Silk Road Hunt - Visiting the shops!

The grid-wide Silk Road Hunt 2024 is on, and it's time to visit the participating shops. Let's go!!

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This year marks the 16th annual iteration of the Mieville Historical Hunts Silk Road Hunt, which began in 2010. (Yes, if you're doing the math, you'll recognize the oddity that Silk Road actually occurred twice in one of the early years.) We so appreciate all the participating merchants! We recommend you visit every shop in sequence in order to enjoy the full variety of creativity and generosity of our merchants. You'll find the landmark to the next shop packed in the gift you find at each shop. (You can also follow our inworld notecard list or our list here on the blog!) Without further ado, here's the first batch of shops in our Silk Road 2024 Hunt! (Psst - these photos do not show the actual gifts. You can view some of them on our earlier Silk Road Gifts blog post...)

1. First stop is at the Mieville Welcome Center! In this hunt you are looking for a lantern. The lantern on the counter holds a clue for finding the first present, which is hidden at the Welcome Center itself. (On the counter you'll also find the Hunt's notecard list plus info about other Silk Road events. The portal in the photo leads to the other Silk Road events!) Oh, and the computer? It's live and you can access our blog there!

2. Second stop is Touryuumon: Maho Sukuroru, by Silverfox Rainbow. The photo below is just a small part of this gorgeous site. Have fun exploring and looking for the hidden lantern here!

3. Third stop is Incredible Living, by Metanoia Perlman, who specializes in full-perm builds. I think this is the first time that Incredible Living has participated in one of our Hunts. Be sure to visit and help us welcome Metanoia!  This rug is fire!! :)))

4. Fourth stop is Never Ever by Rhana Sands. This palatial shop features exquisite jewelry for all genders, plus fashion. What a beautiful setting!

 

5. Fifth stop is Century, by talented Magic Worlds denizen Douglas Fairlady. You really need to take your time and browse this eclectic shop thoroughly as you never know what you will find! (Oh, PS - Douglas also provided the gift at the first stop of the Hunt - enjoy!!)

6. Sixth stop is A Little Ancient Shop / A Little Cuqui Shop, by Sorsha.Xaron. Sorsha specializes in beautiful period clothing (I will be modeling a couple dresses later on in this post, blush!) and lovely historic and decorative objects. Here I am below at A Little Ancient Shop, sitting on a throne and being entertained by my very own private dancer. Talk about Queen for a Day!

7. It's time to visit the new home of Dalrymple Designs, by SarahDalrymple! The shop used to be on Mieville's Poe sim until that sim went bye-bye due to some planned shufflings of the sims. We're glad to see Sarah and Poe friends have found a new home. Come browse through the aisles of her decorative blankets, crocheted plushies, and clothes. Love this pansy flower blanket!

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8. Eighth stop is Meadow's Whimsy, the shop of our dear friend Meadow Copperfield, who worked tirelessly to help organize this Silk Road Hunt! Here I am below counting how many lovely things from her shop can I get, lol!

9. Next is Eclectic Fusion, by Artful Hammerer. Artful specializes in Steampunk-themed objects and also in beautifully executed artwork. Here I am pondering the mysterious and fascinating orange and white modern art objects.

10. Tenth stop is Grasshopper St., by Mitra Ardwyad, who has perfected the art of authentic historic costume and hat construction in SL, down to the finest details. I had to pause my hunt for the Silk Road lantern while I adjusted this gorgeous hair ornament. Take your time browsing Grasshopper St. to marvel at the details in the products here!

11. Number 11 on the list is ~FT~ Design, by the multi-talented Akiv Wizardly. Here you will find Akiv's original artwork for sale, along with clothing and fashion items, a wedding shop, and more. The large department store has a number of surprises, including these posters.

12. Twelfth stop is Shaman's Hut, by Prokofy Neva. This unique magical-creepy shop is always filled with delightful surprises. I stopped at the yurt below to refuel on some of the home-baked treats on the table and inside. Prokofy specializes in authentic and slightly twisted eastern European / Asian ethnic objects. Another store to definitely take your time exploring every nook and cranny!

13. Thirteenth stop is Zashiki-gi, the beautiful and authentic kimono and geisha-needs shop by Toshiha Magic. I think this is the first time that Zashiki-gi has participated in our Hunts. Please do give a visit and help us welcome Toshiha to our Hunts & Events! Along with the beautiful authentic clothing, jewelry, and accessories, I love the little touches throughout the shop such as this authentic kimono holder.

14. Fourteenth stop is My PiXeL PuPpEt, by Aesirah. Wow, this is another one of those magical-moody shops that I just love to visit! Aesirah specializes in micro-avatars, creative accessories, artwork, and more. Here I am dancing for joy in the rain outside Aesirah's shop. (Psst, I'm wearing one of the lovely dresses by Sorsha.Xaron that I mentioned earlier...)

15. Oops, #15 isn't ready yet so we'll skip on to ...

16. The Undiscovered Jewel, by Jewelyn Fairelander. I think this is the first time that Undiscovered Jewel has participated in one of our Hunts. Please help us welcome Jewelyn by giving her nice shop a visit! I saw a lot of clothing at my visit, including a mermaid section. Hmm, I wonder what's behind the green door... (Psst, I'm wearing another one of the Sorsha.Xaron dresses...)

17. Seventeenth stop is Thistle Moon Designs, by FlowerTower, who specializes in clothing for the whole family, including youngsters. As you can see from the photo, there are kimonos for sale for the family. :)

18. Eighteenth stop is ::REA:: by Reaanna. I think this is the first time the Reaanna has participated in one of our Hunts, so let's give her a good welcome by visiting her shop! I saw lots of clothing during my visit, including men's special occasion clothing. Here I am below gazing at the bridal gowns... a girl can dream!

19. Nineteenth stop is DANI - Designs by Danielle, by Danielle Harrop. This is the first time Danielle has participated in one of our Hunts too! Let's all give a visit to her shop to help welcome her! I'm thinking those bejeweled pumps would go well with some of my saris!

20. Twentieth stop is Lindy Modern & Retro Shoes, by Delinda Abbot. Lindy is well known across the grid for her full line of high quality fashionable shoes from athletic and casual wear, everyday shoes, and dressy options, even including kitten heels that can be a bit difficult to find. I'm loving my choice below - what do you think? They're adorable!

21. Twenty-first stop is Ghostraven Professional Attire, by Beth Ghostraven. Wow! I have never been so surrounded by shiny happy men-people since... well, since ever. As the name of the store suggests, Beth specializes in making professional, no-nonsense attire for men and women. You can see from the photo below that the store is also helpfully organized by outfit color! Thank you, Beth!

Okay, friends, that's it for this round! We made it half-way through the Silk Road Hunt participating shops! Next time will cover le glamouriste, Psyche's Pstyles, GPA Dinkies, the W&L Particle Source, Angel Fae Boutique, Kittycat's Creations, Emma's @ Blue Moose, Gypsy Rose, The Steaming Teacup, Meander, Ripplin' Waters Gardens & Landscape, D76, Jinxed Toys & Magic!, SANNA-SCIENCE and ART-Animated Textures Full-Perm, Violet Skies, Bibliothèque de Coeur, Davarts Design, The ARTSPOT (both locations one and two!), Impertinences, Shelly's Designs, Panthars FP Sounds, and the Hunt's final stop at the Oriental Garden. Be watching for that!

Your friendly Mieville librarian & Silk Road enthusiast,

Farzaneh Eel

Photos by Farzy