PERSONA ISLE - This week saw the grand opening of the new Persona main store, as it makes the move from the retail outlets to it's very own sim, kicked off last week with an opening party where owner and designer Myllie Writer welcomed everyone to the new home of Persona. After the party, we spoke to Myllie about the new store and her work in SL.

Writer first joined SL back in June 2007, originally a little unsure of this new world, but once here fell in love with the possibilities it offered, and Persona was created just a couple of months later in August, starting out in small retail outlets.

Writer was looking to create pretty much as soon as she joined SL, and has tried her hand at many different aspects of SL creation. As she experimented with various techniques, the shop grew, each time outgrowing the store it was in. Now, with business taking off and the store gaining popularity, it was time for Persona to break free and have it's own sim, to allow it to grow unrestrained.

If you take a look round the new Persona store, you'll now find a wide range of items, starting with a variety of poses and AO packs for both male and female, as well as some very good couples poses. 

Moving further into the store we find an exquisite range of jewelery, featuring Persona's latest line of semi-precious polished stone necklaces and earrings.  Finally moving into the end of the store we see the wide range of clothes available, catering to a variety of styles and tastes.

Asking Writer what particular areas she may look at with the new store, she told us; "To be honest, I don't have any business plan, I just do what I feel the itches to do, if it depended on me, I would do everything".

Myllie is certainly keen to try her hand at many areas of SL content creation; "I try everything in terms of making stuff, and then I put in the store what I think ends up reasonably good,  I usually get addicted to something, then make a lot of stuff in that direction".

The expansion will no doubt offer Myllie much more room to expand her creativity; "Freedom is priceless, it's what I've always wanted, freedom and space to grow, I was tired of moving every time I got too big".

We also asked Writer what influences her designs; "My wardrobe. That and something I see in a magazine or a movie, I make mostly day-to-day stuff, not really high fashion". 

In terms of other designers she admires, Writer says there are far too many to mention, although does admit to spending more time in creating clothes than buying them. When not working on the store and new items for it, Writer does like to explore and see what creations are out there, taking in the full multiplicity of SL.

Persona is now open to the public on Persona Isle, and is well worth a visit for whatever you may be searching for.