2018 MERchandise ideas February 28, 2018 23:42

From Jess:  

Holy mackerel! Another month has gone by in a flash -- to be fair, of course, February is the shortest month. Still, it seems like I was just writing last month's blog post!

A fellow San Diego Comic-Con exhibitor once remarked to us, "Comic-Con is either a year away or a month away." Truer words were never spoken! You break down your booth at SDCC, relieved that you can get a full night's sleep and start eating a real lunch again but simultaneously sad that it'll be another twelve months before you can see all your con friends again... and then you turn around and it's already time to start getting ready for the next one. While we won't have a new "Rescue Sirens" book with us for SDCC 2018, we do have several merchandise ideas in mind, and we'd love to hear what you'd like to see!

Possible SDCC 2018 merch ideas include: 

• More enamel pins. If we don't manage to create new pins, we're thinking about releasing a second edition of 2017's pins, which would be different from last year's.
• New stickers. You guys really liked our high-quality vinyl stickers, and they're fun and easy to produce.
• Acrylic charms. I'm a little addicted to acrylic charms: the sort you can use as a keychain, hang from your Nintendo 3DS or the zipper on your backpack, or even turn into a pendant if you string them on a necklace. I'd love to make an acrylic charm for each of the Rescue Sirens!
• Water bottles. We've sold full-color water bottles in the past and got such a kick out of it! Making "Rescue Sirens" water bottles would be awesome.
• Lanyards. There are so many cute lanyards out there -- is a lanyard covered in "Rescue Sirens" artwork something that you would want to buy?
• Art prints. This isn't something that we've really offered at SDCC (not for "Rescue Sirens," at least), but vivid art prints or even postcards are a possibility if there's enough interest.

We might also bring some of our rad online merchandise, like our tote bags or hats (items that are one-size-fits-all). Maybe even some of our beach towels that I designed last year! Our plan at the moment is to get the beach towels up on the website when spring rolls around so people can purchase them in anticipation of summer and warmer weather; SDCC is in July, so it'd still be the perfect time to buy them.

Here are a few other new products that I've been kicking around as possibilities for online sales:

• Women's and kids' leggings (of course!)
• Women's one-piece swimsuits
• Women's dresses
• Backpacks
• Drawstring bags

Sometimes (okay, frequently) I bite off more than I can chew when it comes to my projects, but I figure that if I try to create a bunch of different things at one time, at least some of them will get finished!

If there's something that you really want to see made available, though, definitely let us know at contact@rescuesirens.com! That way, I can focus my time and effort on merchandise that the largest number of people are interested in.

January update January 31, 2018 21:30

From Jess: 

Happy 2018, everyone! I didn't want to let January slip by without letting you know what's currently going on with "Rescue Sirens" -- and what we're hoping to accomplish in the coming year.

Right now, I'm continuing to work on getting the Etsy store open. I'll be offering the remainder of our very first run of enamel pins, and perhaps our beautiful vinyl stickers, too. Since fulfilling orders for those items will be up to me, I plan to make them available periodically, when I have a spare moment to pack pins up and ship 'em out.

I'm also going to look into integrating our apparel line with Etsy (if I can) so you can do your "Rescue Sirens" clothes- and accessories-shopping all in one place! Because our clothing items and things like coffee mugs are fulfilled offsite, they'll remain available at all times, just like they are here on our website.

Next up: adding "Rescue Sirens and the Great Fish Round-Up," our water-resistant fully-illustrated children's book, to Amazon. While Amazon is not yet in possession of the books, there's already a product page. For those of you who already own a copy of the book, we'd love it if you'd leave us your honest review! Reader feedback really helps us as we work on the next volumes in both the young adult novel series and in the children's picture book series.

Speaking of that, Chris and I continue to work on the sequel to our first novel, "Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist." Taking a hiatus from social media has been really helpful in giving me back the time and mental bandwidth I need to write! I love posting photos and writing blogs, but every moment that I spend on Instagram or Facebook is a moment that I'm not working on the next book. I'm really excited about the way this second story expands the Rescue Sirens' world, so I want to finish it as soon as possible and share it with all of you!

I still hope to come out with more merchandise, too -- little things like more pins and stickers, or maybe even those super-cute acrylic phone charms. Imagine being able to string a tiny Kelby or Nim to your phone, jacket zipper, purse, keys, etc.! San Diego Comic-Con will be here before we know it, so I'll keep you updated as Chris and I make decisions about what we'll be bringing to sell.

Oh! And just a cool little side note: I accompanied Chris earlier this month to Pop Secret Gallery when he signed copies of photographer Greg Preston's "The Artist Within: Book 2" (Chris is featured in the book), and one of Chris's fellow signers was animation director John Musker! Mermaid fans will know him best as having co-directed Disney's "The Little Mermaid" with Ron Clements. It was a real pleasure to talk mermaids with him for a few minutes, as "The Little Mermaid" was an immensely influential part of my childhood. I still remember getting my Happy Meal toys from McDonald's and going to see Ariel for the first time on the silver screen. That was real movie magic, and meeting one of the filmmakers responsible for it was an honor.

Until next time!