Hey my dearest friends and fishes! I have finally taken the time to go over my website and make the changes I've been wanting to implement for the last few years... Yes years... I've moved a few things around, but the important stuff has essentially stayed put but with a little extra polishing. The biggest problem I've been facing is how to best showcase my work. Finding a nice way to display my mermaid tail creations is a real challenge given the lengthy vertical dimensions that mermaid tails typically have. I feel like I am trailblazing and getting a little lost in the woods on the way... That said I think I've landed in a nice middle ground for now and hopefully from here I can explore new ways as creativity strikes (any time now please). Above is snippet of what my updated portfolio page now looks like. WOW COURTNEY YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T GOING TO SHARE FULL DESIGNS ONLINE ANYMORE?! WHAT GIVES?! Rein the seahorses in folks and let me explain... I give up. I accept defeat. The internet IS WHAT IT IS and I am thoroughly exhausted from trying so hard to keep people from ripping me off so I'm raising the white flag. Thieves are still finding ways to steal from me regardless of the immense efforts I've made and I'm tired of hiding in my studio. So here we are. Here's my work. Tens of thousands of hours of my life (I've been honing my digital design skills for over 20 years now) invested into my art and people are just going to do what they do. As much as it hurts me to have my work ripped off, it hurts me more NOT to share. My fully realized mermaid tail creations and other works will still be available exclusively to the Patreon Pod for purchase but I will again be sharing my artwork and creations here and on my other social platforms. Please don't make me regret this... I've updated a lot of the wording and added a lot more context to my website so, if you have any interest, take a look around and see what has changed.
My goal is to put a much greater emphasis on celebrating the body of work I have created over the last 18 years and honoring the journey it took to get me here. I would like to give a HUGE shoutout to my Patreon Pod for being the reason I haven't given up yet and for always being there with ideas, suggestions, and support. You fishes mean the world to me! That's all for now and I look forward to catching up with you all again soon! Happy Swimming! Courtney Mermaid
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https://shopvancouvermermaid.com/ The shop is back open with 40 NEW Shellusion designs! SWIMSUITS! New scale bottoms! More realistic designs! AND prices have been adjusted across the board (some have been reduced and some have been increased in an effort to level things out). Please know that I create the shop/listings/images all myself so if you notice any errors or anything (I try to catch them all 😅) please email me directly (info@vancouvermermaid.ca) with a screenshots to let me know! Thank you so much for your patience my fishes! I hope the wait was worth it! 💖 Happy Swimming!! This is going to revolutionize the mermaid tail making industry forever... Or at least it will help you personally protect your favorite fabric mermaid tails! 🛒 Buy OdiCoat: https://amzn.to/45nIMRM
🏬 Visit my Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/courtneymermaid 📺 Watch last week's video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfCRwj5Ig6I I remade my iconic viral mermaid tail and I’ve been keeping a BIG secret about it from you all… Hello my friends and fishes, today we are going to look at my brand new mermaid tail!
This is my official remake of Chester, my iconic mermaid tail that went viral across multiple platforms in multiple countries! Why did I remake this tail? Excellent question! Let’s get into it! First off, these two tail ARE NOT made of the same fabric. I mean they kind of are, it’s called the same stuff, but new Chester’s fabric is actually completely different. This new fabric allows more water to pass through it, making it a MUCH lighter swimming experience. It also dries faster! A LOT FASTER! I timed it. Old Chester takes approximately 3 full days to dry whereas new Chester takes about a day. YEAH. YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT. The fabric is also sourced IN CANADA! YES! My mermaid tails are now 100% Canadian made! You have no idea how happy this makes me because when I tell you sourcing fabric from the US has been a nightmare, it really and truly has. It’s at this moment that I would like to give the hugest shoutout to my fellow mermaid tail maker Amy from SparklegirlCostume.com! The generosity and kindness she has shown not only myself but other makers in our community is beyond measure. She does not always get the credit she deserves and without her, I would not be in the position I am now and for that I am truly grateful. Thank you Amy. Now let’s talk about what else has changed with this tail, because YES THERE’S MORE!! So not only is the fabric new, but so is the printing! You can see where the tails differ in terms of colour. Old Chester has colours that were never really intended (like the purple in the fluke) and you can see on new Chester that tail is far more accurate and the colours are more visibly clear. I have ALSO added a protective gel coating over the “problem areas” including the sides of the monofin, the seam around the monofin pocket, the bum, the knees, and over my stitching at the waistband. This coating once heat-sealed permanent, and is resistant to damage both in and out of the water. I have tested it at the lake, at the pool, and with a nail file both in and out of the water. It’s literally a merfolk miracle my dudes!! The next thing that you will notice is that I have added boning to select fins on this tail. Boning is basically a narrow strip of flexible plastic which I carefully sew into specific channels along my fins to give them structure and support. This makes a big difference for larger fins that have a tendency to collapse in on themselves, especially when you are posing for photos and swimming. I’ll tell you there isn’t anything quite like looking back at photos and finding out that your finds were folded over and look a bit uh… dumb. The boning helps the fins hold their shape in the water as well which is incredible and really adds to the overall realism and mermaid vibe. NOW. For my big news… Now that I have sourced a new supplier for both my fabric and printing, thanks to SparklegirlCostume.com I am FINALLY going to be able to open slots again for both pre-designed and custom mermaid tails. BUT. Yes there’s a but. I will still not be publicly selling my tails. My tails will be available exclusively, in very limited quantities, to my Patreon Pod. Why? Because I have not had a good experience publicly selling my work. Honestly it’s been nightmarish at times and I have no interest in going back down that road. Thanks but no thanks. Being a part of the Patreon Pod will not guarantee you access to my tails as it will be, like I mentioned, limited quantities. In the past what I’ve done is posted a tail slot and my patrons who were serious would let me know in the post and from there I would do a draw to try to make it more fair. I may change or adjust that system at my own discretion moving forward but that is for future Courtney to worry about. What is the Patreon Pod? Well it’s my private online community made up of merfolk from all over the world. We have a private Discord where I do weekly livestreams, host events, and spent time with the pod! The Patreon Pod’s main page is where I share updates, behind the scenes, and replays of our livestreams. Check out the Patreon Pod here. ALRIGHT! That’s it for me today my fishes! Happy Swimming! Courtney Mermaid Luna Eclipse mermaid monofin review! Everything you want to know! Size, comfort, durability, all of it PLUS swimming footage! Hello my friends and fishes and welcome to my much anticipated Luna Eclipse monofin review! Original Luna comparison including updates, changes, comfort as well as sizing and price are all going to be covered in today’s video and I will be including lots of swimming footage of my first impressions swim in this glorious new fin! Let’s go! Let’s take a look at the new Luna Eclipse and compare it to the original Luna. In terms of shape, these two fins are virtually identical so if you have a tail skin that was made for use with the original Luna, it will also fit the new Luna, no problem! The main differences you will notice are: 💙 The material. The Eclipse is made out of rubber, where the original is made out of silicone. The rubber feels sturdy and quite firm where the silicone was quite floppy. Though the rubber feels similar to that of the Mahina Merfin, I find it to be much more comfortable. Keep in mind the rubber does have a bit of a smell when it comes out of it’s packaging so you will want to wipe it down and maybe crack a window. 💙 The movement. Where the original Luna had a lot of flow and flop, the Eclipse is a stiffer monofin and it’s overall flow does appear slightly different in the water. 💙 The buckles. The Eclipse has a new design for it’s buckle system. Overall it feels very firm and sturdy. I know this is an area where people were having some struggles with the previous design and it definitely feels like they have taken the durability of this area into consideration with the updated design. Which goes to show how much FINIS cares about producing a quality product! 💙 How it feels in the water. The fin does swim differently than the original and I do find it even more comfortable than the original (which was already a comfortable fin). I did try it with socks and actually preferred it without AND despite not wearing socks, I didn’t actually get any blisters from my first swim with it. I know this was an area of concern for a lot of people because the Mahina feels like it is made from a similar material and it is blister central. Regardless, socks are always a helpful tool to improve the fit and overall comfort of most fins. 💙 The colours. Obviously you can see they have changed the colours and pattern for the new Eclipse. Where the original was green and blue, the new one is a striped blue on blue. Overall this is a very comfortable fin, even more so than the original in my opinion. I believe it has to do with the fact that the rubber has a bit more give to it than the silicone over the tops of the foot pockets. Sizing In terms of size, on the packaging it states that it will fit a 4-9 US men's which is a 5-10 US women's or an EU size of 36-42 and an Australia size of 3-8. I am a size 11 narrow in US women’s sizing and I fit comfortably in this fin but it is an exact fit. Price The Luna Eclipse retails for $75USD (or about $102CAD) on the FINIS website. Luckily, as an official partner, I have a discount code I can share with you that will get you 20% (or about $15USD or about $20CAD) off your purchase! The code is COURTNEYMERMAID and I have all the information and links in the description box below! Overall I can say with confidence that this fin is a step in the right direction. Though I have never personally had issues with my silicone Luna, I know that many of you have and the fact that FINIS has taken then time to hear your complaints and concerns AND improve their product is a big deal. The fin definitely exceeded my expectations and I am looking forward to making it a regular part of my mermaid experience. As always I would love to hear from you in the comments down below, are you excited about the updates they’ve made to their design? Have you already tried it out? And what are your thoughts overall? That's all for today! Happy swimming! Courtney 💙 Buy the FINIS Luna Eclipse here: https://bit.ly/460zEDK
💚 Use my code COURTNEYMERMAID for 20% off your purchase! Hello my friends and fishes, long time no see on my mermaid blog! 😘 Today I am coming at you with a new post and a new video showcasing my latest mermaid tail creations Moonlight Magic as modelled by the fabulous Mermaid Zelda! Be sure to watch the video to learn more about how I made this tail and to see it in all its glory out in the ocean and underwater the pool.
Don't forget to check out my Gumroad eShop if you are interested in learning how to make your own printed fabric mermaid tails! That's all for this week's blog post my fishes! I look forward to catching up with you all again soon! Happy Swimming! Courtney Mermaid For more magical mermaid content be sure to follow me @CourtneyMermaid and my fish Mermaid Zelda @Mermaid Zelda on Instagram!
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Live life SO MERMAID! Hey my fishes, my name is Courtney and welcome to my blog!
Come along with me on my adventures as I create mermaid tails, apparel for my shop, learn tough life lessons, run my business, and try to keep my head above water as a late-diagnosed Autistic adult! Merfolk communityCategories
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