A Dash Of PSEUDO.
Interview with owner of Pseudo, Smith Dash.
Smith Dash is an owner, creator, and designer of Psuedo; a Second Life design label. Smith Dash has a fabulous line of everyday women clothing that is chic, fun, flirty and daring. Smiths’ sleek and airy style is versatile enough for both work and play. His designs are both modern and refined while still allowing women to showcase their unique style. We’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with Smith as he allowed us to explore a bit of his journey throughout Second Life.
How did you find out about SL? "I used to play a game called There.com where I had a store. Eventually, some of my friends from that game suggested I move to Second Life because it was more interactive."
How long have you been on SL? "I think around eight years now, and I took a significant break for about four years before deciding to come back and open Pseudo."
Have you ever played IMVU or on any other virtual platforms? "I had an IMVU account a long time ago [laughs], but I remember hating that I couldn't walk around. It was aesthetically pretty, but I like the freedom of Second Life."
What made you fall in love with SL or stay as long as you have? "I'm mainly still here because I think it's a really badass way to be able to express yourself creatively and to profit from it. But, also, I love the idea of the character creation. I love that this is a place (SL) where you can develop a character; from the personality, you portray on Second Life, to the styling, to the actual design of the avatar. I've been so many people on Second Life over the years, and I think that is pretty fun."
Do you have a family or children?
"No, it's not my thing. I don't have much free time here. These days if I'm online I'm working."
What did you mainly do on SL before you began developing content? "I shopped a lot. And I also used to go to parties sometimes. But to be honest, I was always creating on Second Life. I had a store here when I first joined years ago, it was a pretty horrid quality back then -laughs- but I was proud of it. I'm a super creative dude in real life so that you can put me in any situation, environment, etc. and I will probably create SOMETHING. It's just a part of who I am as a person."
Can you describe how you began creating or what inspired you to want to do it? "I am a huge fan of fashion in real life. I wanted to be a fashion designer for the longest growing up, so when I came into Second Life, it was super important for me to create this fashionista-like avatar who was modelled after some of the It runway models at the time. I would shop all the time and dress my avatar up constantly.; Eventually, I fell in love with the fact that so many of the awesome items I wanted in real life I could recreate it in Second Life and in a sense own it. Once I discovered that it was OVER, and I started teaching myself photoshop (this is before mesh), and I started hand drawing clothing I wanted to see, creating textures and uploading it."
How long did it take you to get so good at meshing? "I'm still learning when it comes to meshing, But I would say six months of really dedicating myself to learning to mesh was the ticket."
Do you have any advice or helpful sites for newer people who are looking to learn to mesh? "Dedicate some time to learning, I quit my real life job at the time and jumped into it. I took it very seriously, that's super important, even though it's not real life its a real genuine real-life skill you are learning, and it can be a tool in more ways than you think. 3D design is super lucrative. Ultimately take it seriously, and dedicate as much time as you can to perfecting your craft, also its good to have other friends who are meshing because they can help guide you through the process and can help make sense of the errors you will encounter during the process."
What did you find most challenging to learn as a beginner? "I think most people will agree with this, but it was definitely rigging. I still don't like it [store and designs]...oh, and marketing, being new and getting people to pay attention to you is hard."
How was the learning experience with getting your products uploaded, packed and ready for sales in world? "This is something I knew before pseudo, again I had a store early on. But ultimately it's just a system you develop, and after a while of doing it, it becomes clock-work."
What point did you realize that you are one of the MAJOR designers here on SL? "I am?! Thank you! [smiles]"
How would you categorize your sense of style? "I would say I love a combination of femininity, sex appeal, and edge. The girl who wears a ruffled blouse with PVC lace-up pants. I love 90's influences, and I love rock n roll as well."
"I fell in love with fashion during the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
fashion frenzy "era," if that helps paint a picture."
What would you say that your brand means to people? "I honestly just hope people feel cool when they wear my clothing. I am more curious to hear someone else's opinion on this."
Who would you say your 3 top favorite designers are? "I love so many brands on Second Life for different reasons. I love Seul. It's my best friends store so I really "Get" everything he does, it's such a cool-girl way of creating, and I think Vo Pralou is such a good stylist. I love watching his process. I also really love Vive9 (Sanya Bilavio) for paving the way for a more street style approach to second-life fashion, and Boys to The Bone (jacquesvalentine's) store is awesome for pushing the envelope when it comes to gender norms in clothing.... that and just making cool items."
If you had to collaborate with another designer for a shopping event, who would you collaborate with for the best turn out and why? "I have a lot of friends who design so I would be excited to collaborate with any of them. So, it’s hard to pick just one maybe Blueberry just because I think I could learn some things. I'm all about growth."
Our readers are primarily IMVU, and a large number of them are interested in SL and have started using it, but don’t really know how to get started and we also have a lot of creators on IMVU who would like to come to SL to spread their creativity, but don't know how to find their footing.
Do you have any tips or starting point recommendations for new people wanting to start developing? "Playing Second Life and just learning to interface and having knowledge of how it works. You can learn to mesh from youtube videos now, but if you don't know the logistics of the game you really won't be able to keep up."
Are there any perks or “special treatment” from being a designer? "I'm sure there are, I'm not the most social person on Second Life, I communicate with my customers of course, but I am in a super small circle now. I kind of miss the time period where I could go to fashion events etc."
What would you say the hardest thing about designing is?
"Rigging and trying to satisfy hundreds of people. People see a finished
product and can be a bit unrealistic; expecting perfection."
"There are so many bodies now to create for, and some of the developer kits are easier to work with than others. I think many people would agree when I say in order to provide more innovative designs, you might lose some of the mobility of the rig, I'd rather have a super interesting top that might not allow for my avatar to do any and every movement possible, then a boring tank top I can do cartwheels in."
What would you say the easiest is? "Probably creating the mesh itself. From a real-life perspective, it's cool to work from your laptop."
Do you have any tips or starting point recommendations for new people wanting to start developing? "Youtube has some good tutorials. Trust me."
What would you say is your greatest satisfaction with being a designer? "The sound of money dropping into my linden balance, NO, I'm joking [laughs]. I love when I am out and see people wearing my clothing or when I'm scrolling through Flickr and see that people are enjoying what I create. I also love the finished product of a release, when the Ad is finished, and the vendors are set up, and you made your event on time, its the best feeling, you're nervous because you want to do well, but the satisfaction of completing a project is incredible."
Is there anything specific that you would recommend buying when shopping at your store? "I think the Akari tank is something everyone would love, also people like my Donn leather jacket, and it's super cool for photos."
Disclaimer: the personal views and opinions written in this post are from the writer and do not always express the professional opinion and views of Verve X Magazine.
Interviewer: @destiny.sl
Photos: Smith Dash
Copy Editor: Somiar
