It's been too long Fishes, and that I apologize! So many blog ideas, and so little time!! Also a lot of changed/ updated plans and goals.. so let's dive in!!
Some of you may have noticed that on my socials, I've been mentioning Windy City Mermaids and Windy City MerFolk Pod. What is that? What's going on? Pod- what about the IL Merpod? etc etc.. So I figured I'd talk about it!
What is Windy City Mermaids? Well Fishes, it's a long-time goal that is finally starting to become a reality! A mermaid entertainment company! Fully legal, licensed, insured, taxed, and all that fun stuff, with more than one mermaid on the books! I'm currently working on all of the legal stuff now, like which type of registration, client contracts, employee contracts, the right insurance company- do I want to keep Wix as a web host for the site (like this one), etc. Hopefully, in the fall/ winter I will start recruiting a small handful of mermaid performers. The plan is to have higher standards than our "fishy", foreign competition- background checks, certifications, quality tails (no tails that kids may also be wearing), better pay, and handlers (aka Mermaid Security). We also won't be sharing our customers personal information with random strangers online just because they own a mermaid tail. So yeah- that's Windy City Mermaids!
What does this mean for the Joliet Mermaid? Well, I'll be a part of Windy City Mermaids! Some things will gradually migrate over, and some will stay the same. This blog, will like move to Windy City Mermaids' website once it gets going, all booking will be through WCM, the merch I had planned for this site will go there, and stuff like that. Social media will stay, there will be pages for both.
More mermaids? Yep! I will soon be looking to hire a small team of freelance mermaid entertainers. I'm gonna want a singing Ariel, and just a few other general mermaids, and would love a merman too! I'm not to that step yet, but if you're interested, reach out! Send me an email
(windycitymermaids@gmail.com) and follow Windy City Mermaids on Instagram and Facebook, and when it's time for auditions, you'll be 1st to know! WCM is just a baby- so it won't be regular work, but it sure will be fun!! And I sure could use all the help I can get growing Windy City Mermaids!
What's the future? Who knows?! Obviously fun mermaid parties! Hopefully some fun merch, t shirts, stickers etc. Mermaid party supplies. I'd love to be an all in one shop for mermaid birthday parties. But I will see where it takes me. I've learned the path you plan is not always the path you end up on, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. I have some inspiration for sure, HB Mermaids, Halifax Mermaids, Aqua Preformance Group, and Circus Siren Pod are some for sure. Do I want to be the same? No. But I will totally follow their advice and guidance on this journey!
What's with the pod? Windy City Merfolk Pod is actually what finally made me to decide to pull the trigger and do this. I am a member of several pods, but most notably the Illinois Merpod. I want to start off by saying that there is no bad blood towards the Illinois Merpod. As of now, I'm still a member, and don't plan on leaving. However, a few things happened between a couple members and myself, that made many pod gatherings a bit too uncomfortable. As pods grow, not everyone is going to get along, and I think that's ok. That's natural. But sometimes some people can take it a little too far. I debated leaving, but didn't want to leave just because of a couple people. It was a dilemma. I reached out to a few mers, some that that been the mermaid community for many years, and they encouraged me to start my own mini pod. I was quite nervous that IL Pod members would take offence. (I and don't think I was wrong, now that word is getting out). Breakaway pods are actually quite common as pods become large. The Florida Springs Mermaids for example, have several smaller pods, but members still participate with the larger group. It was actually when I learned that I wasn't the only one feeling the way I did about the IL pod. Some with similar stories, some with different stories all together. I knew then it was time. I formed the pod, named it after the company that I had been dreaming up in my head, and gave it as inclusive a name as I could think of- Merfolk Pod. The hope is that the pod will grow, but not too large. It will be inclusive, yet exclusive. Basically, exclusive based on attitude. We accept all merfolk, regardless or age, sex, gender, race, size, religion, political stance, etc. What we won't accept is racist tendancies, scamming, science-denial (especially when it comes to Covid), discrimination, or back-stabbing. I want the pod to be a small community, where mers can feel safe and comfortable to be themselves.
What will the pod do, what's it about? So I wanted the pod to be under the umbrella of Windy City Mermaids, but to include more than just preforming mers. A lot of merfolk are in it just for fun. So that's what the pod is about. We will swim together. We'll try to find fun places to swim. We'll plan fun little photoshoots. We'll even do some volunteering together!
I think that covers it fishes! Have more questions? Just ask them! Want to swim with the pod or be a mermaid or handler for WCM? Reach out! The pod has a facebook group, and shares the Instagram page with WCM.
Thanks for reading! I hope to have a post about my FL trip in June up soon!