it's all in the details, darling

B&D (Bound and Determined Fetish Club) in Second Life has recently undergone a 'remodel'. I spoke with Sefris Wendt (the former owner) to tell him that I liked the way things were looking, and he told me that he'd sold the club and it was now under the ownership of Kailani Ling. Kailani also owns the "Twisted Orchid" fetish club and I've blogged about that previously.

I must say that B&D was by far my favorite place to hang out, observe, and chat with people so when I have some time on my hands, you can usually find me there. This remodel is great, and exciting but I do have a couple cents to toss into the bucket on this one.

The previous version of B&D had one big room with several separate areas just off to the side of the main room. It also had a 'back alley' and in my opinion, the best roleplay scenes happened in that area. The new version is .. well.. freaking huge. There are walkways above the 'main room', which as I've said.. is FREAKING HUGE... and then on the upper floor there are several rooms that are more 'private' than in the previous version. There's a bathroom, a few 'dungeon' looking rooms, a few rooms with just bunches of poseballs, one or two with a bed.. and my favorite, the doctor's office.

The lower room now has a really large stage area with dance poles and seats in front, and then just a few 'sitting' areas around the room.

I've been to several 'sex' and 'fetish' clubs in SL and I understand this 'model', but the more I looked around, the more disappointed I became. In my opinion (and really, isn't that all most blogs are anyway?) what made B&D great was that it *wasn't* like every other club in SL. It was bright and open and exciting. The scale of the build in its entirety 'worked' and encouraged communication and interaction. Although I do like the new B&D with its more separate, private and distinct rooms, the overall feel now is 'dark' and 'big' and I'm just not digging that. The 'scale' is off and again.. in my opinion.. the build is just too big. It's too big to feel cozy or to make you feel like you're 'part of something' by being there. Just one glance at the floor tiles can throw off this whole sense of 'place'. I'm also not sure I understand this whole 'dark is sexy' idea that seems prevalent in SL. Why are all these sex clubs so dark and dreary?

When you're trying to build or create in Second Life, it really is about the details. It's the details that keep people coming back, and it's the details that make the difference. I hope B&D understands how important the 'details' are and that they make it a place I want to continue to frequent.

-xopixox