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Mer-movie trivia for your 2020 Leap Day February 29, 2020 18:35
From Jess:My husband and co-author Chris's movie "The Call of the Wild" FINALLY came out earlier this month! Hooray! And although the film is an adaptation of Jack London's classic tale of a dog overcoming adversity and getting in touch with his inner wolf in the 1890s Yukon, there was originally a mermaid-related Easter egg or two before -- in true Hollywood fashion -- the relevant parts of that scene ended up on the cutting-room floor. Bummer. But, because I love filmmaking trivia and deleted scenes, I'm going to share that with you here!
The town of Dawson's saloon, the Argonaut, advertises a "magic lantern" show. For a place full of prospectors and not much else, a slideshow of tintype photographs from around the world made for an exciting evening, and several of the images that Chris chose referenced some of the Disney films he'd worked on in his lengthy animation career: the Eiffel tower for "Beauty and the Beast," lions for "The Lion King," and hula dancers for "Lilo & Stitch." Also included were some geishas, the leaning tower of Pisa... and yours truly, dressed as a mermaid (naturally), which served double duty for "The Little Mermaid" (the film that was wrapping up production when Chris started at Disney) and "Rescue Sirens."
(Crown, jewelry, and tail by none other than my beloved Merbella Studios, of course.)
This is a really-for-real tintype: a "wet plate" form of photography most popular in the mid- to late 1800s (so, totally period appropriate!), made -- per Wikipedia -- "by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion."
So where do you go to get a tintype in the 21st century? In our case, we visited Bailey-Denton Photography in Garden Grove, California. Using authentic equipment -- hundred-year-old cameras and original 19th century lenses -- this husband-and-wife team really knows their stuff, and Chris and I left with multiple stunning images that were developed right before our eyes like an 1800s Polaroid photo!
We were so pleased with Bailey-Denton's work that I suggested Fox hire them for the crew gift at the end of principle photography for "The Call of the Wild." Because tintypes were a portable photography method, this means Bailey-Denton can travel, and indeed they do much of their business at Civil War reenactments, steampunk events, and Victorian-era festivals. With racks of fun clothing and props to choose from, the cast and crew were able to take home a really unique memory of their time on the film. Of course, Chris and I took one together!
(Finally, my RBF comes in handy!)
While the saloon scene changed focus and the tintype slideshow was sadly lost, I'm happy to be able to share this little bit of trivia with you. Maybe part of it will show up on the DVD? Fin(ger)s crossed!
Kawaii Shark ita bag pin layout template tutorial December 31, 2019 00:00
From Jess:I've been meaning to do this for months, so I thought it would be fitting to end the year on a productive note!
I want to share with you my preferred method for creating ita bag inserts to use as pin layouts in the Kawaii Shark ita bag -- in this case, I use large sheets of stiffened felt (which you can buy on Amazon), and I trace the pink "pinsert" that ships with all Kawaii Shark ita bags as my guide to creating an accurate shape.
But what if, like me, you're really picky about your pin layout and you don't want any of your enamel trinkets being blocked by the display window's edges or the shark's cute teeth? You can take it a step further by choosing a light-colored sheet of stiffened felt (one that you don't intend to ever use as a layout; I decided on this rather gross flesh tone) and cutting out where the teeth and edges of the window are. That way, you can lay that template on top of your felt inserts to have a decent idea of the best spots to place your pins.
Please enjoy this poorly color-balanced series of photos explaining how to make your own template:
Did that make sense? Did you find it helpful? Do you now have intricately-planned pin layouts that you want to show off? Please share them with us by using the hashtag #kawaiisharkitabag, and/or tagging @rescuesirens/@pinsofsteele on Instagram!
See you in 2020, buoys and gills!
Sea you later, 2018 -- shell-o, 2019! December 31, 2018 20:59
From Jess:What a year this was! I spent a quarter of 2018 accompanying my husband Chris to the set of his first live-action/CG hybrid film, Jack London’s “Call of the Wild”; I’ve also been doing development on “Rescue Sirens” behind the scenes for months. That’s a LOT of stuff that we’re not allowed to show you just yet, and keeping it to ourselves is SO HARD. ARGH!
I’m bursting with excitement to share more of what we’ve been doing in the months to come — I have a feeling that 2019 is going to be a fin-omenal year for our lifeguard mermaids! More artwork, more stories, more MERchandise, and maybe even a surprise or two.
In the meantime, it’s fun to look back on your favorite photos, videos, and illustrations from 2018, featuring our beloved friends and talented artists in this year's Top Nine on Instagram.
Thanks to all of you for another wonderful 365 days of joy and adventure, and have a safe and happy New Year!
Backpacks, SDCC, and a newsletter -- oh my! August 6, 2018 10:03
From Jess:At San Diego Comic-Con last month, I teased a new product that I've been chomping at the bit to share with you: "Rescue Sirens" backpacks! The backpacks that I brought with us to the convention were samples and not for sale, but now I'm happy with them and have added all five designs to our online store! You can click the image below to check 'em out.
Just like some of our new vinyl stickers and acrylic charms, these backpacks feature "Rescue Sirens" artwork by Kellee Riley; boasting bright colors, cute poses, and adorable faces, they really stand out in a crowd! If you know a little Rescue Siren-in-training, one of our backpacks makes the perfect back-to-school bookbag.
With a secret pocket on the lower back for your cash/cards and an interior sleeve for a 15" laptop, they're great for grown-ups, too. I used one of our sample backpacks to tote around everything but the kitchen sink at SDCC and was super pleased with how it held up.
Speaking of SDCC, 2018 was another wonderful year! It's so strange to me that Chris and I spend the first six months of each new year thinking about, planning, and making merchandise for SDCC, and then it arrives all of a sudden and it's over before we know it. The end of the convention always leaves me feeling a little out-of-sorts and bewildered -- like, this huge thing has come and gone, so what am I supposed to spend my time stressing out over and panicking about? (Just kidding; I have a million other things to stress over and panic about.)
After SDCC, Chris and I are exhausted and glad for a breather, but we miss our friends and fellow creatives, and, of course, the attendees. We never take enough photos during the show, but here are a few pictures that I shared on Instagram! I posted them as a pair of slideshows, so, you know, click the left and right sides to view them all.
As usual, we're already talking about what we're going to do for SDCC 2019!
And there's my cue to bring up my last topic for today: the "Rescue Sirens" newsletter, the most reliable way to find out what we're up to. Chris and I love keeping you up-to-date on what we're doing, but we've noticed a big difference in social media reach over the past couple of years; Facebook shows our posts to only a fraction of our followers unless we pay for more views, and Instagram is quickly heading in that direction, too. Lots of people just plain aren't hearing from us. The solution, it seemed to me, was to start an email newsletter and talk directly to you.
How can you join? When you purchase something from our online store, you have the option to subscribe to our mailing list; you can also do so by visiting our signup page. If you missed our introductory email, you can read it now! Future newsletters will include sneak peeks at what we're working on, event information, and maybe even some subscriber-only exclusives. It's also the first place that we'll announce new products (such as the backpacks!). I'll probably use it to share blogs with you, too, so you don't have to remember to check the website every month.
All in all, I expect to send out only a handful of newsletters per month. I hope you find this a fun and useful way to stay in the "Rescue Sirens" loop!
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!
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