Category: Second Life

A group design led by Elise Sirnah with LeviCord and Shadeng Krokus, Mimmo is a Homestead region “designed for those interested in photography”. It’s a location we’ve visited a couple of times, although this is the first time I’ve written about it here.

The design of the region has changed between those initial visits and its appearance as seen here. Whether this is a sign it is renewed at regular intervals or not is hard to say: there are now a couple of rental properties within the region that may limit future terraforming efforts (at least in part) if they are retained.

At the time this most recent visit, the region presented a summertime setting with a temperature / tropical feel and a very defined north-south lay to the land. To the north, the land is raised into high hills and a curtain wall of cliffs, beneath which the landing point sits on a broad shelf of rock that is also home to a photographic gallery and information about the region.

This shelf offers a view out over the rest of the region as it drops away to the south, cut in two by a stream flowing south and east from falls that drop to a pool below the north-side cliffs. The stream forms a neat divide between the inland grasslands and the south coast beach.

Both parts of the landscape include numerous points of interest, with the inland area laid out in a way that suggests it is all part of the same property, marked by a Tuscan villa / farmhouse to the east, the ground flowing to the west past a fenced meadow that is home to grazing sheep and goats, to arrive at a small summer house matching the general style of the villa as it looks out over the sea to the the south-west and one of the two rental properties, sitting on a small island.

Reached via two bridges – one of which is little more than felled tree trunks – the beach offers space for music, sitting, music and an open-sided bar to be enjoyed by all.

The above barely scratches the surface of the region’s offerings. Within the circle of ancient stone walls sit an ageing piano, which although old, might still be enjoyed by those seeking a set for photography, the rose-entwined harp alongside it offering a suitable backdrop.  Another ruin that sits alongside the fast-flowing stream, offers another set for photography, partially lit by a portable movie lamp.

In keeping with the region’s photographic theme, a camp cabin towards the north-east and just below the land point rock shelf is set for photo-processing, with the suggestion of reporters being somewhere in the region: a video camera and an interviewer’s microphone are sitting on the worktables alongside the photo developing kit. Beyond it, and tucked into the north-east corner of the region under the lee of the hills, is the second of the two rental properties, iron gates marking the edge of the parcel.

Those seeking a cosy corner in the region might want to direct themselves to the east side behind the villa, where creative use has been made of two sections from the f8f Storyteller’s Burrow to create two sheltered sitting spots linked by a small cobblestone patio, sitting above a narrow ribbon of sandy shale beach.

There is still more to be found within the region, but the above should be enough to whet appetites. Finished with a matching sound scape, the region has a natural flow to its design and layout, and while there are some odd rough edges to the build, Mimmo in no way fails to deliver on the promise of offering a photogenic location.

SLurl Details

• Mimmo (Pomerania Park, rated Adult)

Update, April 2025: Chef des Champs has closed. SLurls have therefore been removed from this article.

It has been some time since I’ve paid a visit to La Clef des Champs (literally, “the key fields”), the region setting by Rose Siabonne. When last I visited, in June 2018, Rose had relocated the setting from a Homestead to a Full region (see: A return to La Clef des Champs).

Part of my reason for not re-visiting is that some time after that last visit, the region appeared to close, and Rose later offered the homestead setting of Hors du Temps (see: An Out of Time experience in Second Life). However, in the latter half of 2019, La Clef des Champs made a return to Second Life (the region details show it as returning in August 2019), and with it, Rose has once again created a photogenic, somewhat Adult-oriented  region – one that was, as the time of my end-of-year visit, still caught in the warmth and colour of summer.

As with past iterations of the region, this is a place where Adult activities are allowed, provided they are kept indoors and do not spill over into the gardens and open spaces of the region. As such, some of the buildings scattered across the landscape particularly given over to adult pursuits (notably the two white, modern houses). However, those who prefer not to witness such things shouldn’t be put off from visiting: there is more than enough to see and do without entering the various houses, and some of the buildings – such as the pavilion on the uplands to the south-east.

This pavilion, as with a number of other points across the region offer echoes of previous Les Clefs des Champs for those familiar with previous builds (in this case the piano), without ever being derivative of past builds.

Water plays a role in the overall design, with the setting split into a primary large island with three smaller isles spaced around it. The largest of these, to the north-west, has a cottage atop it, and while there is no indication the parcel is private, the décor and furnishings with suggest it may well be – so perhaps a little caution should be used when exploring to avoid undue trespass.

Elsewhere, a river cuts through the region, almost splitting it in two has it runs from a set of inland falls and to the east coast. In addition, beaches serve the two white houses, while to the south a bay offers rowing boats and a little café. These help to break up the landscape with places to sit and relax.

There are some rough edges to the design, but nothing that spoils the overall effect of the design, while the centre lowlands offer a pastoral setting, complete with farmhouse (unfurnished) with geese, chickens and goats. Between this farmhouse and the (furnished) Tuscan house set a little back from the river, horses roam the grass.

As ever, La Clef des Champs retains an eye-catching design that offers rich opportunities for photography and appreciation of the outdoors.