Concept to Creation in 1 Week?

[Mermaid Meko]

So it has been a looooooooooong time coming, and I am SOOOO thankful to those who have already helped me on my journey as a Mer.
I took the next step a few months back and became an official business: Mythos.
Our Mermaid department, MerMade, is launching into production.
Our goal? To move from tail concept to creation... within a week.

We will be updating frequently, and would love to hear your thoughts/ideas/comments as we progress! :)


~The Mythos Crew~
ps- YAY so excited! :)

[Mermaid Meko]

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Got the body form fitted and filled...39 inches around is WAY bigger than I thought!

[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

Oh I am so excited for you! I am going to watch this intently. I wish you would closer. I would love to work for a mercompany making tails. I love creating things. Good luck!

[Mermaid Meko]

Thanks Fablecat!

Day 1 Progress: Fluke Design Complete!

Ok guys, here it is!

Presenting one of the options for order from MerMade, our Isis Fluke!

Fluke Style: Isis

[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

Ohhhhh pretty! It looks like a tulip! Love the name of your company, very clever.

[Seraphina Suds]

"MerMade" is so damn clever I shouted "hah!" out loud and scared my cat xD good luck with your business!

[Winged Mermaid]

Just FYI, there are several shops named "MerMade" including Mermaid Jamie's etsy . Just thought you'd want to know early in case you wanted to change it. If not just make sure you brand so you don't get mixed up with other shops ;)

[Mermaid Meko]

Thanks guys!

Iona, does using MerMade by Mythos work? (ahh so much to learn! lol. Thanks for the heads up!)

Here are the extra fins. We are going to try something tricksy with these! ;)

Day 1 Progress: Step 2.5 Heel and Pelvic Fin Designs

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[Azurin Luna]

Ohh! Those look lovely, can't wait to see the completed tail

[Mermaid Melanie]

Very cute fins ! X


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[Mermaid Meko]

We started laying clay so late last night that it was pretty much morning so we are calling it part of today...lol.

Anyways, here is where we are at currently:

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[Mermaid Meko]

Here is where we are at now...whew!!!

This is SO exciting and SO much fun!

I wasn't sure this was going to work when we started, but the further we get the more excited I am!
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[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

Looking good! Ohhh I can't wait to see how it turns out! Your excitement is contagious!

[Raayvhen]

The fins make me think of a kelp/sea plant mermaid. I'm excited to see your progress! What monofin are you using?

[Mermaid Galene]

Beautiful fins and fluke design!

[Winged Mermaid]

Thanks guys!

Iona, does using MerMade by Mythos work? (ahh so much to learn! lol. Thanks for the heads up!)


That would be great for helping people identify your brand :) I just want you to avoid the frustration that I had with discovering my seemingly original shop name was taken by the time I registered, so I picked another one and that was available on etsy (again, seemingly original) but turned out to be taken on many social media platforms. Then people would get me mixed up with the other shops. X_x You may want to look into what is taken and what isn't on whatever platforms you wish to use. I think adding something like that on the end will help, as long as you don't mind putting it in emails/usernames/ect.

Progress is looking awesome btw! :)

[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

If Mermade by Methos is taken you could try "Mer-Made-In Minneapolis" Hehehehe

[Mermaid Galene]

Hey, Meko, it somehow escaped my attention that you're in Minneapolis. I'm in Hudson!

[Mermaid Meko]

My studio partner Liz. She has been with me from the over a year ago when I came to her and said "Hey, so there's this thing that I want to try...?"
It's been rough, but this has been an amazing journey thus far and I am learning and growing SO much.

And this is SO MUCH FUN! :D


Thanks guys! Your encouragement is so good for my heart! We are so excited to be working within such a supportive and encouraging community!

Raavyhen ~ There is a FINIS Rapid in this particular mono fin, although once it goes up for order there will be the option to change that to another mono fin.
Iona ~ Cool, and thank you! :)

So we are finishing the fluke sculpt, the fins are about 3/5ths done, and we finished the scales. Whew! But having a blast still!

Day 2 Progress: Fluke sculpt Isis, un-named fins, un-named shell scale

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[Raayvhen]

Oh my mer. Those scales are beautiful!

[PearlieMae]

They look like my scales! This is fascinating. I'll be curious to see if you really make it in a week! Good luck!

[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

Ohhhh love the scales!

[Mermaid Meko]

Galene, let's have a swim date?

PearlieMae - Digging thru the threads and finding your tail making was like finding a treasure! Your work and information has been so helpful in all of our research and prep.
There were multiple occasions when I would be wondering about something and wander back to find that you had already addressed it! :D

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trying to decide on if we like it better with or without tips...

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and we got our scale mold going...whew!

[Mermaid Galene]

I'd love to swim with you, Meko! A few of the other Minnesota mers and I kicked around the idea of a meetup here in Hudson on August - lunch at my place, then a swim in the St. Croix.

[Mermaid Meko]

That sounds lovely Galene :)

WE decided to go with the tips to break up the edge.
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and now we are going thru and carving in the detail on the fluke:
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[Raayvhen]

Yay! I love it with the tips. It looks a lot more fluid.

[Mermaid Narina]

This is incredible! At the rate you are going I think you will be done in a week (I believe in you!!!)
About a year ago I thought of the name MerMade and felt so clever, and then looked on etsy and it was taken... Saddest day ever :( haha I'm kind of a pun fanatic, which is why names like "mertailor" make me happy :P
I can't wait to keep checking back on this thread every day!!

[Mermaid Galene]

I meant to say August 9! The original thread kind of died out, but as we get closer to August, I'll revive it: http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?6612-Mermaids-in-Minnesota

And I just realized that you originally started that thread, Meko, lol!

Until then, if you're free during the week, I'd enjoy going for a swim with you sometime.

[Mermaid Meko]

Woo hoo Day 3! lol.

After some more sleep, we are at it again!
We finished up the fluke and poured our mold for that (possibe adding another layer this morning), and our small shell scale mold is done. Some debate about if we want to add another size still. The first batch is actually really small, it's hard to tell size from the photos so I am including a size reference photo too (the coin is a dime). :)
I am finishing up the fins this morning, then we are moving on to starting to mixing silicone!
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[PearlieMae]

Those are some tiny scales!

[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

Ohhh I love, and yeah, those scales are small! Can't wait to see what it all looks like put together.

[Kishiko]

Soooooooo like will these magical week long tails be available to buy or.....? Because OMG COUNT ME IN. :jawdrop:

[Mermaid Ellowyn]

I really like the texture in the fluke!

[Azurin Luna]

Love the fluke! It gave me an idea how to add some texture in my own idea :D Though I'm far from starting it... need a new house first

[Mermaid Meko]

Whew! Between packing in for the convention and studio, we didn't have time to update yesterday! Lol.

We are still on track though. Our goal is to have the tail done by 3pm tomorrow for it's first swim at the Mermaid Meetup at CONvergence 2014 (its a huge convention in the midwest).

We have all the scale sheets cast (we are trying something a little different :)
We have the fisrt half of the fluke cast
heel fins cast
monofin trimmed and prepped
the scale sheets have been trimmed and prepped on the form for seaming

so yeah, thats where we are at so far :) Pretty friggen excited!
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[Mermaid Meko]

Kishiko - Yes :) This is just one of 5 flukes and 1 of 5 scale patterns that we have designed and awaiting production.
Once this tail is finished, it will also be avaliable for sale.

We will most likely start taking orders by the end of the month at the latest, with priority going to clients who choose one of the currently unproduced designs.
While they probably cant be ready within a week, they still will be produced quickly.

For anyone looking for a tail for this summer still, this could be a great option. :)

Thanks so much for the support you guys, it has been such an uplift to our spirits to log in and see your encouragement :)

Ok, back to silicone stickiness... :D

Much love!

[Mermaid Tula]

So fast and so gorgeous! Can't wait to see the finished product!

[Mermaid Lily_Pad]

Have you got prices worked out yet?

[Mermaid Meko]

So at about 9pm Saturday, we took a look at where things were realistically, and decided that completing it within 24hrs was not going to happen.
Having spent $ to go to a convention, I did just that and had a blast with my friends.

A mermaid meetup did still happen, I had a backup tail, and mermaid shenannigans did ensue :)

We are looking at our schedule and working out when we can get together to work more,...so close! All that we have left is to seam everything and we will be done!

Here are some photos of Liz an I working on the 2nd fluke side, and some shots of the tail pinned to the dummy awaiting seaming! :)
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[Mermaid Tula]

!! Gorgeous!!

[Mermaid Meko]

Fablecat, we are working out prices right now. There will definitely be a starting set of prices that will morph a bit as we gain experience.
Right now we would start taking orders for our next tail for about $1500-$2000 depending on a couple different factors...but we are going to be right there in the mix with everyone else's pricing for the most part.

[Mermaid Wesley]

Ooh pretty!!


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[Ilyena]

Any updates?? I loved how this thread was going ^_^

[Mermaid Meko]

Hey Everyone!
Sorry we kinda disappeared for a bit there...lol.
We came to the conclusion saturday at about 9pm that we wouldnt make it and so i just left for the convention and the tail had to sit for awhile.

We are back to work on it now though!

We have most of the tail body still pinned on the dummy, but the fluke is in its "smuch it together" stage as you can see below :)

We are going to start lining the tail next week. We did something super different from the traditional 1 sheet, so it should be interesting :)

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the purple shows up a bit better in this shot too :)

[Mermaid Meko]

We are aiming to be finished by tuesday but giving ourselves a few extra days....then this tail will be making its debut at a grand Luau on the 9th!

So we did something a little different on this tail. Instead of using one large full sheet of scales, we used multiple smaller ones that we then seamed together.
I will be posting a video to our youtube channel here: (link shortly to be added here).

Here are a few photos of the seaming process.
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And since the green tail also be going out as a rental on this gig, I am toying with putting together a top...here is a peak of that:
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Once this tail finishes, we will be opening up 2 spots in our studio for orders.
Current basic info is:
various fabrics
5 scale patterns to choose from (including a 1 of a kind option)
5 fluke patterns to choose from (including a 1 of a kind option)
3 different assembly methods to choose from

fabric tails avl from $200 +

basic silicone package $1,500 - $1,700
~choice of scale pattern
~choice of fluke pattern
~heel fins
~dorsal OR hip fins
~standard assembly
~additional modifications available at the higher cost

performance silicone package $2,500 +
~choice of scale pattern
~choice of fluke pattern
~heel fins
~choice of 2 more fin set(s)
~choice of assembly
~additional modifications available at the higher cost

Shoot me a message if you are interested in a tail within the next few months and don't want to be on a wait list! lol.

Much love!

[Mermaid Narina]

Can't wait to see it finished!

[PearlieMae]

You'll probably get some orders once you debut the tail in all its glory!

Good luck!

[Mermaid Meko]

In studio now , doing the final short seams then heading back to the form for our final full length seam....still on track to finish this evening! :)

[Mermaid Galene]

I'm excited to see the finished tail!

[Mermaid Meko]

Definitely learning SO MUCH...lol.

Best lesson thus far? Give yourself time and patience. :)

Heading back into the studio to do the final seam....
next step, attatching the fluke! :D

[Raayvhen]

I can't wait to seeeeeeee!

[PearlieMae]

PROGRESS PIX PLEEEEEEZE!

[Mermaid Meko]

Woo hoo! We are still goin. Plans keep changing since we keep changing with fins....lol.

But we got the body all seamed up...it is actually too long! lol, thats awesome though since it lets us custom the top better :)

So here is me after my fit of happy giggles in the body and here is what seems to be our final layout on fins and such for the back :)
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[Mermaid Meko]

Side 1 is getting final touches that includes 2 sets of fins and half the fluke curing.....OMG!!!

[Mermaid Galene]

Looking great!

[Mermaid Meko]

DONE.

Literally years spent planning and saving and learning and researching.

I am Proud to announce:

I have started my own company. Mythos
It is a collaborative performance cooperative and studio.

Mythos breaths life into story using the Arts, Entertainment, and Education.
We are currently working with several local theater groups, a few clients and festivals, and multiple non-profits!

So much is still in the works, but we are pleased to announce our first full tail production!

Lead Artist on the project, Elizabeth Nichols, was Absolutely AMAZING.
Without her time and talent, I would have been lost. From the bottom of my heart Liz....Thank You, Lady.

Here it is!
Making it's first public debut tonight at an event for Dragons Fire Theater

A MerMade by Mythos creation: Full silicone, embeded color, Modular scale shell pattern panels, Adipose fins with venting system (the ones under my glutes), heel fins, heel vents, Isis fluke design, custom silicone painted fluke, and fluke venting... design in tribute to the whale and dolphin plight
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[PearlieMae]

Congrats! Can't wait to see it swim!

[Azurin Luna]

Looks really nice and intresting :D Gratz on completing it

[Mermaid Galene]

Simply gorgeous!