News
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.)
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.
Beach towels, ahoy! June 6, 2018 19:00
From Jess:Now that all five of our "Rescue Sirens" Summer Splash 2018 prize packages have been successfully delivered to their recipients, we've made our new beach towels available to purchase in both our online store and our Etsy shop!
We're really pleased with them; beach towels are simply the perfect product for our lifeguard mermaids, and these turned out great. We already sell "Rescue Sirens" totes, but one of my next projects will be creating a proper beach bag to complement the towels!
Chris and I love seeing our "Rescue Sirens" gear out in the wild, and we wanted to share these adorable photos that we've received from our giveaway winners:
Do you want to show off your own "Rescue Sirens" accessories or apparel? Just tag our Instagram account and/or use the #rescuesirens hashtag to get our attention!
"Rescue Sirens" Summer Splash 2018 May 1, 2018 00:00
From Jess:Happy Mer-May, everyone! Whether you shell-ebrate by participating in (or simply enjoying the products of) artist Tom Bancroft's swell mermaid-themed drawing prompts on Instagram, flaunting your favorite siren-inspired fashions, getting your tail on at the pool or the beach, or just adding a lot of salt to your nightly bath, it's a fin-omenal month for mermaid fans. Chris and I like to run some sort of contest or giveaway to commemorate Mer-May, and this year is no exception!
For 2018, we're giving away five different prize packs to help you get ready for summer, showcasing a unique sample version of one our brand-new beach towels. Each of our main Rescue Sirens has her very own towel design, and you can enter to win your favorite! Each winner will also receive an enamel pin and stickers featuring his or her favorite Siren, and a couple of other "Rescue Sirens" goodies.
On Instagram:
1. REPOST one of our images of your favorite "Rescue Sirens" characters (see the images below).
2. DESCRIBE in your caption why that character is your favorite. Does she remind you of yourself or a friend? Does she make you laugh? Do you think her tail is cool? Let us know!
3. TAG @rescuesirens in your post (and/or mention us in your caption; this is so we're sure to see it).
4. HASHTAG your post: #rescuesirenssummersplash
The fine print: you must have a United States mailing address (or a friend who has one) so we can ship the prize pack to you if you win. Your Instagram account must be public so we can see your entry. The "Rescue Sirens" Splash Into Summer Giveaway is not affiliated with or endorsed by Instagram in any way, shape, or form. The five winners (one for each character) will be selected at random and announced on Wednesday, May 16th, 2018. Prizes will be shipped out before the end of Mer-May.
Good luck and best fishes to all of you! We're looking forward to helping you start your summer off with a splash.
"Rescue Sirens" beach towels and Mer-May 2018! April 27, 2018 14:00
From Jess:Spring is in full swing, and with it comes the most fin-tastic month of the year: Mer-May! This year, we're going to debut the collection of "Rescue Sirens" beach towels that we teased last year. These are a particular favorite of mine when it comes to our merchandise!
A sneak peek? Why, I thought you'd never ask!
Not only will we be making the towels available for purchase on our website, but we'll also be offering a few of them as freebies as part of our yearly Mer-May giveaway. I'll have more details for you in next week's blog post, but the gist of it is this: by sharing an image of your favorite Rescue Siren on Instagram, you'll be entered to win that character's sample beach towel (along with a few siren-y summer surprises). There will be five winners in all!
In addition to the beach towels, we'll be adding a few new shirt designs to our online store, launching our corresponding Etsy page (which is where we'll also be selling our apparel as well as our enamel pins, vinyl stickers, and other tiny treasures), and stocking more copies of our young adult novel "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist" on Amazon.
As I type this, a big boxful of our water-resistant children's book, "Rescue Sirens and the Great Fish Round-Up," is making its way to an Amazon fulfillment center, too! Once this shipment is delivered and processed (which can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks), you'll finally be able to get your hands on this gorgeously-illustrated picture book for younger "Rescue Sirens" fans (or for older fans who, like us, love artist Dylan Bonner's work). Watch this space to find out when you can order yours!
This is always an exciting time of year; I'm usually burning the midnight oil coming up with merchandise for San Diego Comic-Con in July, and, as I send out design files and receive products in return, it feels like Christmas! We have some goodies in the works that Chris and I really hope you'll like as much as we do. Keep your fins crossed that we can get everything done on time!
Night Swimming March 30, 2018 17:30
From Jess:I've been sitting on these photos of me in my Nim tail for many moons, but, with International Mermaid Day falling yesterday, I decided to (finally) get around to (somewhat) color-correcting them and sharing the first one on our Instagram account. I think there are few things I'm worse at than consistent image color-correction (maybe parallel parking), and the photos from this shoot were extra challenging for me because they were both underwater and at night. Yikes!
(Click to enlarge.)
Chris and I were both effectively blind, since the pool that we were in lacked lights and thus our only illumination was the camera flash, but, as you can see, we got a few really amazing shots. This is what I imagine the Rescue Sirens would look like while hanging out in the Diving Belle's pool during their late-night get-togethers! I can't wait for our next opportunity to take underwater mermaid photos like this.
As always, I have Merbella Studios to thank for my gorgeous Nim tail.