Announcement

Hi everyone!
I regret to say I won't be able to purchase a MVD tail as originally planned. This has nothing to do with Mike I think his work is amazing. Originally I was fine with waiting until 2012 but I recently have had an influx of bookings and I don't believe my current tail is up to the task. I have the possibility of something GIANT in Sept that would see me on the world stage if it goes through... and with international attention on me I do not want to be wearing a mertailor tail.
So I contacted my sponsors who have helped me fundraise for my MVD tail. I had almost enough but in order to get the tail I wanted in time I'd need to afford a rush order which I can't, and also I know Mike isn't taking new orders. So I sent him a polite email telling him my opportunity in hopes he'll understand and in high hopes I'll still be able to purchase from him in the future.


Thanks to one of my contacts I have found a new up and coming tail maker whose work simply blows my mind. We're talking super realistic with tails that rival current tail makers on the market. They only make tails for select clients as they're a lot like Mike- got a lot on the go, but 1 look through their gallery has me thrilled. I'm not going to tell you who it is until I have the tail to show, and even then I might wait a bit. I want to surprise you all and if you go off googling it'll ruin the surprise ;) but this will be epic!


I sent this person a big email explaining my sitch to see if they could make me a tail in time and to my specific design an ideas and needs. Not only are they prepared to do it all they're going it for a very reasonable price and even offered to send me swatches of the work so I can see and feel for myself! Progress photos too. They're only going to work on my tail and I believe 1 other of a different style for the time being. Again, a lot like Mike. Just a busy artist who needs to keep things in line. I contacted some of their other customers as well all with great reviews.


It's going to take pretty much the full amount of money I have raised, but I am still going to raise money for the other mers out there who are trying to raise money for a tail. I ran this by my supporters and they all agree :) and I am still donating my old tail in Sept to another mer!


I am very excited about this new development. You know the artist is good if I give up on a MVD tail for the time being! But with the opportunities in my future I just can't afford to wait and I dont think I'd be able to raise/save enough fast enough! I will keep you posted on things, but in about 6 weeks I will hopefully have a brand spanking new AMAZING tail!!!

That is so outrageous Raina! *Mer-hugs* Congrats on becoming such a famous mer! Honestly, I wouldn't mind meeting you some day and getting your autograph, you just may become bigger than Hannah Fraser and Linden!

I'm so happy for you! :) I can't wait to see your newww tailll! :D

Quote:

---

you just may become bigger than Hannah Fraser and Linden!

---

LOL I doubt that! Those women do it full time all the time, I have other things to do!!! But I'd love to meet Linden some day!

Yaya I cant wait to see the new tailand OMG the suspence is killing me :)

im really excited I feel like its been such a long time coming! years of sub-par tails...

im so happy for you raina! i can't wait to see pics of the new tail! get the pictures up soon!

That's amazing! Really happy for you and can't wait for updates :) Also I'm very curious to who the tailmaker is. :P

Raina, the tailmaker wouldn't be Emily Angelfish by any chance would it? I noticed on her website that she now has a really nice-looking line of high-end latex tails.

sorry, you'll all have to wait and see....

Saw the post on Yuku two hours ago and head STILL asploding. Seriously you can't post tantalizing mysteries like that! When I saw the first 'mystery material' post on the ALEX tail thread on Yuku that was like, my whole day trying to figure out what it was :p Going to be going nuts for weeks now, I'm sure! Congratulations though!!

*twitch* Ok...................so it is somebody from Yuku or a person largely unknown to the community? I can't believe there'd be somebody doing work like that flying so far under the radar! I have two theories.

OMYGODFISH!! Raina i swear u deserve every mer-thing that is coming ur way,,i've followed since i found yuku and on fb,,i cant even put into words of how excited i am for u right now,,,i wish u the best of luck in everything u do!

You guys are so funny. I asked them to send me progress pics so I may post a few when I get them and the guessing game can continue

I can't get over the customer service from this person! Obviously from my past experiences I'm pretty nervous, I've been messaging them like crazy asking questions and sending ideas and they're being sooo patient with me!! @_@

I'm so excited for you! You deserve every scale of it!!!

This is so exciting, Raina! I cannot wait to see the new tail and progress photos! :)

Me either! I'm going with silicone this time! I'm hoping the extra weight will help me sink a bit better, but I've also been working my butt off at the gym hoping to gain more muscle too. I believe it's going to have a competitor monofin for a nice big fluke but I remember Doreen saying they worked the best in the ocean. Sept is when our ocean water is the warmest for about 2 weeks it's like bath water and I'd love to finally actually swim in aside from splashing around in the surf.

I have a lot of gigs still lined up with the mertailor tail, I'm going to try and do 1 or 2 more photoshoot send offs, and then I'm going to re-paint it and make sure it's in top condition when I give it away! The girl I am giving it to is from my city and the only other local mer I know. She made a tail but it's pretty heavy! We're going to do a photoshoot with the two of us together and I'm hoping to book her with me for future gigs :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Princess Kae-Leah

Raina, the tailmaker wouldn't be Emily Angelfish by any chance would it? I noticed on her website that she now has a really nice-looking line of high-end latex tails.

---

Kae-Leah: Please do not take any offense but WHY ON EARTH WOULD ANYONE BUY ONE OF THOSE TAILS FROM HER?! She clearly just fallowed the threads on mer.yuku and is making tails using all the info all of us worked really hard to develop and shes taking credit for it? also shes charging "$945.00 Total for U.S " That is retarded. Eric's latex tails are only $575.00 and thats WITH the recent price jump. At least Eric has been making tails for years, she has been making nothing but fabric tails until conveniently around the same time realistic tail tutorials pop up. I have proven you can make a realistic tail for under $400.00 and thats it you buy absolutely everything extra. You CAN make a tail for less but cutting out costs like airbrush and compressor ect.

Sorry this just really pisses me off.

i agree with you raina!

@Raven, ooh that really sucks, I'm sorry! I must confess that I'm strictly a spandex mermaid and don't know much about realistic latex tails and the processes of making them, I just say pictures of some tails that looked aesthetically pleasing to me and that's as far as it goes.
BTW, all that said, please don't use the word "retarded" any more, at least not on this forum! I'm developmentally disabled(Asperger's Syndrome, to be exact!) and to a lot of us it's really no different than using the infamous N-word for people with dark skin. There's now a campaign to encourage people to stop using the "R-word", even when the context has nothing to do with developmental disabilities. You're a mermaid that I have admired and respected for a long time, and to see you use such an awful word so casually is hurtful, even though I'm sure you didn't mean it to offend me that way.
www.r-word.org
I don't want to cause more drama for the mer-community(goodness knows we need that like we all need bicycles, hehe!), but of all the social issues I care about, the one that's nearest and dearest to my heart is disabled rights.

My google skills fail extreamly in this case, I hate not knowing things but I'm super excited to see this new tail and have thing tail maker introduced to the mercommunity! They must be something to rival MVD! You deserve all the wonderful amazing things that are coming you way!

kae-leah im totally guilty of accidentally saying retarded as a slur because I heard it so much on the school yard growing up. I work hard not to say it especially given my field of study and work but sometimes it pops out too! It's a very taboo thing in my education program because some people feel the word should have no power, some people feel it does, and it still turns up in academic publications and the DSM from time to time... eep

raven, I get ya. It only cost you 50 max to send me my tail from you to Canada so 150 is too much. I have nothing against emily, I dont think her tail is that nice to sell for that much, but I will say it bothers me when people lurk the forums and take our hard earned efforts and dont have the time to pop in and say hello you know? it's one thing if this was a video tutorial, or a stagnate website where you couldnt say anything but it would be nice if people joined the community instead of just taking from it.

Sirena- thanks for all your kind words Im really excited!!! it's been years to get to this point and I know this artist wont let me down!!

EVERYONE ELSE I totally appreciate you all sending me messages asking for the contact of this person and I know they are flattered by it, but they are all ready in high demand and take a select number of clients just like Mike. They specifically asked me to keep them anonymous for the time being so they dont get overwhelmed with tail orders and I doubt they'll be taking anymore until late fall or winter if they do. All I can do is pass on your interest. part of my agreement with the person is that I would not give out their contact unless they say so. So if you message me all im going to do is pass it on.

I appreciate how excited everyone is for another tail maker it's great to have options, but you haven't even SEEN the tail yet hehe :)

Still about 30% sure it's Raven. Theory Three is off the table. Still giving Thom Shouse about 15% probability. Rest goes to This Other Guy From Facebook.

Lol I'm re-thinking my theories.

lol are you guys running around asking everyone :P

No no, just a little deductive reasoning and detective work!

And wanton speculation.

well I havent told a soul who it is :3 so good luck. lol Only my BF knows. and heeee is not a FB or mer-community user

kae-leah: My bad I apologize.

Matt: You think its me? lol Well for starters I don't/haven't made any silicone tails all my tails have been latex. I have offered to make Raina a lovely neoprene tail but right now thats all I would have the time to make. Tail making is SO MUCH WORK I barely want to finish my own tails let alone make them for other people. I still haven't even finished meshpas new tails.

But I will say Im just as curious as the rest of you and Im hoping when I see progress pics ill be able to get a better idea who it might be.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MermaidRaven

Matt: You think its me? lol Well for starters I don't/haven't made any silicone tails all my tails have been latex.

---

Well, I thought you had done silicone, but yes, definitely an initial 'suspect'.

LOL. Wait til you see process pics, then you'll really be hopping

@Raina, that's OK, most people are! I heard it on the schoolyard all the time too when I was a kid.

@Raven, apology accepted, dahling!

@OrcaMatt: It's definitely not Thom Shouse!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Spindrift

@OrcaMatt: It's definitely not Thom Shouse!

---

I dunno....big breakthrough international gig...mysterious sponsor with a budget, or at least good fundraising capabilities. Given that, where would you go if you wanted MVD but MVD was off the table? 'Select clients'? Great customer service?

'New, up and coming tail maker' could just be a clever misdirection! Ok, it's the longshot, but it makes sense on some level!

Oh! Raina! Congrats to you! On the mysterious new tail-to-be, on all the great gigs coming your way, on all the wonderful things that have been happening for you!
It's been very exciting to watch your fame grow and to cheer you on from behind the scenes!

And I, like everyone else, cannot WAIT to see the magical you in your beautiful new tail! The suspense is agonizing! ;)

Congrats Raina, that's so exciting!! Oh man, the suspense is killing me!! Can't wait to find out who it is, and more importantly to see your amazing new tail!! :D

Can't wait for photos! Are you still getting the splash tail?

Im going with a splash theme tail, completely 100% custom and a ZIPPER lol , with a dorsal fin too! :) silicone, be giant monofin, LOL.Im kinda excited. it's all I am talking about right now can't wait to show progress pics!

You're dangling a carrot in front of our noses! Can't wait to see it!

maple I love your avatar photo. I need to get to BC to see the orcas big time :)

i have great pictures of orcas that i took the other day on a whale watching trip, and raina will you pleaseeeeeeee tell us not even a hint? or progress pictures?