Merbellas Thread

[Ariel-Starfish]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I'll try and do my best not to think of it and try of doing all sorts of other stuff. :3

[Green Tea Mermaid]

@Ariel Starfish I ordered my tail July 10th.

I'll admit it's hard to wait too. Raven made me two tops which are going to match my tail. The tops have been done since last June as they were ordered before my tail. Raven is holding onto them,so she can use them as a color reference. I find when I am thinking a lot about my tail I'll look at the pictures of my gorgeous tops, as well as the concept art from Raven of my tail, and try to remember all good things are worth waiting for. =)

[Aurellia Gyldenscale]

Question time and first post! woo!

So I saved up the money to invest in purchasing my first silicone tail from Merbella's. I reached my goal in early December and e-mailed them to see if there was a spot open. By some miracle, they just had one open up and I snagged it. Awesome. Discussed what type I wanted, fluke, colors, etc and paid the paypal invoice. I asked that she create the design from my chosen colors and she agreed to help me in that area. I was notified that I would shortly be receiving design sketches.

Fast forward to now (about a month later) and no design sketches yet. I'm fine if she's just busy...completely understandable. But I was wondering how long it took others to get design sketches? I don't want to poke and prod her and risk pissing them off if its really normal for sketches to take a month or longer. The only update I've had so far was when I was accidentally sent an image of a different customer's fluke design mid-January(its gorgeous btw, whoever is getting is going to *love* it). They messaged me back to let me know the mix up (no big deal) and said sketches were still coming. Nothing since then.

I was hoping to get it around august so I'd have a few days in the sun with it before the winter. I didn't factor in that designing it might take extra time.

Thoughts?

<3

[Green Tea Mermaid]

Hi Osheatunes sketches can take a while from Raven. After you see your sketch you'll see why. Raven is quite the artist and her art talent is not limited to tails. Her sketches are well thought out and gorgeous!! Waiting for your sketches also should not affect your wait time which could be up to 300 days as she is working on many other costumers tails too and your tail could take a while before it's started, so plenty of time to work out all the design details. =)

[polyhymnia113]

First thing I'd recommend is to let go of any expectations of when you will recieve your tail; it will only drive you batty. I am in month 10 of production time and my tail was just begun being painted last week so I am not likely to have it until month 11, possibly longer. Though I do know some mers on the network have recieved their tails within roughly 7 months, they were simpler in design and that short of a wait is definitely not the norm. As far as sketches I got my first basic concept one fairly quickly upon ordering, within a week or so, but then I heard nothing at all (and yes I had emailed a flurry of questions) for a few months. I got a finalized sketch with detail changes I'd mentioned via emails about three months in. While you can certainly email them any questions or details for your tail while you wait, you won't hear much of anything back until they begin work on your tail. In the 10 months my tail has been on order I have heard from Raven roughly five times. Once to get measurements and clarify some details / send a sketch. Once to check my shoes size and let me know the tail has begun being constructed, once to let me know it was complete and she was working to cast and place the extra fins and would email me with pics before attaching them to ensure I liked it (oddly, this email never came though I love how she ended up attaching them so no biggie there), finally I most recently received a direct photo message via instagram from Raven of a black and white image of my completed tail awaiting paint.
Don't stress. You'll hear from her when she has news for you. Until then, work on accessories and other parts of your mer-life and do your best not to count days until your "due date".

[AniaR]

I know she's put people whose tails are due as the priority. She had some rough time with curing thanks to weather and now it's better so she's just plowing through trying to get them done. I'm sure you'll see sketches soon and they'll make you excited!

[annika]

i ordered my tail in june and had it shipped last week( I'm expecting it within the week) but i have to agree with polyhymia113 don't expect anything for a LONG time after you order. i was horrible about this and had to really force myself not to email raven every week. i was very lucky with my waiting time being so short ( 8 months) but my design was fairly simple and i had no extra fins and such. Raven was also really sweet and made me a top in three days. Three days!!! after i ordered one she said she would finish it really fast and ship it with my tail. i have a total of 5 email back and fourth with her as well as about 6 instagram direct message photos! good luck with the wait!

[Aurellia Gyldenscale]

Thanks for the quick responses all! I'll cool my jets haha. Does anyone know how much she is charging for the blended to clear/smooth waistline? For anyone curious, I've included my colors and inspiration photos. I think I'm going to get a monofin to practice my in water work so this summer won't be a complete waste.

[MerEmma]

WOW, I can't wait to see a tail with that color scheme. Absolutely beautiful--I know it'll be worth the wait. Seriously, just, ahhh, great color choices. What fluke did you choose?

[Aurellia Gyldenscale]

I went with the merbella fluke and scales

[AniaR]

oh you'll be so happy

[Mer-Crazy]

I received my sketches about 2 and a half months after the 'we're able to take your order' email, but it was only a month after the 'invoice' email because I was still uncertain about what I wanted my tail to look like. Still am slightly haha. And even now I only have the sketch of the front half. I don't doubt the back exists I just haven't seen it haha. That being said Raven has stepped up her customer service amazingly with me this time. Aside from one or two missed emails she's constantly gotten back to me quickly with the dozen or so emails I've sent her since the initial 'ready to order faze'. Hope that helps

[polyhymnia113]

Osheatunes, that color scheme is gorgeous.

[Kishiko]

What's the usual waiting time for tops??

[Mermaid Sirenia]

What's the usual waiting time for tops??

Not sure what it is for everyone else but I ordered mine in october and got it in december

[annika]

heaven is real.

[annika]

[annika]

[polyhymnia113]

Congrats! It's beautiful! So excited for you!

[Sherielle]

It's so pretty, Annika!