At Home With "At HOME WITH" featuring Barnesworth Anubis
Written by Brendan Macarthur Friday, 10 June 2011 06:26
Hello everyone. Today, I’m heading over to the residence of renowned builder and Costa Rica Sims resident Mr. Barnesworth Anubis. Looking at Barnesworth's profile you realize that he is one of the longest residents in Second Life…. Over 2500 days!
Hello Barnesworth, and thank you for taking the time to meet with me today for our "At Home With" interview. As I stated, you are probably one of the longest residents in Second Life. How did you first learn about Second Life and what raised your curiosity to sign up?
I use to build houses for The Sims and The Sims Online. Some friends in there (Ingrid Ingersoll and Toast Bard here in SL) introduced me to SL, actually very reluctantly talked me into trying it. After I discovered the building tools and started making things, I really enjoyed it. I sold my TSO account and its contents to buy my first SL land. (And I’m really not that old, SL's first resident is Steller Sunshine, she has me beat by 2.25 years, I'm really not that old!
Obviously there have been major changes in Second Life since its inception. What do you think have been the greatest improvements for content creators like yourself and regular Second Life residents?
That would easily have to be sculpties. They have really changed SL building since they have been introduced. They have allowed content creators to create a lot more realistic items than was before possible with the limited prim shapes. Not just in architecture but in every type of content creation in SL. I remember trying to make subtle curves and rounded edges with dozens of prims, now it only takes one sculpt. The megaprim exploit also has allowed a lot of interesting possibilities.
What challenges do you face architecturally building in SL?
The way we view SL is different than in RL, instead of looking through our eyes our point of view is fixed behind our heads. This actually changes the way we see, navigate, and ultimately how we need to build things. It is an interesting challenge making spaces feel right when accommodating for this. If you have ever seen someone make a true scaled model of a building in SL you will see what I mean when trying to walk through it. Rooms have to be bigger and ceilings higher for easy navigation, but that can also make your living room feel like a gymnasium. Striking the balance is hard. I always have to walk around my buildings over and over again to get it right.
What influences or inspires you when building?
I find I am really attracted to exotic locations. I think people in SL are too. You want to feel like you are somewhere different and interesting than your usual every day. If you browse my sims you will see I have prefabs in a lot of different styles from around the world and even different time periods. I really like build that transports you mentally to somewhere else.
What are your favorite RL architects or structures?
Honestly I don’t really have a lot of refined architectural knowledge from RL. If anything I think my SL building is more influenced by places I see. I love buildings that have some character and history to them.
Of all you builds what has been your favorite?
Haha, that is a hard question. That’s like asking a parent to pick their favorite kid. I guess one of my favorite for-hire builds would have been a loft space I built for iVillage.com with Electric Sheep Company. It was an awesome space and I was given a lot of freedom with it. I also got to work with some awesome people on it (Forseti Svarog and Cory Edo). As far as prefab houses it’s always the newest one I did haha, so currently the one I am living in.
You are certainly quite a talented man, looking at your beautiful home and business designs. What possessed you to get into that business?
As I mentioned I made houses in TSO, so it was kind of natural for me to start doing that here too. I enjoy building houses and as soon as I was done building one I wanted to take it down and build a new one. I decided to start selling the old ones to help pay for land fees and upload costs. I opened my first store in Slazar Jack's brownstone in the old city sim Grignano in late 2004 after a few months of SL. Amazingly the structure is still there 7 years later. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Grignano/124/117/27
Getting into prefab stores was an accident. In 2005 I was hired to build a high end mall, and was to be paid for building it as a share in the profits. The mall never made it past the first few months so instead I started selling them as prefab stores. There was a high demand for them and now commercial/shop prefabs are a large part of my business.
Are there any other content creators you admire here in Second Life and would you ever live in a home not created by you?
Tons. I couldn’t even start to name everyone I admire in here. The person I first remember really admiring was Juro Kothari. He still has a prefab shop here in SL. I lived in one of his homes and some of my earliest builds were imitations of his! Damien Fate was another builder I really admired as a new player to SL. I have lived in other people’s houses although for a long time I did not have a house in SL.
I know the [ba] brand has a wide range of products, would you share with me what else besides your gorgeous homes are out there as part of your brand?
I have tried making just about everything in SL at one time or another. Obviously I have the homes and home furnishings under the [ba] barnesworth anubis prefabs. As mentioned a large part of that business is also commercial/shop structures and full sim kits such as the one created for the colonial shopping district located here in Costa Rica Sims. I also sell a popular line of shop furniture for displaying items better than just posters on the walls. And lately I have been in the breedable pet market making furniture and accessories for pets in SL. I am the official pet accessory maker for KittyCats which makes some of the cutest breedable pets in all of SL. I also do other pet stuff for horses, bunnies, and lots of other pets with Callie Cline under the name Pampered Pets on the So Cal sim.
I have a menswear store called Barnes Boutique that is horribly out of date (was mostly made in 2006-7 before sculpts etc), maybe it can be fashionable in a retro way? Vintage SL clothes?
And now, of course, you have selected Costa Rica Sims as your home in Second Life which I must say is a real honor. How did you first hear about our estate and what inspired you to make this your home?
Costa Rica Sims was something I was always aware of, making houses means I see and hear about and end up visiting where people are living. Last year through other business ventures I was working on some things in Costa Rica Sims and saw what a great community it has developed into. I decided to have a small home here because lately I have found myself in need of a spot to work on smaller things and manage my business. My residence here in Costa Rica is really more of a private studio/work space for me to do small tasks and organize content for vendors or marketplace listings. I could have easily parceled myself off a piece of land on my own store sims but is also nice to be part of a community and see another dot on your map sometimes.
It’s certainly obvious that you have become a very important part of our estate. As I travel around Costa Rica Sims, it’s hard not to see your personal touch everywhere. I know you designed our beautiful Opera House and more recently our Colonial Fashion District. Which one did you enjoy the most creating?
They were both fun, the opera house turned out to be a bigger job than I expected, but I think it was worth the extra work in the end. It is a structure I am very proud of. The Colonial district was really fun to see come together. It took months to build all the parts on my own sim. The whole thing had not been put together until we set it up on Old Costa Rica and I think the whole thing really turned out amazing once it was put together. I know Giancarlo was nervous thinking I was just making a big mess. I also got to work with one of my favorite people ever, Cory Edo of Trompe Loeil, who made the plants. She did an amazing job and her plants really bring the place to life.
Is it true that you are now creating a new set of homes inspired by Costa Rica Sims. Can you tell me a little bit about?
Yes. Although it is sometimes hard to find the time I am finding myself inspired by the Costa Rica Sims community to create homes that really work here for the lifestyle people lead who call Costa Rica Sims Home. People here are a little different I think, you don't see big privacy screens around people’s houses and everyone sitting in skyboxes. People want an open and inviting home, something that allows them to enjoy the beautiful scenery. I think a lot of people in Costa Rica Sims own or manage some kind of business in SL as well, so I would like to make houses that have space for that. I don't know about you, but I would rather have a place in my house to put my subscribe-o-matic than a shower.
I’m sure you have seen how Costa Rica Sims has evolve over time. What do you think is the key ingredient for the success of our estate?
I think it’s as simple as it offers something a little extra than the average land experience. Again you don't see people walling themselves off here and living in their skyboxes. People want to interact with each other here and be part of a community. So I guess the people?
With so many options in Second Life, what would you tell anyone who asked you “Is Costa Rica Sims a good place to call home in Second Life?” And why?
Well, the land is beautiful and the people are friendly. What more could you ask for?
As someone with a rezz day in 2004, I’m sure you have lots of funny stories you could tell over the many years here in Second Life. Is there one in particular that comes to mind that you would like to share with our community?
Gosh there are lots of goofy memories from SL. I think one of my favorites was unlinking sheep set to physical on top of the mountains in the Hectora Atoll section of the old Mainland, which caused them to explode. We would see how far each piece went. I think my record was a left leg going 7 sims. I think now they would ban you for that.
Is it possible for someone as busy as yourself to have time for something else besides building let’s say umm…. love? Winks...
Well, me and the torus had a thing for a while but then I met the tube and well... oh you said besides building? Love, not really. Good friends, definitely.
“Laughs” I have noticed that you are always drinking a margarita, what is the story behind that?
If you had to deal with SL wonkyness AND Giancarlo bothering you all day wouldn’t you need a drink too? But seriously it has some special scripts in it that allow me greater mobility and make it easier for me to check things. What really happened is my real one which was a small invisible prim disappeared in my inventory and my friend Toast Bard had made one disguised as a margarita ages ago and given it to me. I found that one and put it on. I don’t change my avatar much so it has kind of just fused to my hand. I’ve been wearing the same avatar look since about 2006.
Mr. Anubis, I would like to thank you for your time and the opportunity to visit your beautiful home today. Are there any closing comments or “words of wisdom” you would like to share with us?
Don't take SL too seriously, I guess. And prim hair is over rated. Oh, and never accept and open drink from Giancarlo.
Well on that note, haha, we're all done here. I hope you enjoyed learning more about this incredible builder and fellow resident. And stop by his shop in Old Costa Rica's Commercial District.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Old%20Costa%20Rica/187/198/35
So till next month...I just might be knocking on your door.
Ciao, Brendan
