Sculpted prims were introduced to the Second Life grid a year ago this month. Because their three dimensional shape is derived from the color values in a texture, as opposed to extruding a two dimensional shape along a path, content creators are able to build shape that are more organic than that which is possible using the standrd system tools. Since their debut, content creators have been using sculpties to create everything from mountains and water to florals and furniture. In the world of SL(tm) fashion, sculpties have become the building medium of choice for hat and shoe designers. Tesla Miles, owner of the boutique bearing her name, Tesla, was one of, if not, the very first to introduce sculpted prim hats to the ever-changing landscape of SL fashion. I recently had an opportunity to discuss with Tesla how she began building and what prompted her to design hats.

Tesla has been a resident since March of 2007 but, she never thought about becoming a creator or boutique owner in the beginning. "It wasn't until after plenty of exploration (and shopping!) that I discovered sandboxes were the most fun for me" she says.

Tesla states that she had heard about sculpted prims on the beta grid before they were introduced on the main grid in May of 2007, but still was not ready to start working with them.

As she related to me, "I suppose that I was scared of them like many other builders. I saw the Linden Lab's YouTube video previewing in-world sculpted prims, and I remember thinking, 'Wow!! that's going to totally revolutionalize SL!', but I never thought that I'd be making them."

In fact, when she did start experimenting with the sculptie technology, she had no ambition to make money in SL and didn't plan to make anything that would be for sale. She just wanted to play with the sculpties.

Any fashionista worth her shoes knows that Tesla makes some of the finest stilettos on the grid, but her first endeavor to make her now infamous pumps was not entirely successful.

"I thought that sculpties, with their ability to create smooth continuous shapes, would be great for making stiletto pumps in SL, and I did give it a go, but my skill level wasn't good enough to achieve the design I wanted," she says, "my first attempt at a high heel pump looked very lumpy with holes in it. Because I'm a firm believer in perserverance, I didn't give up. Instead, I decided to settle for simpler, less ambitious forms."

Tesla has a Bachelor's degree in graphic design, but says, "I'm not a fashion designer in real life, but I do know that without 'the eye' for design, you can never be a designer. I've had years of experience with life-drawing, and I feel it certainly helps to understand the body and how it moves in order to make convincing fashion designs. I'm a firm believer that balance, proportion and ratio equals beauty; once you start appreciating the perfection of nature, design begins to transcend the mundanity of function and becomes magical."

So visit Tesla, and other virtual milliners, pick up a couple of hats, and add something extra to your personal expression of style.