Hi guys, it's Dalni!

This past weekend I entertained at the Vermont Renaissance Faire's inaugural event. It was such a great fair, and I got to meet so many great people! Vermont hasn't had an event of this kind for around 20 years, so I've been told. I was so excited to be able to be a part of it. I swam all the way in through Lake Champlain, and hitched a ride to Stowe just to be there! ;) 

People traveled from all over the Northeast just to be there. Of the people I spoke with, I found out that many had traveled hours to Vermont from states including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. Some of the performers were nomadic, or were from even farther away.

Nearly everyone who came was dressed in garb, performer and patron both, and it was incredible to see! There were fairies, queens, minstrels, buccaneers, a mischievous fae named Splinter, and even a unicorn! I heard someone pass by and say "everyone here is a performer, whether they know it or not." I hadn't noticed this myself, but as soon as I heard this I realized it was completely true. 
 
Below the Gaff and Myschyffe Managed both sang mermaid songs, they were so wonderful to hear. The song was hilarious. It was about a backwards mermaid with the head of a fish and human legs. How silly! Everyone knows mermaids have a fish tail, not a fish face, although mermaids have been known to make a silly fishy face from time to time!

One question I was asked often was "where is your water?" or "where is your tank?" As of now, I'll have to deal with a dry tail while on land. (As long as I don't dry out too much!)  I usually set up a throne room on land so I can talk to the people better, but a mermaid can't stay out of water forever, and I like it on land! I'm working on getting my tank, the big issue is the logistics more than anything. From the top of my head to the tip of my fluke I'm 8 feet tall. 

I can't wait for next year at the Renaissance Faire! In the meantime, everyone enjoy the fireworks this weekend! Mermaids absolutely love the colors they cast on the dark waters!

Welcome back! For those of you reading for the first time, I’m Dalni! I’ll be updating this blog frequently, so stay tuned for updates (I’m shooting for once a week, on Wednesdays or Thursdays).
 
The weekend before last, I took a journey to Massachusetts to complete my scuba diving certificate. A group of around ten of us did four dives over the course of Saturday and Sunday. It was beautiful and sunny all weekend, but the water was still chilly, being in the North at the end of spring. The location we entered the water from was called Back Beach, in Gloucester, MA. It’s a small, protected ocean cove with a thin strip of sandy beach only visible at low tides. The view is fabulous. To the right, the shore line scrawling around the edge of the town is embanked by granite boulders and topped with pretty buildings. Ahead is open ocean. It’s a beautiful place to dive, and apparently a favorite of divers, as there were one or two other groups there diving at times.

​I’ve been wanting to complete my scuba dive certification for quite a few months now, but the certification requires four open water dives, and shops don’t like to take new learners out in icy or frozen water, so I had to wait until summer came around. The first available dive sessions were in late May, and early June. I completed my class work one weekend and the diving the next. Along with two full weekends of work with the instructor, there was also hours and hours worth of text book reading and videos to watch (PADI estimates 15 hours worth of reading). Getting your certification takes a big commitment, but the reward is worth the cost and effort.
 
My first dive was fantastic. We dove to about 20 feet at the deepest. My instructor was excellent at spotting marine life, and I was amazed at how much activity there was just in this small cove. The majority of what we saw were flounder, crab and lobster. I spotted one or two different fish, but I believe being in a large group as we were quickly scared off many of them. I’m sure there were many that saw us and bolted before we even had a chance to spot them. Alone, I’ve been able to swim alongside groups of fish without scaring them. But the fish weren’t the only thing to see. We swam over underwater fields of vegetation, waving with the water; sometimes it looked like the whole floor of the ocean was shifting.
 
There were a couple of things which weren’t so great, however. At points, some of my classmates would get a little over excited and grab or poke the fish and other creatures. As I swam, I became more aware of my environment. Beneath us there were pieces of plastic scattered across the ocean floor and vegetation we swam over. It seemed impossible that some of those things could end up out there, but there they were. I personally grabbed pieces of plastic bag, a spool of ribbon, and various chunks and sharps of plastic  out of the water to be thrown away on shore. It’s important to remember to be respectful of the ocean and marine life.
 
Many aquariums and large venues like to see that you’ve completed the diving training to prove that you’re proficient and comfortable being in deep water. I personally would love to be in a huge aquarium with all of the exotic creatures. Lake Champlain doesn’t have quite the biodiversity or color seen with the tropical fish. Getting my dive certificate seemed like a step in the right direction towards being able to show off my tail at an aquarium (and being able to dive with a cuttlefish!). Maybe the New England Aquarium will invite me for a swim! Until then, Lake Champlain is my home.
 
As a side note- this weekend June 25th and 26th I will be at the Stowe Vermont Renaissance Faire sitting on my shell throne to say hi to all the people; come pay me a visit!
You can find more information by visiting the bottom of my Booking & Events page, or by visiting the event website at http://www.vtrennfaire.com/

Hi everyone, I’m Dalni!
 
This whole adventure began for me last year after seeing a TV spot on how the Mako tails were made. They were so beautiful  and realistic that I decided that I wanted to have a tail as well. I started to look into the professional makers tails, they were all absolutely gorgeous, but I’d always been one for DIY and this seemed like a fun project!
 
I started out by making myself a mermaid tail out of a monofin and cloth from my local fabric store while I was working on my real tail, so that I could get used to the feeling of swimming with a mermaid tail instead of legs. It’s always recommended to begin with a cloth tail before moving on to a more advanced one to gain experience and to make sure that you’re comfortable in a mermaid tail. You won’t have legs or feet you can use! My first swim in a friends pool was an incredible feeling! However, I wasn’t so great at being graceful just yet. I hadn’t figured out the exact motion of the dolphin kick and had no idea how to keep myself afloat on the surface, or what to do with my arms. I ended up doing a modified doggy paddle around her pool. Thank goodness my swimming skills have improved!
 
 I began the first steps of making my tail in April of 2015. After lots of tutorials, trial and error, and wasted materials; nine months later my tail was complete. It was now December, but living in Vermont didn’t offer much opportunity for outdoor swimming like I’d hoped to do. I got a membership to a gym which allowed tails and had two of its own indoor pools. I started swimming multiple times per week to practice with my new tail, and people started to notice that a mermaid had popped up in Vermont! Children and adults alike were enamored with my tail.
 
I started looking up other mermaids and connecting with them on Mernetwork. I saw Mermaid Hannah Frasier holding a protest over the killing of dolphins, and people actually paying attention! I saw Raina, starting her own business and inspiring other women to empower themselves. I saw Raven of Merbella making the most beautiful tails I’d ever seen. The impact of all of these strong women, coupled with the joy when a child sees a mermaid for the first time, inspired me to start my own business.