jaimie’s genius and his creativity that define volcanic would mean underestimate it, take a ride in his shop and you'll understand.
10) What do you point at to attract people in the land?
Essentially on the quality of the offer, and differentiation. We many kinds here. From classic to elegant for all occasions, to the elegant formal for special occasions, to the casual to the very sexy and intriguing, from clothes to accessories, from jewelry to furniture. We are convinced that on the long term quality wins. But we must make it known. So we rely on an agency that sends promotional messages, so soft and not too much. I am the first to detest spam, so I would like that our potential customers are curious about polite messages, and not annoyed by a flood of spam. a few shops use MM and lucky chair to promote their products. But I must say that, fortunately, the traffic we have is not generated mainly by MM and lucky chair. Now we are sure that we have created loyal customers, who return because they like products and like the atmosphere, not forgetting all other attractions. The business turnover that has been created and that is stabilized at high levels for shops that have honored us with the longest presence is the best proof that we are collecting the benefits of many months of work.
11) A chance to send a message to the world of sl to encourage them to pass by.
If they have read everything I told you, and inside them there is a true heart beating, and not an algorithm of visualization, I think that there is no need of more messages to be curious. But, at the conclusion of our chat, I would just add a very personal thing. I bumped into Eagles buy chance. I was an inexperienced noob and naive. I liked the atmosphere. I started chatting with Roby. As a naive noob I tossed some ideas. Roby gave me confidence. He did talk to Melu, which has proved very friendly and delicious and gave me good advice. With Roby we have discussed, argued and, in particular, worked hard. And we have given confidence to other people without specific professional background. Federica also arrived here by accident. Ans she is not gone. She gave her contribution of ideas (and much love) and together we grow Eagles. Good or bad it is, successful or not, is the result of the work of people that estimate and love themselves. I believe that people coming here understand it, are hopelessly attracted and, as I said before, if have a beating heart, remain.
I would say that after the extensive and beautiful description of Mara, add anything else would just be redundant. So I leave you simply with an invitation to visit this beautiful land.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Eagles%20Rave/37/219/24
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