Editorial Clarity, on Second Life.

Oct 10, 2018
3 min read

It was a decade ago when a young British-born Editorial Clarity discovered Second Life on a TV show, which quickly appealed to him as ‘a world created by users’. He invested great efforts in his growth and development, which included a huge move to Chicago seven years ago, in real life, and building and establishing Orchard Heights and the very successful Love to Decorate (LTD) on Second Life. LTD [https://www.lovetodecoratesl.com/] has become one of the largest go-to sites for all SL home and decor needs, offering a feed of the most up-to-date homes, decor releases and communities to live in. Verve X Magazine had the pleasure of getting the inside-take on him, personally, his journey with LTD and what inspired him to make the decisions he did along the way.

HOW DID YOU COME TO ESTABLISH LTD? "I used to decorate for fun and then eventually started my own blog. After I while I named it 'Love To Decorate'. It was my own personal website where I'd design scenes or even post client work I was hired to do. It was fun and after a while began to get a little popular. One of my close friends at the time, Apple Fall, and a bunch of other friends tried to talk me into making a magazine. I wasn't really into the idea at first but then after a while, the timing was just right so I did it. I started LTD, put the team together and published the first issue in 3 weeks! And that’s how it all started. That was just over 4 years ago!"

WHAT WERE SOME STARTUP CHALLENGES YOU FACED, IF ANY? "Getting everyone to understand the vision. I'm a very particular person, so everything from photos to layout, I wanted it to be a particular way. Luckily, most of the people on the team, at the time, were very understanding and knew the direction, so it wasn't so bad. But I'd say that was the biggest challenge at the very beginning."

HOW DID YOU GAIN SO MUCH TRAFFIC TO LTD? "Consistency. Besides the magazine, we had the website, where we bring news to people on a daily basis. This was actually most important to me and still is. At the very beginning, I was the only one on the website. For the first 2 years or so, I would be at my computer almost 12-13 hours, every single day, posting vendor images as soon as I saw them in the Flickr group or on social media. I was very consistent with that, and then after a while people, I think, just began to rely on it. Today, we have over 10,000 followers on Facebook and anywhere between 2,500 - 3,000 website visits per day because the team today was trained to be consistent."

WHAT LED TO THE DECISION TO OPERATE AS A WEBSITE, INSTEAD OF A MAGAZINE? "Putting together the magazine cost a lot of money. We were lucky to have good advertisers stay with us that allowed us to fund it, but It was just an unnecessary cost when we can ultimately publish the same content on the website. Everything is all in one place and it reaches more people. So it was my decision to be website only, and stop production on the magazine."

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST SATISFACTION THAT YOU HAVE WITH LTD? "To continue to watch it flourish today."

LTD OFFERS THE LATEST FURNITURE RELEASES, COMMUNITIES TO LIVE IN AND EVEN PINPOINTS VACANT AREAS IN EACH COMMUNITY TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR USERS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SERVICE.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN THREE WORDS? "Ambitious. Impatient. Generous."

HOW WOULD YOU CATEGORIZE YOUR SENSE OF STYLE? |Eclectic."

IF I WERE A CLOSE RELATIVE AND I WALKED INTO YOUR HOME, WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THEY'D SEE AND SAY “OH YEA, EDI DEFINITELY LIVES HERE!” "A lot of white and gold, lots of plants and distressed wood."

WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 HOME & GARDEN CONTENT CREATORS?

"The Loft, Aria & Fancy Decor."

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE DECORATORS OR HOME AND GARDEN BLOGGERS? "Gosh, there are so many these days, not all have a blog. I really like the work of Rooky Yootz. I don't believe he blogs but he is a great decorator. Jack Hanby is another one to check out. There’s a difference between decorating a nice space and decorating something that only looks good in a pic. These are two that decorate well!"

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 Copy Editor: Voque