Before we built the North Pole…

Yes, we owned a Second Life (SL) Sim called the North Pole but months and months before that Shellie’s avatar arrived in Second life first. Her avatar Barb was created May of 2006 in Second Life and Andrew’s avatar, Art, was rendered that September of 2006. Certainly, neither of them knew the road that lied ahead of them and how their paths would cross, merge and inspire what has become Crystal Delights.

Shellie’s was already well established in SL with lots of friends when she and Andrew meet. Her SL avatar mirrors her real-world personality, quick to make friends and help others. It was a work friend of her deceased husband who introduced her to SL.

It was Shellie’s real-world job working for Sex Toy Dave doing customer service that led over time her to the idea to create the first Crystal Delights product, a virtual dildo that would animate an avatar’s orgasm. It wasn’t a total unique idea, there were already lots of people selling all kinds of virtual products that animated avatars in SL, but that didn’t keep Shellie from launching the virtual brand.

Animating avatars to emulate real-world tasks was commonplace in SL. Want to drive a car, ride a horse or fly over your neighborhood like Superman? You could do all those things and more. Sexual products allowed a safe way for people to experience their own fantasies and fetishes, and was a popular focus for fun in SL.

With the help of her friend they created the first Crystal Delight’s virtual sex toy. They then set up virtual vending machines where avatars could purchase the toy in a variety of colors. It was more for the fun of it then intentionally thinking she was beginning something that due to several unexpected circumstances, would lead her down a creative path towards building one of the most respected real glass sex toy brand names in the world.

Those circumstances would include the tragic loss of her husband, an unexpected encounter with Art (Andrew’s avatar), changes in the business model of Sex Toy Dave’s real-world enterprises and that’s just to name a few.

But what happens next in Second Life is the birth of Club Cool and the Virtually Adult store Barb and Art started together…