19 Years of Secrets of Gaia!

19 Years of Secrets of Gaia

Where does the time go? You blink and suddenly almost two decades have passed.

It feels like only yesterday that I started Secrets of Gaia. Back then it was all about hand-tortured prims, fighting alignment at every turn, and figuring out how to bend simple shapes into beautiful jewelry. If you know, you know.

It has been a very long time, and a lot has changed over the years. Maybe it is time to share a bit of the story of how I got here, especially since many people probably do not know it anymore.

In July of 2006, I set out on what was meant to be a practical experiment. The goal was to explore whether it was feasible to build a campus for an online educational institution inside this fairly new virtual world called Second Life. That meant learning everything I could about everything: building, land management, and all the systems that would make something like that possible.

I truly hit the ground running. For about a month, I treated it like a full-time job, spending roughly eight hours a day taking classes and learning how things worked in world. Along the way, I started selling the small, sometimes silly things I made while practicing and learning. That became my first brand. Later, I added my original artwork and opened a small in-world gallery as well.

A few months after that, I enrolled in a Master Jeweler course. That is where I really learned all the creative ways you could push prims further, making them smaller, reshaping them, and turning them into something special. Not long after, I began teaching beginner building classes myself. Giving back to the community felt important.

I eventually graduated from the Master Jeweler course and was later asked to teach it alongside my mentor and someone who became like a father to me, EmCee Widget. He was always a source of encouragement when I felt unsteady and a grounding voice when I was far too critical of my own work. A huge hug and heartfelt thank you to him.

When EmCee later left Second Life, I continued running the CIF&D School. Around that time, and honestly long before, another mentor and dear friend played an important role in my journey: SoCalDave Birdbrain. He will insist he never really had to teach me anything, but I disagree. One of his early classes was the moment I realized building was something truly special. He later mentored me when I started teaching, and we have been friends ever since.

Yes, the campus project did happen. I helped with the build, it was featured in a textbook, and I was featured as well. When that project ended, I stayed. By then, I had fallen in love with Second Life and its incredible creative freedom.

Secrets of Gaia officially opened on January 20th, 2007. Exactly six months and one day after I joined Second Life.

It has been one hell of an adventure. I will skip over many of the other things I have done over the years, like DJing and event organizing, because regardless of all that, Secrets of Gaia has always been at the heart of my creative life. What began as a jewelry brand has slowly evolved. I always made other things too, I just did not always include them in the store.

At this point, there is very little I have not tried making at least once. I have created custom animations for special pieces, a few unique skins, and countless other experiments along the way. Jewelry is still what I love most. These days, because I cannot make my own mesh jewelry, clothing is often what I focus on. My designs have always leaned toward the unusual, and I still have sketchbooks full of ideas I will probably never get to.

I know I ramble.

So, happy anniversary to Secrets of Gaia. Thank you to Second Life and to this incredible community for 19 amazing years of creative freedom, and for the joy of seeing people love and wear the things I create. 💜