ABOUT MERBELLA STUDIOS Merbella Studios - Page 2
Merbella Studios

Manufacturer: Mermaid Raven

ABOUT MERBELLA STUDIOS:
Merbella Studios is the tailmaking enterprise of Mermaid Raven. Her tails feature molded scales, and are made of silicone.


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RULES FOR REVIEWS:

1. Do not post a review until after you have received you tail, and used it at least once.
Otherwise it can not be a true review of the product. If you wish to complain about delays or poor customer service, or post a review after unboxing but before first use, please discuss that in a forum thread.

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Due to abuse of the system, you MUST provide proof of purchase within your review. This can be a photo of you in your tail, or a photo of your tail with a piece of paper with "MerNetwork.com" written on it, placed on or near your tail so it can be clearly seen in the photo. This photo can be embedded (see instructions on how to do so below), or the photo can be linked to via url or hyperlink in the review. If you do not include this, your review will not be approved.
If you are having trouble inserting photos, please see THIS THREAD for a tutorial on how to do so.

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4. Share useful information.
Discuss the item's color, texture, weight, quality and shipping condition. You also may wish to describe the tailmaker's customer service and delivery time. Describe how it worked in the water, the process of getting it on and off, and other useful information.

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  1. #21

    5 out of 5 rating for Merbella Studios

    ★★★★★

    Made By: Mermaid Raven
    Cost: ~$3800 CAD
    Wait: ~11 months
    Additional: Ankle Fins

    ★★★★★

    Details:
    Tail:
    - Added fins (ankles)
    - Glitter
    - Custom (large) Fluke
    - Blended Waist

    Process:
    This was pretty seamless for me. I sent Raven an inquiry with the full details I wanted for my tail and a loose sketch. Within a week she had sent me back her own version and it was approved. After that, it was just sorting out finances and waiting. The production of the tail went smoothly. The only "hiccup," was that the bio-luminescent paint I requested refused to take hold on the tail. So we just put that money towards shipping, instead.

    Quality:
    I have absolutely no complaints. My tail arrived well packages and protected. It fits perfectly. I can't find the seams or drainage. Everything is exceedingly well tailored. Suffice to say I'm impressed. With the tail I got three head pieces, two bras, and a necklace. All arrived without damage (with the exception of one chipped shell). They all fit perfectly and I have nothing negative to say regarding any of the items I received from Raven.

    Swimming:
    I get asked this question the most. When Raven made my tail, she informed me it was the largest fluke she had made to-date. And let me tell you, my fluke is not small. That being said, I find this tail very easy for me to swim in. It's on the heavier side (and has a monofin inside of it, it's not foil). Though, I find it has a lot of push. It holds its weight well in the water and I'm comfortable and confident swimming with it. I'm also very light weight, and under certain circumstances, float more than I sink. For that reason, I like the fluke, because it adds some weight that otherwise wouldn't be there.
    *It should be noted that I am an experienced swimmer with a background in using monofins and SCUBA gear. Comfort with this tail will vary.

    Overall Opinion:
    My experience with Raven was an absolute joy. During the time I worked with her, I got to know her, and to this day I consider her a friend. She really goes above and beyond to try and accomplish everything that you want out of your dream tail. You get so excited and inspired at every update and point of contact. You can see the love she has for her business, and it's infectious. Working with her, purely from a business standpoint, she was efficient and gave me updates when necessary. Any concerns I had were handled gracefully by either her or her business partner. The latter of which explained things in a fashion that was on my level and easy to understand. After the tail was sent, it arrived way sooner than I expected, and ended up being my Christmas present.

    All the items I was gifted (including a little scale wristband) fit to my size, are comfortable, and (as previously mentioned) well tailored.

    TLDR:

    Pros:
    - To my design, perfectly.
    - Well crafted, the detail is astonishing.
    - The drainage system. Honestly. So amazing.
    - Blended waist is PERFECT.
    - Pigment is AMAZING.
    - The gifts she added were inspired by the theme of my tail and absolutely wonderful.

    Cons:
    - I don't really have any personal cons. I suppose, "May be heavier than expected."







    Unboxing Video
    :
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mSD1U6Eg5s


    Last edited by Aisling; 08-04-2016 at 05:30 AM. Reason: Updated to better reflect price.

  2. #22
    Senior Member Euro Pod Vicky Mermaid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Utrecht Netherlands
    Posts
    158

    5 out of 5 rating for Merbella Studios

    Made by: Merbella Studios
    Cost: $3485,- I have the performance tail, dorsal fin, heel fins, pectoral fins, glitter coat and also a Atlantis scale top.
    Features: Round scales, a competitor monofin, Dragonskin Silicone
    Used For: My tail will be used for both swimming, dry events, and recreation.

    Craftsmanship:
    My tail is very well crafted.I choose the round scales and the Merbella fluke. My firt intention was to have a Splash tail. Since this was always a dream of mine. But there was this one tail on the Merbella facebook i couldn't get out of my head.



    So i descided i would like some colours like that. This is what i emailed to Raven and she understood what i wanted. I also wanted a dorsal fin, pectoral fins and heel fins. I love the Atlantis style top and ordered this to match the tail. Raven consulted me for the shape of the fins before attaching them, wich i found really nice.

    Production Time:
    I started emailing Raven in march 2014. I emailed several times with no response. In May 2014 i got a response that she had an opening for a performance tail. I made the payment right away.
    Because i had an exact idea of how my tail should be, that part was over very quickly. 11 months later, my tail was ready to ship



    Accessories:
    Raven gave me also lovely gifts as a bracer, another one for my upper arm, a necklace and ofcourse the scale heart. Everything was a perfect match with the taild and top

    Pros vs Cons:
    PROS
    -Realism
    -Neutrally Buoyant
    -Beautiful custom paint job
    -Hidden seams
    -Great customer service!!!!

    CONS
    -The fit was not perfect right away. I don't know where it went wrong, but somehow the upperpart of the tail was way to baggy. I first had a padded bodysuit made so that you couldn't see she was too big. But in the end after a few use, i send her back to the US and Raven was so kind do redo the size AND the blending waist.
    - Sometimes it is hard to get a response from Raven, But i understand she is a very busy artist, so i don't blame her for that!



    5/5 Stars : ) Because my cons are not really cons i absolutely give Merbella Studio's ***** stars. Happy Custo-MER

  3. #23
    Member Undisclosed Pod Kitson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Posts
    34
    Add Kitson on Facebook

    5 out of 5 rating for Merbella Studios

    Made By: Merbella Studios
    Cost: > US$3000

    Details:
    Tail:
    - Added LargePectoral Fins @2 sides
    - Vailtail fluke
    - Blended Waist

    Process:
    I told Raven what fluke and additional fins I want to have and what colors I prefer to have , she sent me the first draft in a short peroid after I made the payment. I suggest to have some revising and she was so nice that provided me 2 sketches of choice in the 2nd round. I made the choice with little revising and asked to use dragon scale with my final decision. Process went very smooth and Raven is very friendly :)

    Quality:
    Quality is very nice <3 I love it a lot ! The seams are well made and the blended waist is good. Just the back length is a little bit short ( Should be cos of I got fatter than the measurment when I gave Raven :P) And she sent me an extendor for fixing that . The overall fit nicely.

    Swimming:
    The tail is easy to swim with even the fluke is big with competitor monofin. The tail is nearly natural boyency so I can swim freely even I did not add any weight inside. And the fluke moves very natral and beautifully when I swim.

    Overall Opinion:
    Raven is so talented , you can feel she created tails with her heart :) And she even sent me some gifts which are so beautiful . Really wanna thanks Tyler and Raven for being so helpful.
    I love the tail and tops soooooo much .
    Pros:
    - Raven would try to get knowing you before design the tail, really custom made.
    - The whole tail is well crafted and detailed.
    - drainage system is good.
    - Blended waist is comfortable.
    - the color and painting very beautiful.
    - lovely gifts are so sweet.

    Cons:
    - N/A






  4. #24
    Senior Member North Pacific Pod Felicia's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Coeur d'Alene, ID
    Posts
    345

    5 out of 5 rating for Merbella Studios

    Made by: Raven of Merbellas
    Cost: $3350 for the tail, $275 for the top, and $75 for the headdress
    Features: Merbella scales, finis foil monofin, dorsal fin, ankle fines, and pectoral fins
    Used For: Wet and dry events, modeling,and hobby related activities
    Wait time: 1 year and 6 months exactly


    I've had my tail for a little over a year now and I'm so in love still! This tail is so wonderful, it's insanely well made, I've put it through a lot over the past year and it's still strong as ever, my fins are still attached and my scales are still in excellent condition! The colours are crazy vibrant and iridescent.
    The fit is perfect, nice and tight, it truly fits like a second skin!
    It is exact to my measurements, which makes me happy because I've had experiences in the past with other tail makers where this wasn't the case. I couldn't be happier with my tail!


    Raven made the tail design for me, all I sent was a color palette! She was amazing to work with and was happy to answer all my questions and concerns. Communications were a bit scattered but that was expected since she's a very busy person.


    I also ordered at top, and headdress with my tail which are both absolutely fantastic! Raven also sent a cute scale heart, a beautiful starfish necklace, and a scale bracelet!
    All and all I'm so happy with my tail and I definitely want to get another from raven in the future!


    PROS
    Extremely realistic
    Very well made
    Weightless in the water
    Blended waist is amazing
    Fins are attached insanely well
    Unique design
    Raven is awesome to work with
    Amazing drainage


    CONS
    I don't really have any
    I guess the wait time could be considered a con but I don't look at it as such

    I'm not sure how to add pictures but you can find lots of them on my Facebook

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