Mermaid Gipsy - silicone tail and trademark!

Hi everybody! BIG news to-day! A lot to report in one blog post, and those that have been following my other social media already know most of this, but I wanted to list certain parts of the progress and keep it all in one place.



  After years of wishful thinking, around early December 2016 I had finally begun a careful budget plan to make the dream a reality. My budget plan started around New Years (when I assumed I'd have a job) and ended in May, just in time for my tail to be made and arrive before a big event for which I'd already been booked in July.


  I did in fact have a job around New Years, I had one at a privately owned sub shop. In fact, I was officially hired in December, and stayed there until late February. And, without saying any names or getting into the story too much, it was the worst job experience of my life, for a number of reasons. Long story short, the big problem was that I was given two hour shifts two or three times a week (at LESS than minimum wage for "training"), so I was actually losing money in gas! This SERIOUSLY screwed up my budget plan.


 Thankfully, I was hired by a local hardware store on March 1st. Not only is this a "real job" with "real" hours. I also spent a month or so working 6 days a week, 9 hour days because another cashier was out for the month recovering from surgery, so I got to help pick up her hours. This was lucky for me, as it got me where I needed to be financially just. In. Time. Literally. It was insane. When I went to order on May 15th, I literally had the cost of my tail plus $5 in my bank account!


 I ordered from MerNation, as was the plan, and Erin was incredibly sweet and helpful throughout the process. I had a very complex design in my head with lots of small details, and she worked hard to bring the vision in my mind's eye to reality (aka catering to my nitpicking), and was excellent at communicating while doing so. She updated me with pictures very frequently showing the process of the tail in the making. I couldn't have asked for a better tailmaker. I highly recommend MerNation. They truly care about their customers and have top of the line quality.


The tail came INSANELY fast. I paid on the 15th (I already shipped the duct tape dummy of my form on the 11th), and she arrived on the 30th!!! Talk about Mer-May celebrations! It's SO perfect! I can't thank MerNation enough. :') Here are some photos I took shortly after her arrival!

  Meanwhile, while the tail was being created, I was saving up and speaking to a trademark attorney about getting my tail design copyrighted as a character (so no other mermaids can copy my colour/pattern design) and my "mersona" name federally trademarked.


  That was a long, tedious, and expensive process, but eventually it got done, and I feel very proud! On June 5th, my copyright application was successfully filed for my tail design, and on June 12th, my trademark for "Mermaid Gipsy" was submitted and is trademark pending. This means I get to use the tiny ™ symbol now for Mermaid Gipsy!


  I feel like I've made a huge leap forward in the professional mermaid world. There will be other updates soon regarding my silicone tail, including my first practice swim (which took place on June 7th) and some big events I have lined up. Soon I will be updating my mermaid website, but in the meantime, please don't forget to like me on Facebook and follow me on Instagram!


 Thanks to everybody who has given me their love and support so far. I'd also like to give a special shout out to Cap'n Bill, who gifted me my first mermaid tail, which snowballed into this whole thing. Thank you for all you've done for me, Caption!

 Sea you all soon!