Make
Fantasy Your Reality
We invite you to take a journey back to a
time of the Knights...ack to a time of the
Knights...
♦
Of Ladies and
Hero's...Jousting and combat... Honor and nobility...
♦
Quests and conquering...
Realms and Royalty
-
The White Armory
It is not always possible in RL to live out fantasies.
But being in SL gives that outlet to us all. Historical re-enactment have been practiced
for millennia. The ancient Romans, Han Chinese, and medieval Europeans all
enjoyed occasionally organizing events in which everyone pretended to be from
an earlier age. The White Armory is a place where historical and medieval times
come alive. They have been here for 5 years and now plan to bring the fantasy
into real life too!
“In
2015, The White Armory will embark on their dream to bring The White Armory
designs to reality. To make their couture gowns and medieval weaponry designs
available for purchase via this exclusive website and on site boutique. You are
invited to look over these handpicked products now available here, on The White
Armory website.”
Safe
paths!
-
Joe
and Deborah Warren
Orchids:
Who are Colton and Bee in RL?
Colton
and Bee: Colton and Bee:
oh boy lol, well if you listen to Bee I’m the corn muffin biscuit head of the 2
of us, but essentially we`re a RL husband and wife team who are lucky enough to
be able to work together here in SL . In
real life I’m a hardworking computer tech and Bee is a full time designer here
in SL.
Orchids:
When did you enter SL and how? What did you do initially as a newbie?
Colton
and Bee: For me I entered SL about 5 years ago as a newbie I was
instantly drawn to the medieval side of things and frequented those places,
back then there were a great deal more than there are now
Orchids:
What was the best day of your life/ best thing that happened to you while
working in SL?
Colton
and Bee: easy one there; meeting Bee -- because it started a
chain of events that changed my life
Orchids:
When did you meet each other? Tell us about the fairytale...
Colton
and Bee: lol ok the cheesy part, I met Bee at a joust in
eternity (which sadly is also gone now) she was working for someone else at the
time and I asked her if she would consider coming to our marketplace,
We became fast friends and best friends and then a whole
lot more,
Our love affair was about 2008 till now. I came to the States
and we married 2008 Oct in SL and 2011 in real life.
Orchids:
What would you advise those who choose to pursue a relationship from SL to RL?
Colton
and Bee: I think you have to be careful don’t get me wrong I
hope everyone finds the happiness we have found, but over the years we have
seen many relationships destroyed by one reason or another, for us it was a lot
easier we were always of one mind one heart ....I think if I had to give one
piece of advice it would be take it slow and be wary, on here it’s easy to get
caught up.
Roleplay:
Orchids:
How did the idea of Creation for Medieval themed Role-play outfits come about?
Colton
and Bee: at the time I was already creating swords and weaponry
in general and bee had started to dabble in clothing, we were already in a
medieval rp community and we set up a store selling items together a tiny place
nothing like what we have today, I wanted bee to have her own business the name
I came up with when she asked me what we should call it.
Orchids:
Who are the main designer and artist among the duo? What inspires you most?
Colton
and Bee: the main one or most prolific now is definitely Bee, I
used to be, but due to RL work I have slowed a lot now. We both draw a lot of
inspiration from a lot of areas, Bee can look at just a texture or color in RL and
draw inspiration from that. For me, it’s a shape or idea from seeing something
abnormal that jogs my mind into forming a design
Orchids:
Do you Role-play?
Colton
and Bee: we have our own combat group The White Rangers who
train in real world combat techniques, they train in sword, bow, and joust, we
are the number one joust team in SL
Orchids:
What are your favorite role-play themes?
Colton
and Bee: medieval only
Orchids:
What other themes in SL do you like?
Colton
and Bee: none that appeal to us although bee did do star wars a
long time ago.
Orchids:
What themes in SL do you dislike?
Colton
and Bee: I wouldn’t say dislike, everyone’s entitled to their
own genre.
Orchids:
What would be the best Role-play Sims in SL?
Colton
and Bee: difficult I've been away from them for so long with the
business I think a lot of the ones I knew have long since gone.
Orchids:
Do you feel Role-play and fantasy outfits and items are expensive in SL?
Colton
and Bee: I think you have to weigh that against the work that
goes into them i.e. One of bee’s gowns
can take up to a week to design 12hrs a day
Then the hand painting each design 8hrs alone I think
she’s pretty conservative with her pricing
Business:
Orchids:
How did you get interested in business? When and why did you open the White Armory?
Colton and Bee : originally I have
to say I wasn’t really that interested in business it came about due to bee I
wanted her to have something in sl of her own ...
Orchids:
Who has the knack for business?
Colton
and Bee: defiantly bee, she’s got a great head for it, I don’t
lol
Orchids:
Tell me about the process to get to this point, what have you done?
Colton and Bee : basically hard
work and a lot of hrs spent refining the creations our goal very early on was
to eventually bring all this all to RL and so that is the mission we`re on. I
guess you could say our life’s work
Orchids:
Who was the person/s who most influenced you, and how?
Colton and Bee : for me it was the friends
I made here like my best friend Capt Blinker of Celtic isle always there to
help and support , for bee it was other content creators she strived so hard to
bring creations that were just a bit different from the norm,
Orchids:
Apart from the social aspect does social networking further the business prospects greatly or can one
do without it?
Colton
and Bee: I think in the world we live in today and with
technology advancing so rapidly social media can play a big part, do without
possibly but I personally think its definitely better to have it
Orchids:
What were the difficulties in SL business that you had to face?
Colton
and Bee: probably marketing was the biggest where we are now has
evolved over about 4 years others who have RL money to throw at a business can
do it in half that time .We didn’t so ours was the slower route
Orchids:
What mistakes have you made?
Colton and Bee : I think trying to
take on too much at one time , the adage walk before you run comes to mind , we
learned early they we needed to be good at what we do before attempting to
diversify to other markets
Orchids:
What have you learned?
Colton
and Bee: take it slow and work at what your good at
Orchids:
What’s surprised you about this?
Colton
and Bee: that it was in a lot of ways just like RL
Orchids:
When did you realize that you have succeeded?
Colton
and Bee: When the group exceeded 10,000 and currently stands at
14,000 plus
Orchids:
Many people wish to remain anonymous on here. Do you feel mixing RL with SL is necessary?
Colton
and Bee: they don’t have to give out RL details it’s not necessary
to having a great business, we do because we’re both happy in where we are we
have no secrets as such. And we`re as I said working to bring this all to RL...
Orchids:
Do you organize hunts and give out freebies/discounts... why are they important
to you?
Colton
and Bee: the white armory gives a free gown every Sunday to
members... it’s just our way of giving back to those who support and encourage
us
Orchids:
Your group is invite only. This is to deter spammers?
Colton
and Bee: that was one of the reasons yes but also we didn’t want
to spam others with joiners etc so we became exclusive and we take nc`s from
those wishing to join TWA
Orchids:
Do you think SL experiences spill over and influence our RL lives positively/
negatively?
Colton
and Bee: I can only speak for us but I’d say yes definitely
Orchids:
What are the benefits over your competitors?
Colton and Bee : Ohh now thats a
toughie I think all I can say is we do what we do they do what they do I think
the customer is the judge of the end result
Orchids:
What is your most popular feature?
Colton
and Bee: I think our dedication to get things right and put out
quality designs
Orchids:
Is it necessary to have an inworld + marketplace store?
Colton
and Bee: Necessary no helpful yes but with so many closing due
to the economy it does diminish somewhat
Orchids:
What kind of earnings should a newcomer expect going into this line?
Colton
and Bee: with the climate now I don’t think you can count on
making a lot of money unless you have something unique
Orchids:
How do you deal with griefers/ rude customers?
Colton
and Bee: We have a pretty cut and dry policy we don’t tolerate
rudeness here,
There’s an assistant bot that tells you this on landing
here and also our rules and policies are in a box next to him for all to take .
But you choose to be rude here then you’re done.....
Orchids:
What advice would you give to new people thinking of entering this area?
Colton
and Bee: work at perfecting your own style and never give up it won’t
happen overnight but perseverance really does pay off
Orchids:
Old timers- what would you advise them?
Colton
and Bee: Bee would say make sure you pass on the knowledge; I’m
taking an apprentice soon so I will be
Orchids:
Your biggest do's and don’ts in business...
Colton
and Bee: do think outside the box, don’t screw people over, be
generous to those who take the time to support and encourage you, have
integrity
Orchids:
Businesses closing down in SL (Waka &yuki, Bliss Couture)... whats your
take? How do you think it affects SL? And how do we maintain a positive
outlook?
Colton
and Bee: we both view it as very sad as all have been here for
very long time, but it only makes us more determined to stay around for our
customers who value us and what we try to do.
I think it affects SL to a degree but in the scheme of
things when one business does close another will come along to fill the gap
I do believe SL could do more to help content creators
but that’s my own personal opinion...
Orchids:
What features/expansion are you planning?
Colton
and Bee: As I said we`re bringing the white armory to real life
Orchids:
If you hadn't gone into business, what might you have done?
Colton
and Bee: Probably charity work as we both have that desire
Orchids:
If you could choose, due to unknown circumstances you had to take a break from
SL and close shop, what would you like that your customers say about you?
Colton
and Bee: That we took the time to produce the best work in the category
we choose to work in
Orchids:
What would you to say to your customers?
Colton
and Bee: Thank you for supporting and making TWA what it is and
for the last 5 years we couldn’t have achieved all we have without your
encouragement and support.
Orchids:
Would you like to tell our readers of your sites?
Colton
and Bee: we have a facebook group the white armory https://www.facebook.com/groups/319432637208/
One of our white
armory models blogs http://falbalafaireyfashionblog.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/contessa/
Official
weapons blog http://yetanotherslblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/just-reminder-and-some-news-about.html?spref=fb
Orchids
says:
“If
you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where
they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
·
The
dreamers need realists in life to keep their feet on the ground…The realists
need dreamers to help them soar….A beautiful symphony…one is meaningless
without the other… find your inner dreamer/ realist and find it in the one you
love too…
·
The creativity in the creators in SL are
just one of the ways I have seen as dreams aiming to be brought into reality........
visit: http://rpseeley.com/TWA/
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