Gems & Kisses Workshop

On Monday 12th April, me and Franco, Gems & Kisses Model Manager and Co-Owner took a workshop, invited by Chirzaka Vlodovic, in front of different models in order to talk about our group and way of thinking about the instore modelling or better saying, the fashion world in SL.

Started about 12 am SLT and ended at 01 pm it has revelead being really interesting to our public.

Here is our speach :

Good Evening! I am Franco Bloch, Director and Model Coordinator for the Gems & Kisses Group.

First off, I would like to give a big thanks to the organization for the "European Model's Workshop" for this invitation to share with the public our experiences and journey in the the modeling world.

Gems & Kisses experience started in May 2009 thanks to the designer Deliziosa Vendetta. We will soon celebrate the 1st anniversary with the opening of a full sim dedicated to our brand and a new series of events, some of them for charity.

Here with me there's also the manager of Gems & Kisses, Lisiel Andel, who started her experience in our brand thanks to a good result she obtained in the contest Miss Gems & Kisses 2010, where she has gained the title of Miss Sapphire, revealing later really good skills in the world of management.

- Good evening to all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity you have given me to share my experiences with Gems & Kisses.

Gems & Kisses is an experience in the world of virtual goldsmith's , a balanced harmony between art and fashion.

I will begin by showing you the organization of the team of Gems & Kisses, which now has 40 models, more or less and 20 model trainee's. This subdivision reflects our way of conceiving in store modeling. For the team of Gems & Kisses, the in store models are live interpreters of the creations of our brand and are valuable and irreplaceable.

However, there are frequent cases of brands that use in store models for reason that we consider not to be very ethical, such as:

1. Using models as a "Quantity" factor to increase the traffic of a shop.

2. Using the models as a "profit" factor- for example- giving them a few lindens to be on a runway camping as a simple tactic and rule to participate in their contests.

Personally I think using in store modeling as static, which means using the models as dummies on a pose stand (also with poses decided by the designer), or on a fenced runway with the manager looking at them from outside is completely wrong.

This kind of in store modeling is not good for a model, for her image and her career, because it underestimates her creativity and potential.The G&K in store modeling is dynamic because our models become part of the creative process.

The standing and strong point of Gems & Kisses is the "Quality" factor and to obtain this, there is a great need of a selection process. We have divided groups for these purposes.

Our first group called Gems & Kisses "Waiting List" where models can ask for an invite and wait for positions to become available as a Gems & Kisses model.

The second consists of filling out a questionnaire and there is a copy of the contract which has to be looked over, signed and given to the Model Coordinator.
Then we proceed in a first selection process based on the questionnaire and the second life profile of the potential candidate.

The Second Life profile of a model is really important and has to be prepared with careful attention.
It gives the first impression of yourself, who you are.
So it has to give and impression of professionalism and precision.

If we have a model apply that is experienced, well styled and professional, we can directly offer her the position in the Gems & Kisses Group.
If a model is motivated but has some things to work on, we put her in the one month trial group where she will practice in the shop with a mentor and attend some classes, all provided free of charge with our trainers.

Deliziosa's creations are really artistic and being from the technical point, attachments, a model must have a good knowledge in editing.
The jewels are built using a standard shape but as not all the shapes are the same, little modifications are necessary, for example stretching or movements along the 3 axes are required by the models to ensure a correct placement and fit of the jewelry.

Frequently I've seen errors in the placement of the attachments on the models, probably because the attention in the majority of the fashion shows is focused on the clothing and the jewelry is considered to be just as an accent to a nice dress.

We have developed some programs, with the help of our chief models, that work with our potential new models and trainee's that includes helping them develop their style, posing and runway skills that are needed to be an in store model for Gems & Kisses.
Once they have completed this training to the satisfaction of their mentors and trainers, this is communicated to myself and they are graduated to the Gems & Kisses group.

The application of in store modeling is quite complicated.
We have the three groups only for the models and as we talked about before, the first group is the waiting list, the second is the new model trainees, there are trainers and the models in trial.
The third is the most experienced model and is made by models and VIP Models.
The last ones are special models that collaborate with us and are not in store models, though some of them do it for their pleasure.

We think that the collaboration between a model and the Gems & Kisses brand has to bring a mutual advantage, that for the brand, for example, and improvement in the relationship with the clients, because the in store models can become the first point to get a relationship built up with the client, and the model can be and improvement for the work and image.
Especially if the brand makes an accurate selection of its models.

Until now I used the term in store model for describing a profession of the models that work for a brand, but the term more suitable for Gems & Kisses way of thinking is Artistic interpreters of our creations.
The model then become Artists in the art itself, because they have to be able to modify their shape, use the right skin, clothes to represent and focus their attention on the products of their brand.

Our models are also involved in different events such as photographs for calendars, advertisements, magazines, fashion shows for charity and non charity events and photographic competitions.

What is said by Mr. Bloch is a confirmation to the fact that in the in store modeling, a model has major possibilities in comparison to an agency to be part of events and initiatives that can contribute to her success.

We have very talented models on our team that do amazing work in these areas and work with other models to help them on their skills to improve themselves.

For example I'm preparing a series of mini shows for the Gems & Kisses - We Love Life Team, for charity organization.
At the head of each mini show I've assigned a model of our brand with the skills to organize the mini show and will work wit the other models to choose a theme and prepare all that is needed to run the show.
One of our chief models also has found sponsors for this event that have given us clothing and poses for free!I hope that this has given you some insight into the workings of the Gems & Kisses Brand.