I placed my order September 4th and received the tail December 13th (Friday the 13th DUNDUNDUN).
My order was originally due at the end of October but was pushed back about six weeks due to the ladies of Finfolk having to move house and studio and some other life events.
The Design Process
I began the designing process in August, just before making my deposit to get in line for production ($1,000). I wanted a silicone tail based on my current neoprene tail designed by Morticia Mermaid. They were very excited about the color scheme and the prospect of working on their first black tail! I did not receive any sort of image of what the tail may look like (like how Merbellas, etc have tail templates and Raven or other makers may send you a sketch to confirm the idea) but since I sent them images of the front and back of my neoprene tail, I had confidence that it would work out nicely. I asked for the classic fluke, a Competitor upgrade, pectoral and ankle fins. I asked that they do whatever they like on the fins are far as pattern and color and it came out fabulously!
The Tail
I'm in the middle of getting video and accurate pictures of the tail in person but I can tell you it's very thick (about the same thickness as an iPhone 5) with raised and textured scales in a diamondlike pattern (kind of like a reverse of the Merbella scales). There are no weak spots I can find. Embedded within the silicone is a super tiny mesh fabric for strength all throughout. The monofin is glued down within the silicone and does not slide and the fluke does not balloon up at all in the water. Drainage holes are positioned along the bottom of the fluke and are very difficult to spot! I only found them by accident, running my fingers along the bottom. They are very small and I could barely stick my fingers in them.
The tail weights roughly 30 pounds and is very heavy outside the water but in the water, it's very light. I move so quickly and stealthily in the water, I feel like I could win wars in this tail! During our big pool party, people were commenting that Theobromine (Mermaid Cynaea) and I were practically teleporting from one end of the pool to the other. I'm still learning how to get in and out of the tail efficiently. Currently it rides low but Finfolk gave me some pointers, the biggest of which is that it's okay to roll the tail down over the monster pectorals - they're very durable. They have not had any complaints about tails riding too low - I just have to figure out the best way to get my tail on, which requires much more practice on my end.
The seams! The seams are near non-existent, I think in part due to the diamondlike pattern of Finfolk's scales. They seem to arrange the seam in a tooth pattern and when I initially received the tail, I couldn't find any seams without first looking inside the tail! Everything about my tail is very thick - thick fluke, thick scales, my additional fins are thick, so while silicone isn't indestructible by any means, I also don't feel like my tail will fall apart if I'm not always treating it with kid gloves or an accident happens.
I am able to sink in the tail perfectly without having to worry about wearing a weight belt!
Swim video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTUr_...ature=youtu.be (Thank you, Morti! <3)
Shipping
Since my order took longer than expected and I had this big party I was hosting, Finfolk partially paid for two-day shipping, which I cannot thank them enough for. The tail came within a huge Amazon box stuffed to the brim with packing peanuts and the tail itself was in a large garbage bag with more packing peanuts. There were no tears or other damages that I could find.
[Box Opening video to go here!]
Customer Service
I'll be the first to admit that I was a terrible nag and every time I would send a message, Finfolk would reply very graciously. I think the poor girls are overworked and I don't believe they have much help. I was losing my mind the closer to my gig date we got but Finfolk pulled it off in spades. I got so many compliments and now several more people in my immediate area are interested in mermaiding and ordering from Finfolk. I can't thank Abby and Bryn enough for making my silicone mermaid tail dream come true!
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