Proprietor/Designer Name: Keala Mimistrobell
Type of item/services: Surf fashion/swimwear (bikinis, boardshorts, wetsuits) and gear (working surfboards, including customs)
Price Range: Single items of clothing range from 100L (the Camo line of boardshorts) to 450L (wetsuits), with multipacks available at a discount; pre-designed surfboards are 555L, while custom boards start out at 2500L.
Location: Quan Li (200, 130, 22)
Quality: *****
Newbie-friendly: N/A
Customer Service: Notecards in product packages outlining service. Refund policy clearly stated on wall.
Clearance rack/Sales outlet: Some locations offer a freebie Namiko tee.
Other locations: Tons! Bundoran Reef (42, 49, 26); Chi (191, 137, 30); Cocololo Island (239, 165, 23); Hedonism XII (21, 238, 25); JONES BEACH (132, 33, 23); Laguna (184, 85, 23); SLeek (234, 79, 32); Toowoomba (8, 27, 77); Venice Beach (88, 142, 25)
Designer Blog: http://www.namikosurf.com
Mailing List: Namiko Surf Co.
With summer on its way, the beach beckons -- but if it's still too chilly to hit the waves where you live in real life, there are plenty of great beaches in Second Life just waiting for you to drop by and soak up the sun. Best of all, in my opinion, are the surf beaches, especially those featuring Heather Goodliffe's amazing waves. If you're gonna surf, though, you need to dress the part, and that's where Keala Mimistrobell's Namiko Surf Co. comes in!
I surf (poorly) in my First Life, so I tend to be pretty picky about surf fashion. Fortunately, fellow surfer Keala is a real pro, and her items are so gorgeous and well-made that I'd wear them in real life. What's really cool is how she describes the materials used in producing her clothing line -- her swimwear, she writes, is inspired by the traditional textiles of surf destinations worldwide -- and, even cooler, a portion of all sales goes to the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the world's oceans, waves, and beaches. Beautiful and for a good cause? I'm there!
Since discovering Namiko, I've purchased an Indigo board (with a custom on the way!), a bikini, and a pair of boardshorts; I also picked up a super-cute freebie T-shirt. I could devote an entire review to the boards -- designed by Keala and scripted by Sebastian Saramago and Heather Goodliffe -- so I'll concentrate this time around only on the clothes.
Items reviewed: swimwear (Cocoa Beach Bikini and Slash boardshorts) and clothing (Namiko girls' baby tee)
Keala offers several different styles of bikini in multiple colors/patterns; the same goes for her boardshorts, which are unisex. I really appreciate that her swimwear is pretty practical -- that is, you could actually go out surfing in it -- and, yet, still really fashionable and flattering at the same time. I'm in love with the textures, too; I can almost feel them!
First up: the Cocoa Beach bikini, a natural choice for me because I grew up in Cocoa, Florida. This suit has a nice, classic shape to it. I love everything from the tie on the top to the pleasantly surprising amount of bum-coverage on the bottom; that's not something you can find too easily in SL swimwear! The color "Coca" is simple without being boring, and, as mentioned, the texture is lovely. Keala explains her process on Namiko's website: "Cocoa Beach is handwoven and handcrafted from 100% silk and hand dyed using a variety [of] natural dyes... Keala's RL counterpart dyes these textiles by hand. The fabric texture is sampled from one of Keala's handwoven textiles." You can tell how much attention to detail went into this bikini!
The boardshorts are of a similarly high quality, fashioned from organic cotton and beautifully textured, with the "final touch" of Namiko's logo running down the side of one leg. As someone who's always preferred wearing guys' boardshorts over girls' in real life, Keala's Slash line of boardies are a great addition to my surfing wardrobe.
Last, but not least: the freebie tee. Not only do both the men's and women's versions of this shirt feature the lovely logo on the front and the company's slogan on the back, but they're designed to look "slighty wet, slighty sheer, and slightly salty," according to Keala. This means that, for the ladies, you can get a glimpse of your bikini top underneath your baby tee; for the guys, your tattoos are slightly visible through the fabric of your shirt. It's a cute top to pull on after -- or during! -- a surfing session if your rashguard's in the wash. :D
Cocoa Beach Bikini in "Coca" - 175L
Slash Boardshorts in "Bruised" - 125L
Namiko Girls' Baby Tee - free
Click to enlarge.
Hair: White Rose by Calla - 200L
Skin: Fresh Sol (newbie skin) by Sin Skins - 1L for Residents under 30 days; ordinarily1000L 500L
Eyes: Medium Blue Eyes 2 from a newbie pack - free
Sand Dollar Hair Piece by Nora Wayne - 75L
Review Copy: No
Friends: No
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
Type of item/services: Surf fashion/swimwear (bikinis, boardshorts, wetsuits) and gear (working surfboards, including customs)
Price Range: Single items of clothing range from 100L (the Camo line of boardshorts) to 450L (wetsuits), with multipacks available at a discount; pre-designed surfboards are 555L, while custom boards start out at 2500L.
Location: Quan Li (200, 130, 22)
Quality: *****
Newbie-friendly: N/A
Customer Service: Notecards in product packages outlining service. Refund policy clearly stated on wall.
Clearance rack/Sales outlet: Some locations offer a freebie Namiko tee.
Other locations: Tons! Bundoran Reef (42, 49, 26); Chi (191, 137, 30); Cocololo Island (239, 165, 23); Hedonism XII (21, 238, 25); JONES BEACH (132, 33, 23); Laguna (184, 85, 23); SLeek (234, 79, 32); Toowoomba (8, 27, 77); Venice Beach (88, 142, 25)
Designer Blog: http://www.namikosurf.com
Mailing List: Namiko Surf Co.
With summer on its way, the beach beckons -- but if it's still too chilly to hit the waves where you live in real life, there are plenty of great beaches in Second Life just waiting for you to drop by and soak up the sun. Best of all, in my opinion, are the surf beaches, especially those featuring Heather Goodliffe's amazing waves. If you're gonna surf, though, you need to dress the part, and that's where Keala Mimistrobell's Namiko Surf Co. comes in!
I surf (poorly) in my First Life, so I tend to be pretty picky about surf fashion. Fortunately, fellow surfer Keala is a real pro, and her items are so gorgeous and well-made that I'd wear them in real life. What's really cool is how she describes the materials used in producing her clothing line -- her swimwear, she writes, is inspired by the traditional textiles of surf destinations worldwide -- and, even cooler, a portion of all sales goes to the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the world's oceans, waves, and beaches. Beautiful and for a good cause? I'm there!
Since discovering Namiko, I've purchased an Indigo board (with a custom on the way!), a bikini, and a pair of boardshorts; I also picked up a super-cute freebie T-shirt. I could devote an entire review to the boards -- designed by Keala and scripted by Sebastian Saramago and Heather Goodliffe -- so I'll concentrate this time around only on the clothes.
Items reviewed: swimwear (Cocoa Beach Bikini and Slash boardshorts) and clothing (Namiko girls' baby tee)
Keala offers several different styles of bikini in multiple colors/patterns; the same goes for her boardshorts, which are unisex. I really appreciate that her swimwear is pretty practical -- that is, you could actually go out surfing in it -- and, yet, still really fashionable and flattering at the same time. I'm in love with the textures, too; I can almost feel them!
First up: the Cocoa Beach bikini, a natural choice for me because I grew up in Cocoa, Florida. This suit has a nice, classic shape to it. I love everything from the tie on the top to the pleasantly surprising amount of bum-coverage on the bottom; that's not something you can find too easily in SL swimwear! The color "Coca" is simple without being boring, and, as mentioned, the texture is lovely. Keala explains her process on Namiko's website: "Cocoa Beach is handwoven and handcrafted from 100% silk and hand dyed using a variety [of] natural dyes... Keala's RL counterpart dyes these textiles by hand. The fabric texture is sampled from one of Keala's handwoven textiles." You can tell how much attention to detail went into this bikini!
The boardshorts are of a similarly high quality, fashioned from organic cotton and beautifully textured, with the "final touch" of Namiko's logo running down the side of one leg. As someone who's always preferred wearing guys' boardshorts over girls' in real life, Keala's Slash line of boardies are a great addition to my surfing wardrobe.
Last, but not least: the freebie tee. Not only do both the men's and women's versions of this shirt feature the lovely logo on the front and the company's slogan on the back, but they're designed to look "slighty wet, slighty sheer, and slightly salty," according to Keala. This means that, for the ladies, you can get a glimpse of your bikini top underneath your baby tee; for the guys, your tattoos are slightly visible through the fabric of your shirt. It's a cute top to pull on after -- or during! -- a surfing session if your rashguard's in the wash. :D
Cocoa Beach Bikini in "Coca" - 175L
Slash Boardshorts in "Bruised" - 125L
Namiko Girls' Baby Tee - free
Click to enlarge.
Hair: White Rose by Calla - 200L
Skin: Fresh Sol (newbie skin) by Sin Skins - 1L for Residents under 30 days; ordinarily
Eyes: Medium Blue Eyes 2 from a newbie pack - free
Sand Dollar Hair Piece by Nora Wayne - 75L
Review Copy: No
Friends: No
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Comments
I just found where to change tag permissions: go here, select your community from the drop-down menu, and then scroll down to "Tag Settings" to change who in the community can create new tags. That, or you could add the two tags yourself to the existing list, and I'll go back in and add them to my post later on. :) Either way, lemme know!
It's really nice work - thank you!
My name in-game is Coral Cortes, so, if you see me at the beaches, don't hesitate to say hi! =)
Can you recommend a good newbie-friendly beach? :-)
If you find yourself getting the hang of Quan Li and you want something a little more challenging, Moana'Ina Beach at Weather Island, Epic Conditions Surf (233, 178, 22) is the place to go. The surf shop has freebie boards (they only work on Weather Island, though) and a free wetsuit, so be sure to stop in and grab 'em. Be prepared to eat a lot of sand at first, though -- they're not kidding when they call these waves "epic"! =)
Thanks again! :D
As for being a pale chick with wings, I wouldn't worry too much about whether you'll be accepted; in my experience, surfers tend to be pretty laidback and welcoming. You probably already know this, but there's a surf contest going on tomorrow at one PM (Second Life time) at Hedonism, which would be a great place to meet other SL surfers. I'd be going, myself, but I'm not going to be around tomorrow afternoon/evening. Sad! I'll just have to wait for snapshots, I guess. :)
I couldn't make it yesterday either, but I'll definitely be hitting the beaches next weekend, after some more practice!