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"Rescue Sirens" at SDCC 2018 July 17, 2018 00:00

From Jess: 

That time has come around again! Chris and I are headed down to San Diego for Comic-Con International (affectionately known as SDCC), and, while this year's focus at our booth is on Chris's sketchbook full of personal artwork (his first in five years!), we're also bringing with us some fun new "Rescue Sirens" accessories that I've been dying to share with you all.

First up: stickers! Last year's weather-resistant vinyl stickers were really popular, so 2017's designs are making a reappearance along with eleven more sticker styles to collect! WOW!

Let's take a look at the new ones, shall we?

"Rescue Sirens" mermaid stickers by artists Gabby Zapata and Kellee Riley

Aside from a brief teaser on Instagram, I haven't had an opportunity yet to really talk about our awesome new artwork from two of our favorite artists: Gabby Zapata (top) and Kellee Riley (bottom).

Chris and I love both of their respective art styles for different reasons, and we're already beginning to use these massively appealing illustrations in our online merchandise -- and, of course, these stickers! Want to plaster your world in Gabby's and/or Kellee's drawings of our lifeguard mermaids? Then swim by booth #4616, where we're selling each mermaid sticker for $4.00 apiece. (We also have a clear sticker with the "Rescue Sirens: Mermaids On Duty" logo in black for $3.00.)


And we can't forget our stickers from last year, which are Chris's chibi-style drawings of the Rescue Sirens -- also $4.00, with the round "Rescue Sirens" emblem available for $3.00.

In the past twelve months I've developed a bit of a... problem... with acrylic charms. (I can quit any time I want, I swear!) Maybe you've seen them on Etsy; these charms are typically sold as phone charms, something to hang on your Nintendo 3DS or other handheld console, tiny keychains, or even necklaces. I've amassed quite a collection, and I knew that I wanted to create our own for SDCC this year.

"Rescue Sirens" acrylic charms by Chris Sanders

Ta-da! I turned Chris's chibi drawings into cute little charms, about 1.5" in height with the image visible on both sides, and I attached them to straps that you can loop onto--well, just about whatever you want! But did I stop there? Ohhhh, no.

"Rescue Sirens" acrylic charms by Kellee Riley

Because the charms are double-sided, I really wanted to take advantage of that, so I asked Kellee if she would mind drawing two versions of each Rescue Siren: one in her lifeguard top, and one in her mermaid top. How cool did the charms turn out as a result?!

Chris and I also asked Gabby if she could do the same thing -- but with an added twist.

"Rescue Sirens" acrylic charms drawn by Gabby Zapata

Gabby drew each Rescue Siren in her mermaid form AND in her human form! She did an amazing job coming up with poses that would work for both versions, didn't she? That's harder than it looks, but these all turned out super adorable.

On the human side of the charm, you'll notice that the extra space surrounding the girls' legs where their mermaid tails are on the reverse is a solid block of the color that I've been using to represent each Rescue Siren -- aqua for Nim, coral/pink for Kelby, blue for Echo, purple for Pippa, and yellow for Maris -- with similarly-colored straps to match.

Each double-sided charm costs $10.00, and you can add a color-coordinated necklace for $2.00.

In addition to the stickers and charms, we'll also be bringing a limited number of our first set of enamel pins, which we debuted in 2017.

"Rescue Sirens" enamel pins

We're down to literally a handful of our Nim pins, so please show up early if you'd like to snag one. I did set aside a few Nim pins for Etsy; after SDCC, I'll be selling three more full sets, along with individual pins from our remaining stock, but I don't recommend waiting until then if you don't have to. Last time we opened online orders, they sold quickly! Each pin sells for $12.00.

And, last but never least, we'll have signed copies of our fully-illustrated, water-resistant children's book, "Rescue Sirens and the Great Fish Round-Up," and our novel, "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist," for $20.00 apiece.

"Rescue Sirens and the Great Fish Round-Up" and "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist"

There are also some new products that we have in the works that we've yet to add to the website, and we're going to be giving SDCC attendees a first look at those at our booth, with an opportunity to order them online -- right at our booth! -- before anyone else! Stay tuned for more about that as the week goes on.

Speaking of online sales, our intention as always is to make our SDCC merch available in our shop and/or on Etsy after we return (and recover) from San Diego. So, if you can't make it to SDCC, you can still add to your "Rescue Sirens" collection!

Okay, fishes. Let's do this!

SDCC takes place at the San Diego Convention Center from Wednesday, July 18th (Preview Night) through Sunday, July 22nd. "Rescue Sirens" is located at booth #4616 (Chris Sanders Art).

Happy third anniversary, "Rescue Sirens"! Let's shell-ebrate with a pin sale! July 1, 2018 00:00

From Jess: 

Wow! It's July, which means it's been three years since we first introduced the world to "Rescue Sirens"! The series has been around in development for considerably longer than that, but July 1st, 2015 is when Chris and I made it public with an announcement that we'd be selling our hardcover first editions of "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist" at San Diego Comic-Con later that month.

In 2015, Chris and I debuted the hardcover first edition; in 2016, we released the paperback second edition; in 2017, we published our first (water-resistant!) children's book, "Rescue Sirens and the Great Fish Round-Up"; and, while we won't be selling a new book in 2018, we do have some cool new merchandise that we're dying to share with you in the next couple of weeks leading up to SDCC.

But first! How can we shell-ebrate our third anniversary? By FINALLY making our hard enamel pins available online! Check them out here! (Announcer voice: link operational while supplies last.)


Photographs of all six "Rescue Sirens" hard enamel pins


There are so many things that I want to get done when it comes to "Rescue Sirens," and, in general, I feel like I do an okay job of checking items off my prodigious to-do list. Sometimes, though, I'm forced to transfer tasks to the back burner, and selling our pins online has taken a lot longer than I would've liked. I can't thank you enough for your patience while I've gotten everything sorted and made the time to process and fulfill orders!

The pins will be up for sale in our Etsy shop in limited batches, stocked on the basis of when I can package and mail them to you. Each hard enamel pin costs $12 individually, or you can purchase all six together at a special discounted price of $65 (not including shipping and handling).

And some great news for our fans outside the US: these will ship internationally! Yay! Etsy calculates the shipping for me, based on package size and weight; if the actual cost of shipping is off by more than a dollar, I'll happily refund you the difference, so rest assured that even though US shipping prices are ridiculously high, I'm giving you the lowest price I possibly can. We don't profit on shipping.

What's next for our "Rescue Sirens" summer merchandise? You'll have to stay tuna'd! (Sorry, it'd been a second since I made a terrible ocean pun.) If you'd like to see a sneak peek, though, be sure to follow us on Instagram and check out our Stories feature.