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SavannahAnn McMillan, from Spirit City, is the most amazing cheer and dance designer I have met and seen in SL. Not only is she a great designer but a wonderful person also. She had helped us with our Costumes in "The Nutcracker" for the SL Ballet and wow did the costumes come out remarkable as you can see below. She is a dedicated creator to give us what we need in the cheer and dance world and I know I can always go to her store and find exactly what I need.

I recently had the opportunity to visit with SavannahAnn and we talked about her passion for Content Creation in SL and her love of cheer and dance. Here is a little bit of our conversation.
(read the full interview, more pictures and product info by clicking more....)

Just the facts: :)
Name: SavannahAnn McMillan
Rez Date: 3/29/07
SL Occupation: designer, scriptor, builder, animator
Favorite SL Pastime: my business

Pyper Dollinger: What was your first day on SL like?
SavannahAnn McMillan: Thankfully I had an online article about SL to follow, which told me exactly where to go to get freebies. So most of my first day was spent at The Free Dove and Tete a Pied.

PD: Did you always know that you had something creative to offer SL? How did you come to be a designer?
SM: I've always been a bit obsessed with cheerleading and dance. So when I saw that SL didn't seem to have a designer dedicated to serving just these communities, I jumped at the chance to fill that niche. I didn't have a shop yet, so I began taking classes at NCI and building things in sandboxes. Then I heard about a new shopping village that was offering free shops for rent for 2 weeks. So I zoomed over, grabbed a shop, and stumbled through the process of creating my first texture for upload. From that moment on, I was hooked!

PD: Tell us about some of the people who have offered advice and guidance along the way.
SM: I'd had some graphic design experience in the RL, but not the level needed to be a good designer in SL. So my first designs were...sadly lacking, lol. I even made the audacious mistake of submitting some of those designs to the Style Disorder blog, among others (shuddering at the memory). Thankfully Willow Caldera at Style Disorder was kind enough to IM me and tell me my work needed...more work, lol. She then modelled many designs by some of the best designers in SL, including the late Ginny Talamasca. That was quite an eye opener, and I've been striving to push my skills further with every design ever since. All the free in-world classes have been a true God send, and I've been lucky to find some extra talented scriptors who have not only fixed my fledgling scripting attempts, but even went so far as to teach me what I was doing wrong.

PD: What inspires your creations?
SM: Everything cheer and dance in the RL. It's becoming a bit of a problem, actually. I can't find enough time to make everything that I see in the cheer and dance catalogs!

PD: Were you into dance and cheer in RL?
SM: VERY! I was a competitive dancer from 4th grade through 12th grade, and later became a high school dance team director for a while. I always wanted to be a cheerleader, but never had the guts to do the cheering part of it, lol. Dancing I can do, but yelling at a crowd? Nope. So I greatly admire the cheerleaders for their fantastic attitudes and courage to really put themselves out there to encourage support for their team.

PD: How much time each day/week do you spend either working in SL or designing for SL?
SM: Let's see, an average of 16 hours a day, 7 days a week... that comes to... a LOT! lol

PD: Who is your favorite designer? RL and SL.
SM: Don't have just one favorite designer in the rl. In SL, I have several faves, including Last Call, Armidi, Celestial Studios, Liquid Velvet Studios' stunning ballroom designs, Ll-animations (REALLY fabulous ballet animations!), Shiny Things, Ivalde, the list goes on.

PD: When you are not working, who do you spend the most time with in-world?
SM: (snickers) This would require me to not be working in SL, lol. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs (my mother and father both own/owned their own businesses, ditto for my maternal grandmother, 2 aunts, and one cousin). I was raised to believe that the only way to get things done is to work hard AND smart for what you want in life. Plus, having a family, part-time job, and 2 rl businesses means my time in SL is very precious to me. Designing and working for SPIRIT IS playing to me! :D

PD: What type of things does you like to do outside of SL?
SM: Spend time with my family, work from home part-time for an online company, and manage two more online businesses of my own.

Thanks so much SavannahAnn!!! :))

::huggs::



Please visit SavannahAnn's store at Spirit City


















What I'm wearing:

Cheer Uniform:

Skin: Nyte 'N' Day-Evolution.v2. Tan-Smokey Cool
Eyes: Armidi Body-True Enhancer,Breeze
Hair: Gurl6-babe3-Sunshine Pack-Creamy Blonde
Uniform: Spirit-Bring It On, Clover-Cheer Uniform (top, bottom and skirt attachment, along with pom pons.)
Shoes: Spirit Cheer Sneakers

Snowflake Costume:
Skin:Nyte 'N'Day-Evolution.v2.tan, Smokey Cool
Eyes: Armidi Body-True Enhancer, Breeze
Hair: Spirit, Nutcracker Snowflake Hairstyle, Blue Shimmer
Earrings: (C)*Snowflake Earrings
Necklace: Muse- Claire Ballet Slipper, Ivory
Tights: Radical Wook Designs, with a pack for tights and leotards
Costume: Spirit Nutcracker Snowflake Costume *Originaly made for SL Ballet*
Shoes:Spirit Pro Ballerina Pointe Shoes

Ultra Comfy Workout Outfit:

Skin: Nyte 'N' Day-Evolution.v2. tan, Smokey Cool
Eyes: Armidi Body- True Enhancers, Breeze
Hair: ETD-Amber, Blonde Pack, changed beanie to black
Necklace: Shiny Things-
Top: Spirit Dance Cropped Hoodie-Black/white-attached hoodie
Pants: Spirit Dance Practice Outfit Mix n Match, pink lacing, longnloose
Shoes: Spirit cheer shoes, white

*thank you so much to Misty Gentil for taking the time to do my awesome pics for me. You are getting really good at this :)