Meet Suzy Irwin of MermaidiaTails

Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzy Irwin.

Suzy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always enjoyed sewing, creating and working for myself. Currently, I enjoy making swimmable tails, walking tails, costumes, leggings, swimsuits, jewelry and anything mermaid related. I learned at a young age from my mother who can sew anything she wants from baby items, household furnishings to elegant wedding dresses. I learned my entrepreneurial skills from my dad who was a very successful business owner. When my oldest daughter Noel (10 yrs old) was 2.5 yrs old, I decided to make her a mermaid tail to swim within our pool.

For those that don’t know me personally, I have taught swim lessons since 1981, so it was expected that I would have a water baby. I luckily had a daughter who enjoyed the water and she, of course, loved mermaids like most little girls did. She never wanted to take the first tail off I made her once she was swimming like a mermaid. So, I told her each year I would let her pick out her material and sew another mermaid tail. At 4 yrs old she wanted one in every color and of course, her friends and swimming clients did too. I also had twin mermaid girls last year (1 yrs old in Aug.) that will soon join in the family fun.

After 2 years of making my mermaid tails on the side for friends and family, I decided to embrace another new and exciting business adventure of Mermaid School along with my “MermaidiaTails” and swimming lesson business. I started the school because many parents were uneasy having their children wear tails while swimming. I had already taught preschool for 8 years so I switched gears to Mermaid School 101. I wanted children to have a Mermaizing experience wearing their new tails but also become educated about the ins and outs of being safe while wearing them. So far, all the kids have loved Mermaid School and the parents feel much more comfortable knowing they have learned the proper technique and water safety skills.

While my husband has been in school full time working on his Master’s in Occupational Therapy in the last few years, I have recently been working on our NonProfit Status for our other future business. Our goal is to open our own indoor pool to offer Aquatic Therapy for special needs, mermaid swimming school for all ages, year-round swimming lessons and aquatic fitness classes by the beginning of January 2019 in San Tan Valley. I am hoping to generate enough money to start a scholarship fund and offer free swimming lessons and mermaid classes every year to special needs children and adults.

Once my husband takes his national board exam to end of July, we will join in this venture together and change the lives of as many people as we can, one lesson at a time.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and hope I make all your mermaid dreams come true.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Unfortunately, it has not been a smooth road. The week my husband started his Master’s program we were going to court against our HOA for teaching swimming lessons. It had never been an issue for 10 years and some new board members had issues turning it into a 3-year battle. I was determined to continue teaching swimming every summer and I was lucky enough to have enough contacts that I still continue to teach at neighborhood pools in exchange for their kid’s free swim lessons. Due to this, I needed to supplement our income while he was in school and that is how I started MermaidiaTails.

I made a trip to LA, California, met with many fabric suppliers, bought all my material, started sewing and then decided to start and Etsy site. Sales were great at first but now that Mermaiding has become a big trend, I, unfortunately, have lost the majority of my sales to overseas. Although I don’t sell as many as I used to, I feel fortunate to have been able to still work from home while pregnant with our twins. While pregnant last year, I had complications and had to have in utero surgery in California at 20 weeks so that was a set back putting my swimming, sewing, and mermaid school on hold the rest of the year.

Please tell us about MermaidiaTails.
MermaidiaTails specializes in making swimmable tails, walking tails, costumes, leggings, swimsuits, jewelry and anything mermaid related. I also teach Mermaid School at different valley locations and community pools, come to birthday parties to teach or can be Ariel the princess too. I am known for being one of the first people to start Mermaid School over 6 years ago in the valley and love being a small business owner. I believe having the 27 years of teaching swimming makes me a better mermaid teacher too.

Swimming like a mermaid is harder than some people realize which is why I enjoy teaching all ages the skills they need to swim like one as well as the beauty of mermaids. I am different from other companies because I am able to tailor your whole mermaid outfit to your body type and determine what fin works best for each individual person. I will always provide quality material, tails, outfits and more at the best price I can.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Growing up our family had a boat in San Carlos, Mexico that we would go deep sea fishing for a week every summer. I was amazed one summer when we had dolphins swimming right next to us and right in front of our eyes, 2 baby dolphins were born riding the waves. I grew up around water and exploring the ocean and have always loved dolphins and of course thought mermaids were real.

I currently found the video clip on our old family videos and I was able to share it with my older daughter and she was like, “Lucky, I want to see that in real life!”

Pricing:

• Fins start at $25 and custom swim tails $45

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MermaidiaTails.com
• Phone: 480-688-7809
• Email: mermaidiatails@gmail.com
• Instagram: mermaidiatails
• Facebook: mermaidiatails
• Other: Wordpress.com: SuzysFitnessZone

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.