Ophelia's Gaze: Making the Most of the Summer Stamp Rally

Exclusive to NWN, Iris Ophelia's ongoing showcase of all things stylish in SL

Between the various fairs and shows that designers organize throughout the year, there are a lot of community activities for fashion-minded SL residents to look forward to. But the Creator's Stamp Rally remains one of the few events that I wait for every summer and winter with itching fingers, and this isn't the first time I've written (and raved) about it. The CSR SummerChoice!2009 Event has finally arrived and as far as I'm concerned, SummerChoice!2009 stampcards are the hot item to have... At least until the event ends on August 31st. Blank cards are available in marked vendors from participating stores, and once your card is full, it can be redeemed for one of many outstanding prizes. Keep reading for my tips on how to make the most of this seasonal stamping spree.

The stamp rally started as a very clever marketing tool for talented but frequently overlooked Japanese designers, and since then has grown to include designers with many different backgrounds, connected by the common thread of exceptional creativity.

So if this is your first Stamp Rally, you might be a bit confused about how it works. Super Noel, who writes and illustrates a webcomic about Second Life which is available in both Japanese and English, made three comic strips to explain the stampcard process. The first one is on the left, but you can find all of them on the SummerChoice!2009 website. The site also shows all the participating stores, as well as the prizes being offered this year, and the location of the hall where you can redeem your cards, which brings me to my first tip...

Plan Ahead

Take the time to look at the prize list on the SummerChoice!2009 site and figure out what you want and what you don't. If you want 3 things, then you'll need 3 cards, so running around with too few (or too many) will be a bit of a waste. Figure out what exactly you want before you even get your cards.

Shop Smart

There are 20 stores participating in this Stamp Rally, and each one of them is offering a prize. 20 might sound like a small number of stores compared to the size of some of the hunts going on these days, but this is a different kind of hunt. You'll need one full card for every prize you want-- so if you want all 20 prizes, then you'll need 20 stampcards, and consequently you'll need to buy 20 card-inclusive items before you can even start stamping. If you have fairly broad tastes, or if you're just that curious, you can go shopping through all the stores first and then do a second run to stamp your cards. However, when it comes to getting your cards, you're probably going to want to buy things that suit your tastes enough so you're not just basically buying the stampcard. 

• If you like stylish casual clothing and accessories, you might want to focus on Coco, **DP**YumYum, =DeLa=* and "anuenue. 
• If you like slightly things slightly edgier, focus on Curious Kitties, Gritty Kitty, and Sick. Edelweiss specializes in maid and school uniforms for the most part, while LPP and Love Soul have accessories to appeal to edgy and chic shoppers alike. 
• For hair and skins, check out DEN-DOU, Uw.St, Sweets Party, and :: Sixty-nine ::. 
• For decor items and miscellaneous treasures, iTutu, Feather, D-LAB, Vooner, Picnic, and HANAUTA are the places to go. 

My top and jeans in the header image, by the way, are both from Coco, while the ribbon is from =DeLa=* and the nails and ring are from Love Soul, and yes all of them do come with stampcards.

Don't Be Bashful

Earlier today, I walked through all 20 participating stores with a card attached to every point of my avatar except my skull-- that's nearly three dozen attachment points, loaded up with stampcards. I didn't take the time to fuss with them and put them in realistic positions on my avatar, so I looked very much like I'd fallen asleep on a few of my final essays. If you're only getting a few cards stamped, you can use your HUD points, but if you have more than your HUD can hold don't be shy about attaching them wherever you can (and don't be afraid to have a sense of humour about your avatar). You probably won't be the only person with a few spare cards jutting out of you here and there!

The last time I wrote about the Stamp Rally, I wrote about my favourite card-included items from the participating vendors. This time I'm leaving that up to you! I've got 10 fully stamped cards to give away to the first 10 readers to comment and name their favourite item that comes with a blank stamp card from any of the 20 stores involved in SummerChoice!2009. Get stamping!

Iris Ophelia has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

Comments

[TearSong Vaughan]

Hmm can I mention only one favorite? I actually have a couple ;)

One of my favorites is DeLa's Leona dress. I already had it in Blue but the stamp rally was a good excuse to buy it in Black as well :) Bonus is that it combines so well with the Coco stamp rally shoes :)

[Alicia Chenaux]

My favorite, and how I got a BUNCH of cards, were from buying the Candy Bikinis and matching sandals at **DP**YumYum. I did a review post on the bikinis if anyone would like to take a look. At only $150L for the bikini, it's a cheap and cute way to get some cards!

http://chknowstyle.blogspot.com/2009/08/sweet-candy.html

[Takafumi Farina]

I like the Burly hair style from Uw.St

I found great hair for myself and my guy friend! So glad I found that store! :)

[Petrachaa Doobie]

My fav... "anuenue's Loose HalfPants. I've been wanting them for ages and knowing the rally was coming up i put off buying them...and then Yes! they had the card :D

I also picked up "anuenue's Tirolean Cardi. I absolutely loved this too, its so simple and has great texture work..and bonus! it came with a stamp card :)

[Petrachaa Doobie]

Oh and i saw you Iris while i was getting mine stamped :D

[Anjouli Troncon]

my favourites are the pretty flowers and planters from iTuTu, can't decide which ones I'm gonna buy :/

[Otenth Paderborn]

My favorite discovery was Hanauto's table and chairs scripted to switch from tiny to tall animations. Well worth the price even without the card!

[Faerie Hax]

I love the Coco Cutout Prom dress. I think it is perfect for Nekos with that super lowcut back.

[thaumata strangelove]

I think the cutest items are from Feather. They mostly carry little tea sets and boxes of chocolates, but they are so, so, so exquisitely made and textured that every one of them is a tiny little prim jewel. They're beautiful for any gift occasion and they're scripted amazingly well, also.

[Kerryth Tarantal]

The hair color changing HUD from Curious Kitties, because I adore the hair and love having a choice of hair colors. I've been procrastinating on getting this since I found out about it at the Hair Fair, and this was the perfect excuse. In fact, that's the only thing I've bought so far. I ran straight over there at the first possible moment.

[Otenth Paderborn]

Thank you!

[Kedawen Darrow]

I'm asking around to see if I can get this figured out by the 31st!! 2 out of the 20 stamps won't work for me (Sick and Den Dou), it says "failure, card not found". I've tried different computers, different avatars, new cards, everything. Any advice? Thank you!!