Fantasy Faire : Belle Epoque Exclusive Interview

In my continuing quest to bring faces to names and make sure people know that creators are people too, I sat down with Janire Coba, owner of the Belle Epoque clothing brand. Janire is sweet, hardworking, and very forthcoming! She has two gorgeous new gowns for Fantasy Faire, including the one pictured above and below! The Oriana gown is delicate and soft, and makes me think of either a lounging courtesan or fragile Sybil. The dress is offered in 7 colors, and has Maitreya Lara and Slink Hourglass sizes.

Credits and interview below!

Body - Maitreya "Lara"
Head - LeLutka "Stella"
Skin - Lumae "Talila"
Ears - Mandala "Fantasy Elf Ears"
Hair - Tableau Vivant "Hairplay - Side Blow"
Eyes - {Demicorn} "Faery Eyes - Orchid"
Dress - Belle Epoque "{ Oriana }" @ Fantasy Faire

BranwenAlcyone: First of all, hello and thank you for agreeing to this interview!

Janire Coba: I am more than happy to be here with you!

 BranwenAlcyone: I'd love to talk a little bit about your brand, Belle Epoque. It's pretty well known for having a softer color palette, is that a conscious decision or do you just enjoy those tones yourself?

Janire Coba: I do find soft colors very dreamy. I am not a soft woman, so I guess I like to surround myself by softness! *giggles*

Janire Coba: I want Belle Epoque items to make women feel soft, delicate, feminine. They make me feel that way, and I like it!

BranwenAlcyone: That's such an interesting approach! And SecondLife is such a great tool for exploring contrasting sides to our natures.

Janire Coba: Yes, it is!

BranwenAlcyone: I know that your items definitely make me feel like a vintage pin up model!

Janire Coba: Do they? That's amazing, because that's my favorite style in both worlds, RL and SL *laughs*

 BranwenAlcyone: I like that it's such a recognizable style, but there is still so much wiggle room in terms of creativity.

BranwenAlcyone: You've told me before that you love to create  vintage and fantasy items the best. What are some of your inspirations when you sit down to create?

Janire Coba: Well, when I was a child I used to tell my mum when I saw something from the 50's, "Mama, i was born too late, i missed all these dresses and music!"

Janire Coba: She always answered, "Janire, now you'd be old!" And laughed at me hahaha! I just love those innocent romantic times, when everything was beautiful. And fantasy...

Janire Coba: I lived a rough childhood, and spent my days daydreaming in my room; now i can daydream while I work *winks* Let's say my childhood and youth was ugly, and now I am a grown woman, I want my life to be beautiful!

BranwenAlcyone: I completely understand that. I'm so glad that SL has been a good outlet for your daydreams. And it certainly shows in your soft and dreamy items! When you're creating your items, how long does, say, a dress usually take from start to finish?

Janire looking like the vintage beauty she is

Janire Coba: Let's say a week, once I open Blender or Maya, until I finish the vendors. A week if my 3D teacher doesn't have to correct it! If he does, it can take almost two weeks!

BranwenAlcyone: Oh, are you in school for 3D creation? That's exciting!

Janire Coba: No I am not, I had to hire a 3D teacher when events asked for original meshes; I am too clumsy to learn by my own! I admire those designers who learned by watching tutorials, I tried, and found it a circus *laughs*

Janire Coba: In fact, today I asked a SL friend to help me with a dress because it was impossible to rig it.

BranwenAlcyone: I did notice the shift from template items to original work, and I'm very impressed. Not every creator would take the time to learn a new set of skills like that.  Do you feel more connected to the items that you've created from scratch?

Janire Coba: Well, I didn't sell a single item I created from scratch until I thought they were... decent and respectable *laughs*

Janire Coba: I was learning 3D while I was selling full perm meshes in my store. I am too humble, and perfectionist, I wasn't ready to sell my own items. So before selling items made by me from scratch, I hired a mesh maker. In fact, nowadays I keep asking that person for help! Blame my clumsiness *giggles*

BranwenAlcyone: Sometimes it's easy to forget that creating items takes a LOT of skill and education, as well as plenty of experience when problems come up!

Janire Coba: And customers tend to forget there're like 5 mesh bodies, and some of them have different options *fakes a faint*

BranwenAlcyone: And those are just the big brand names!

Janire Coba: Indeed!!

BranwenAlcyone: So you're participating in this year's Fantasy Faire. Can you tell me a little bit about your items for the Faire?

Janire Coba: I can and I will! I made two dresses as new releases, one of them is a sexy silk gown, inspired by... Game of Thrones and Arabian Nights, I wouldn't know how to explain it, I want my girls to look damn sexy and super expensive! And then I went rural and wild and made a dress from the XVIII century. A Scottish one!

BranwenAlcyone: Those sound amazing! I can't wait to try them both on. :) What's it like, participating in such a huge event?

Janire Coba: Oh well, when I was a newbie back in 2009, I was a fairy. Now I see my old pics, and I was so damn ugly, you wouldn't believe it *laughs* but I thought I was the cutest thing on Earth! Someone talked to me about Fantasy Faire, and as soon as I got there I fell in love. It's been my favorite event since then. So to me, it's unbelievable to join it as a designer!  And on top of the amazing items, beautiful sims and funny experiences, we get to help people with Relay For Life, which means the world to me.

BranwenAlcyone: That's such a sweet outlook on it! What's your favorite part of the Faire, as a participant? Do you do the big quest or attend events?

Janire Coba: My favorite part is when everything is ready for the opening, when you can walk around and admire what everyone has been working on. And then the event opens, and I look at the map and see all those crazy green points and I pray for everything to be ready and perfect for them all! Because I've been a customer, and you never know what to expect when you're TPing there, it's the craziest event of all!

BranwenAlcyone: It's my favorite, too. I love when all of the stoppers get taken out and everyone lets their creativity go wild!

Janire Coba: Last year i was so busy I couldn't enjoy the Faire, ao this year I promised myself I'd take some free days to be a visitor :P

Janire Coba: Yes!! In that event, you can find anything, and meet anyone.

BranwenAlcyone: I hope you keep that promise to yourself! And that's so true, I've made some very good friends during Fantasy Faire in the past, and hope it happens again this year!

BranwenAlcyone: Thank you so, so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to sit and chat with me :)

Janire Coba: It's been a pleasure to show you what's inside of this weird vintage girl *winks*

Janire Coba: I hope you enjoy the Faire to the fullest, because I will!