A Logo In The Making

Sorry for the radio silence lately!
Back in the saddle with the creation of my 'Mersona' and brand, for lack of a better term, I've been a busy little fish! Finally getting to order my dream mermaid tail is about to become a reality.
I'm planning Freyja The Viking Mermaid t-shirts, and even completed a final draft of a logo that will be featured on t-shirts and hopefully other merchandise. It would be fun to have patches and stickers etc. with my logo design.

After I finished the final concept sketch for my logo, I put it through Photoshop to clean it up a bit.
Just for fun I ended up playing with filters, and created this carved-in-stone look, similar to carvings on the runestones scattered around Scandinavia.
I wanted something pretty and full of fantasy, but still very Viking, and representative of the culture and ancient carvings. This is preferred over the a 'modern tribal' versions of Viking knot-work designs I see everywhere.
I'm hoping to refine my pencil sketch by creating a vector from it, to make a final logo for print.
The watermark will not be part of the final design, and I plan on cleaning up her trident a bit, too.

Saving up for a Finfolk Productions silicone mermaid tail has gone better than I expected. Thanks to the help of a few friends donations, my frugal saving (as best I could) and a nice tax refund this year, I have more than enough for a down payment to at least get in line for a tail, made by the lovely Bryn and Abbey.
There are a few things I need to do before I jump in that lagoon, however; like loose the proof of my holiday sins. This year was particularly epic with the good food and drink with amazing people.
It's not much, a matter of barely an inch around my waist, hips and butt. With that said, being someone who sews a lot and makes her own clothing, it does matter if I'm going to be taking detailed measurements for a swimmable silicone mermaid tail that needs to comfortably fit like a glove! So, in another few weeks, I'll be back down to my 'fighting weight' and will go for it.
XOXO!

The 'Tail' Of The Mermaid Cove - Funding Campaign

Here it is folks; the crowdfunding campaign for my Viking Mermaid project, and a future mermaid cove event attraction.
Since I've been adding to my own 'cookie jar' and saving up funds for this project, I still want to try the crowdfunding route as an addition to my own savings. I have more content to add, and will be posting more details, images, designs and video to the campaign page soon.

http://www.gofundme.com/thevikingmermaid

While I still feel like I'm stepping out on a limb here, there is nothing wrong with exploring different options when trying to save and raise funds for anything.
Having my own reservations about crowdfunding in general, and after hearing many people speak negatively about it, it was not an easy decision for me to create this campaign.
I know other artists and performers that didn't go this route for similar things, and understandably have issues with crowdfunding of this sort.
All I can do is continue to stay positive, save my own money to the cookie jar, and get the ball rolling.
 
Any amount helps, especially if you just want to be a cheerleader from the sidelines :) so thank you in advance for your support.
XOXO!

A New Year: Updates!

Although it's a bit late, Happy New Year!
I was finally able to claim my 'mersona' name, and it's official; I am now known as Mermaid Freyja, or Freyja The Viking Mermaid.
No website as of yet, but I plan on only having presence on Facebook and this journal.
So for now, here's the link to the Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/freyjathemermaid

As you can see, there isn't a lot of actual mermaiding content yet. I am after all, just getting started and have lots of fun things planned for this summer. My wonderful fiance and hopeful mertender and I, have plans to explore the shores of Santa Cruz for cool photo spots.
I have also warned him of what it really means to be a mertender on any level. It's only if he truly wants to, because his job will be to heft me around now and then at events when I'm in my tail. The fabric tail will be no problem, and though he's a strong guy and I'm at an average 125-30 lbs soaking wet; once I get my silicone tail, that will add an extra 25 to 30 pounds.
While he won't be needing to carry me across great distances, it can still be quite the chore.

Speaking of silicone tails; my dream is to one day have a customized, more realistic silicone mermaid tail made by one of the amazingly talented tailmakers out there. Merbella Studios is at the top of my wishlist, and others such as Finfolk Productions and Mernation are possible contenders.
The price tag for these kinds of tails is in the low thousands due to the high level of skill, costly materials and labor it takes to make one.
As I save my pennies for one, I'm also considering the launch of a crowdfunding campaign to help cover a good chunk of the cost.
My reasoning for this, is that I'd love to take my entertainer experience and utilize it in a way I've never done before, that also brings attention to environmental conservation.

This isn't just about hobby swimming.
Adding my voice to oceanic wildlife conservation efforts is something I have always felt passionate about. Hanna Frasier has been a huge inspiration for me, with her world renowned conservation work, and as an accomplished mermaid.
Realistically, this also depends on what my day job will allow me the time and dedication for. I may not be out there with the crews, putting ourselves between Japanese whaling vessels and the whales any time soon. I can at least do my part to educate others about that, including other horrendous practices. The sickening annual dolphin slaughter at Taiji Cove in Japan is one I feel particularly angry, saddened and disgusted by.
There will come a day where I will be putting myself physically between the dolphins and the humans, but unfortunately right now is not that time. I'll admit this concept makes me feel a small grain of panic, on top of the sadness. Time is exactly what these creatures don't have on their side, and every week, month and year that goes by, so many more dolphins are lost.
On average 26,000 in just one annual Taiji slaughter. More recent stats show 36,000 per year total from the waters of Taiji, Iwate and Futo.
At least we have amazing people, such as those with The Sea Shepherd Cove Guard doing their part to thwart and report on the slaughter.

On a much lighter note; a themed photo setup at local Fantasy Faires, as well as private parties and events, is something I'd absolutely love to do. Adults and kids alike would have the opportunity to take a photo with a 'real live mermaid', and possibly receive a small gift from her treasure hoard.
I'm still on the fence about kids parties (more on that subject in a future blog entry). But for events like any of the above, it still requires me to be in closer proximity to both adults and children 90% of the time. A realistic looking mermaid tail has the highest visual and tactile impact.

Here are a few tropically-inspired examples of the jaw-dropping work that Raven creates, at Merbella Studios: