<![CDATA[Mermaid Pearl - Mermaid Blog]]>

<![CDATA[Mermaid Pearl - Mermaid Blog]]>Wed, 25 Sep 2024 07:24:51 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Who Is Mermaid Pearl?]]>Mon, 01 Apr 2024 02:12:12 GMThttp://www.officialmermaidpearl.com/mermaid-blog/who-is-mermaid-pearlWell, I’ve done it! I’ve made my very first podcast episode about being a professional mermaid, something I’ve been doing for about 10 years now!
Hi, I’m Mermaid Pearl! I’m a freshwater mermaid from the mountains of Virginia, and a proud professional mermaid. Pearl as a character is a bubbly, bright, and happy mermaid who is interested in humans, and the human world. She loves to travel and to encourage little humans to chase their dreams. She also has a bit of a sassy side, and loves proving to little ones that magic does exist and mermaids are real!

As a performer, I’ve been doing this for a while, and I’ve participated in events such as private swims, birthday parties, modeling gigs, and even classroom appearances! I started mermaiding when I was young. I discovered mermaiding by Googling ‘real mermaids’ and discovering the artistry of Eric Ducharme, otherwise known as The Mertailor. It was an interview where he discussed making his silicone mermaid tails, and it was the first time I ever realized it was possible to own a realistic mermaid tail. I immediately dove into the world of mermaiding.
I made it my mission to own a mermaid tail. But the problem is that mermaid tails are very expensive! My first tail was silver, and created by my grandmother using swim fabric and a Finis foil monofin that was slightly too big for me. (Photo is below) She’s made me at least three tails at this point, but now I can sew well enough that I can make my own!

My current tail has been with me through all my growing pains, both as a person and a mermaid. I began mermaiding in 2012, but my professional mermaiding business grew immensely in 2013 when I got my first silicone tail. It was a Mertailor basic silicone tail, which are actually no longer sold by the mertailor. The tail has lasted me ten years, and is a testament to the Mertailor’s craftsmanship. Before my Mertailor tail, I swam with homemade tails made for me by my grandmother. At this point, my sister was also into mermaiding, and I have included a picture below of us swimming in our tails!
(This was actually my very first swim in my new silicone mermaid tail, the lighter blue fabric tail was made by my grandmother)

I mermaided throughout high school, and I was definitely more interested in the professional side of mermaiding, doing gigs semi-regularly. I toyed with the idea of starting a mermaid YouTube channel, but I never did. Even then, I wanted to share mermaiding, and everything that I learned on my journey, with the world. I still gained a lot of experience during this time. I met the amazing Mermaid Hales and she taught me some mermaid tips and tricks I still use to this day! I did birthday parties and modeling gigs regularly, and I started making my own mermaid tops to swim in, because all the ones I pined after online were much too expensive for a fifteen year old mermaid. I even made a few tops for some beginner mermaid friends! I have included some photos below of what I was up to at the time.

However, college saw my dedication to my hobby and business suffer. Mermaiding was instead something I did for fun, with the occasional summer gig thrown in. So now, after graduating, I have decided to dive headfirst back into mermaiding, and build my business back up to hopefully surpass the level I was at previously. And now, I have a medium with which to share my knowledge too!

My new podcast Making of a Mermaid will allow you to follow along with me as I tackle the travails of mermaidhood, as I build up my business starting from the beginning with all the knowledge of an expert. I want to answer questions and inspire any aspiring professional mermaids to chase your dreams, and maybe provide some tips or even just some relatable content for my fellow merfolk out there. (Foot cramps, anyone?) I also want my podcast and corresponding blog, well, this blog right here really, to be a resource for other mermaids out there building up their professional skills. Recording this first episode made me a little nervous originally, but I like the medium of a podcast because of the adaptability of it; you can listen and learn while doing other things! Plus, it feels a bit more personal, like we’re just sitting down and having a conversation.
While this episode was mostly introductions, I would encourage you to check out my podcast Making of a Mermaid wherever you get your podcasts to learn more about the world of professional mermaids! I’m excited to share how far I’ve come and how far I’ll go!

To check out the Mertailor, check out the link below:
https://www.themertailor.com

]]><![CDATA[What is Mermaiding?]]>Sun, 31 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.officialmermaidpearl.com/mermaid-blog/what-is-mermaiding

What is Mermaiding?

In the inaugural episode of my podcast, Making of a Mermaid, we discussed what mermaiding actually is in the first place! Mermaiding is a verb, and according to Wikipedia it is the act of dressing in a mermaid costume, and it often involves swimming as well. However, it is so much more than that! Mermaiding is an excellent form of exercise, artistic expression, and for some, even a profession.

Mermaiding is related to the sport of freediving, which is a sport which centers around the divers’ ability to hold their breath for the whole dive. There are even competitions where people dive as deep as they can in one breath! If you have ever seen season 3 of the iconic mermaid show H20: Just Add Water, the character Will is a freediver. Before getting into mermaiding, this was my only exposure to freediving! Mermaiding incorporates a lot of aspects of freediving, like equalizing and breath holding, and because of these similarities, some would even categorize mermaiding as a sport! However, freediving and mermaiding are two different things.
Mermaiding differs from freediving in that it is more focused on performance than athletic ability. Merfolk are people who participate in the hobby in part because of the allure of transforming into a mythical creature, and performing as a creature of fairy tales is an intrinsic part of mermaiding. Every mermaid tail, while also being a piece of diving equipment, is also wearable art. Many merfolk enjoy the character building, costuming, and even drag aspects of mermaiding!
Some mermaids are professionals, and while it is rare, there are those for whom mermaiding is a full-time job. The invention of the profession of mermaiding is largely credited to Hannah Fraser, a freediving model and activist who makes her own sequin mermaid tails. She has swam with a wide variety of sea creatures, including manta rays and whale sharks.

Another famous pioneer mermaid is Mermaid Linden, who has been mermaiding since the early 2000s. She also has swam with a wide manner of wildlife, including in a lake full of jellyfish! Linden also created one of the most safe and versatile mermaid monofins on the market today: the Linden monofin. The fin fits fabric tails from two major tailmaking companies, the Mertailor and Finfolk Productions, and includes a safety release strap to easily free yourself from it in case of an underwater emergency.

Finally, I couldn’t discuss mermaiding without bringing up Raina the Halifax Mermaid. If you can’t tell by her name, she is a mermaid from Canada who started her own business performing as a mermaid. She has been doing it for well over ten years now, and was the first customer of the now highly sought after Merbella Studios tail company. She literally wrote the book on how to start a business as a professional mermaid! The book, called Fishy Business: How to Be a Mermaid, is a helpful guide on how to get your mermaid career started. She’s a huge inspiration for me, and I don’t think the mermaid community would be what it is without her contributions.

So yes, you can become a professional mermaid, but it is not as magical as it may first sound. It involves a lot of hard work and training, and even some certifications! Some companies, like PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) offer classes to certify you in mermaiding, which are often essential as you level up in your mermaid career. Many professional mermaids have other jobs which help supplement their income, as it is very hard to make a full-time living as a mermaid.
Many mermaids simply do it for fun, or to participate in the community! Mermaiding is fun even without monetizing it. There is nothing comparable to the feeling of wearing a tail and gliding through the water! Mermaiding, as long as it is done safely, is an excellent way to exercise and gain new skills while fulfilling your magical dreams!

To Learn More Click the Links Below:
Hannah Mermaid : www.hannahmermaid.com/
Mermaid Linden : mermaidlinden.com/
Raina the Halifax Mermaid : https://www.mermaidraina.com/
PADI Mermaid : https://www.padi.com/courses/mermaid

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