Male Fashion – Diarmuid Miklos

I recall back in June 2010 a friend of mine mentioned to me that they just found a very nice store with skins and they’d never seen me blog it so they dropped the landmark on me and told me to check it out. I landed in Ispachi and was very impressed with it because not only did I find skins there, but they had a wide range of clothing and other accessories. So I started walking around and picking up demos and trying things out when I got an IM from Diarmuid Miklos, who is the brains and talent behind Ispachi. We chatted for a while and he ended up sharing some of his work with me. Since then I’ve been very impressed with his work and have blogged it often throughout the years. I remember when I blogged his Gabriel skin using Manberry, I had a few girls message me inworld swooning over my male alt, lol. He’s always made some fantastic male skins and lately I have been loving his mesh items as well. Manberry currently lives in the Ispachi mesh jeans for men.

I recently discovered that not only is Diarmuid a very talented content creator, but he has also ventured out into fashion blogging. So I decided to poke him and asked him to pose for me while I tortured him with some questions for another post for my Men on the Grid series.

Strawberry Singh: So how long have you been in SL and what brought you to it?
Diarmuid Miklos: I’ve been in SL for 5 and a half years, as for what brought me here, curiosity I suppose. It was recommended by a friend 🙂

Strawberry Singh: And did you start designing stuff right away? How long have you had your store, Ispachi?
Diarmuid Miklos: I started 2 months after I joined when I met Andred who encouraged me into creating sculptures. I always wanted to have an art gallery and thanks to him and a little encouragement we opened a sculpture garden, Dimensions it was called.
Strawberry Singh: oh I didn’t know you were working on stuff before Ispachi. So it was a garden, not a store?
Diarmuid Miklos: Well mostly garden sculptures, and then it evolved to garden furniture, but while I was working on one of a set for a friend of mine I was curious what it would be like to create jewelry as I suppose it was the same thing just people wear them rather than rezz them at their homes

Strawberry Singh: So you’re like superman, you’ve made it all. Garden sculptures, jewelry, skins, mesh clothing and now you’ve made some amazing mesh feet for men. What else are you working on?
Diarmuid Miklos: Oh at the moment I’m not completely sure, I’m very impulsive I could be working on one thing and then get another idea and start working on that. I’m currently working on a building but it’s taking some time – I’ve sorta underestimated the task…so at the moment it’s just clothing and the building is a side job lol

Strawberry Singh: Do you have a background in graphic design and/or 3d sculpting, etc..?
Diarmuid Miklos: not exactly, I’ve got a friend in RL who introduced me to 3D designs, but that’s about it. I’m not really great when it comes to classroom environments, so everything I’ve done so far is thanks to Youtube tutorials and a little experimenting here and there 🙂

Strawberry Singh: That is amazing! Your work is so well done I am surprised you have no formal training. Now I know you recently got into fashion blogging..what got you interested in that? And what’s your blog address?
Diarmuid Miklos: Well my blog is Machinum.com and I started it because well, blogging seemed like something I’d enjoy. I love doing pictures, as a matter of fact, pictures is something I do when I want to escape from actual work in SL, and I’ve always wanted to express myself not only through pictures but by simply writing about what inspires me that day.

Strawberry Singh: I can absolutely relate to that. My blog is what keeps me going and continuously interested in SL. So what drives you to keep logging in? What do you love about SL the most?
Diarmuid Miklos: Well other than my store, I just enjoy creativity. I absolutely love seeing other creator’s designs – it’s what drives me to continue working in SL. Also as the men’s fashion market isn’t as huge as the female fashion market I enjoy contributing to the male fashion crowd.

Strawberry Singh: I know your mesh feet are all the roar right now for mens fashion. I hope you’re planning on making mesh hands for them as well?
Diarmuid Miklos: haha…well I’ve started working on them for some time now, not sure how far I’ll get. I’m not really quick at releasing stuff so the process is slow and am facing some set-backs with limitations in SL and I want to have something that’s easy for customers, so atm I’m hoping to find a way to work around these limitations.

Strawberry Singh: Well that does sound promising. Now that you’ve been here for 5 years, what advice would you give to a newbie that just joined SL today?
Diarmuid Miklos: Enjoy your SL experience – it’s meant to be fun. Explore, participate and try and be creative. SL has encouraged a lot of people into becoming creative individuals, from our content creators to our photoshop artists so don’t be shy – just create. It’s a rewarding experience.

Strawberry Singh: That’s great advice.
Diarmuid Miklos: I always encourage people into being creative, and it is always good to have people around you who encourage your creativity and give you sound and honest advice.
Strawberry Singh: I agree with that. I have a great support system myself. I think it’s really important to have creative and supportive friends.

I didn’t stretch the interview too long as I know Diarmuid has a lot of projects and stuff going on so I didn’t want to take up too much of his time. But I was very happy and honored that he agreed to pose for me. I really admire his work and the person that he is. I remember a few years ago I did a post that was very emotional and personal to me and not only did he leave an encouraging comment in the post, but he also reached out and messaged me inworld and said some things that made me tear up. Since then I’ve always had a strong admiration for him.

So thank you, Diarmuid, for taking the time to pose for me and spending a few minutes answering my questions. It’s great to have talented and encouraging creators and friends like you inworld. Thank you so much! <3

Now here are all the places you can stalk Diarmuid:
Blog: Machinum.com
Ispachi blog: Ispachi.com
Plurk: Plurk.com/Dromineer
Flickr: Flickr.com/ispachi
Google+: gplus.to/diarmuidmiklos

What Diarmuid is wearing:
Skin: Fruk – Bennet skin (also wearing Koi eye tattoo layer from Body Co)
Ears: Mandala Stretched ears – Omimi
Hair: taketomi Jirou Blonde 02
Shirt: kal rau Casual Longsleeves Grey
Pants: ISPACHI Rebellion Jeans
Shoes: XIAJ High Tops
Glasses – Balaclava stephen readers
Beanie – Elygo – Beanie PompPom
Cuffs – Epoque – Menotte Deuxieme
Tattoo – YaYo – Boys Suck

Poses: Diesel Works by Rogan Diesel