Page 43 - Fins Magazine: Fins Magazine Issue #4

was leaving, she said “I wish I could do that, but no though it seemed like a small decision. Most of
one wants to see these rolls in a tail.” It absolutely our members are involved to a greater or lesser
devastated me, but gave me my core motivation for degree in conservation efforts in their areas, and
why I was starting a Pod. I imagined a place where we wanted to honor that. We were looking for
mers encouraged one another, loved one another something that wouldn’t feed into the fast fashion
no matter what our individual hurdles were. waste industry. We found it by working with artist
Alex Eaves of Reuse Apparel. Each garment we
The most important thing rescue and reprint saves 713 gallons of water. It is
was building each other up something we are so excited to have been able to
and being a community. do.
I decided that I could
do that, and if I waited, It isn’t always fun of course. It can be taxing,
someone else might not especially at first, to navigate running meetups,
have that reason always in discovering merverts, and how best to handle
the forefront. disagreements between members. But the vastness
of the good far outweighs the rough spots in the
The Illinois Pod has grown road. Whether you join a pod or decide to start
a lot in the two years since one, my hope and wish for you is that you find
the group first formed your family.
in 2018. Having that
foundational motivation
has helped to influence
and shape the ways in Whimzsea the Hydro Mermaid
which we grow. We are Illinois Merpod Flounder
@theillinoismerpod
always a family first, a FB: theillinoismerpod
business second. www.theillinoismerpod.com

Mermaid Whimzsea is the coordinator and flounder of the Illinois
When we first started Merpod. A professional mermaid, her passion and drive for the fan-
tastical is unmatched. Lover of all things extraordinary and a fierce
to grow and gain a lot believer in creating joy whenever possible.
of new members, there was a lot of interest in
merchandise for us. It was a crossroads, even
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