Hello and Welcome!

Hello everyone! I'd like to welcome you all to our grid wide Easter egg hunt aptly titled "Spring is in the Air"! This easter egg hunt is going to be a special one. It is going to be ONLY for SMALL businesses within the Second Life™ community.

I've been to several of the scavenger hunts where it is mostly the larger companies. Companies that are already well known within Second Life™. Companies that have a full sim and no problem keeping up the tier on it. Or companies that all you have to do is whisper their name in a room and everyone's ears perk up because they want to know what that company is doing now.

Now, do not get me wrong, I have nothing against them. I'm glad so many have "made it big" as it were, inside Second Life™. But what I would like to do is introduce you to some of the smaller companies. The ones that might normally get missed. Companies making quality items but that are still either so new no one knows about them, or they just haven't been able to get word out to the community just what they are about. Companies who can't afford a sim for themselves yet, ones that may not yet even be making enough to pay their tier or have a full sized shop.

There are some very good companies out there that are like this. I am one of them. And I'd like to showcase companies like mine that are struggling to get word out to the Second Life™ community about what they are about and what they can do. There are some very nice companies like this out there, ones that a Hunt like this could really make a big difference. More then the difference it will make to the larger, older companies.

These are the ones that I will be including in this Hunt. Jewels in the rough for our Hunters to find and discover in the most enjoyable way.

So, from Sunday, March 29th to Sunday, April 12th, 2009, AmberMyst Botanical Designs will be presenting the "Spring is in The Air" Easter Egg Hunt. ツ

Facts about the Hunt:

• There will be no more then 100 businesses allowed to join in.
• This will be on a first come, first served basis. All entries considered will be allowed in in the order in which they were handed in to Tiea Aeon. Business Application information is below.
  

• Those included will need to make at least one special item to include in the egg.
  
• I ask that you please think hard about this one, as this item should be a nice quality item since the goal of this Hunt will be to showcase just what you can do and give the Hunters reason to come back to your small business. So you will need a quality item that is 'non holiday', i.e. a skirt and top with Happy Easter across it may not get worn at all depending on when they get to your shop, but a pink & green skirt set, though in seasonal colors, would as it is not specifically for Easter.

• Please try to make one item for each sex or a 'unisex' item.
  
• I have heard many complaints about how the Hunts never seem to have anything good for the men. If all you do is women's clothes, then why not try something as simple as a pair of pants and a t-shirt for the men. Or if you do woman's jewelry, try a pair of cuff links or tie tack for his favorite outfit. You do not have to package them together, you can have one egg for the men and one for the women. But it is advisable to make sure that you do something special for the men. They will be more apt to return to your store (with their female companion) to pick her something nice out even if you do not have a men's clothing line, simply because you thought of them during this Hunt.
  

• This is ONLY for small businesses.
  
• I already have one volunteer who is going to be a part of my staff, and soon will have a few more. We will be going around to each submission to check if indeed you qualify. These women not only have been around awhile, but are avid shoppers and know a lot of the 'major' department stores and will know if you are trying to slip in under the radar or not. Please, be honest. I am sure there will be a hunt going on for every business or bigger businesses.  Also, "small business" does not mean the size, but more the type. If you have a business that is new, but have stuck it on a full sim, it is still considered 'small'.

• Eggs will not be moved once they are placed out, as the Hunt is one with CLUES to get to the next egg.
  
• Hunters will need to figure out the egg's location from a series of clues. At each shop one of our staff will choose a place for the egg, then there will be 4 clues written about it's intended location. Each clue will get easier and easier and will be handed out one at a time via the group chat through one of the staff. The first clue will be available in the last egg found.
  

• A poster for the Hunt will be supplied for your shop.
• Though it is not ready now, the new posters will be ready by the time people are starting to be approved.

• NO MORE THEN ONE EGG IS ALLOWED HIDDEN ON THE PROPERTY (unless it's two gender related eggs)!
• This rule is NOT to be broken. You will be given simple instructions on how to make sure your egg gives it's CONTENTS so that no one needs to rez an egg on your property to get at next clue. There are to be NO false or misleading eggs ANYWHERE on the property. This is cheating and will get you kicked out of the Hunt. The eggs will be special so that if you have eggs out to decorate, people will be able to tell the difference.  If you have two eggs, one for male and one for female, this is allowed.  But this is the ONLY time it is allowed.  If you want to give two gifts, put them both in the same egg (unless it's a gender issue).  The reason is so that there are no FALSE eggs tricking people into thinking they found it when they didn't.  If you have questions regarding this rule, just contact me.

That's all for now. That will give you something to think about, if you would like to join or even if you would like just hunt. I know that Easter is still a few months away, but I wanted to ensure that this Hunt would have no problems getting started.

In the coming weeks, I will be listing each new business as it joins, so keep a look out for them.

Now, for those of you that would like to be considered. Put on a note card titled "Spring is in The Air Hunt - YOUR NAME HERE":

1. 1.Your avatar's name
2. 2.Your business' name
3. 3.A full perm landmark to your business
4. 4.How long your business has been open
5. 5.A SLURL to your business

Then drop that note card into Tiea Aeon's inventory for consideration.

I will get back to you as soon as I can to let you know I've received it. If you do not hear from me within a few days, try again, only I will need you to add the transaction number of your giving me the note card with the date of your dropping it in. This way, if Second Life™ eats it, the second one will still place you in the correct space in the list for those looking to be in in the Hunt.