Merman mystique ....

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(Free-Press-Release.com) February 28, 2010 -- LECANTO - As with so many love stories, this one started with a kiss.

When Eric Ducharme was 4 years old, his grandparents took him to Weeki Wachee Springs to see his first mermaid show.

The curtains rose. A beautiful mermaid swam past the theater windows. And Eric's life would never be the same.

"A mermaid swam by and blew a kiss," Eric, now 15, said. "That's where the magic started."

The magic of merfolk touched Eric so deeply that he has decided to pursue a career as an underwater performer. It also inspired him to start his own business, making custom tails and clothes inspired by the mythical underwater creature.

He's known as "The Mertailor."

Eric's passion for merfolk and sewing became clear soon after his second mermaid encounter.

For his sixth birthday, his father threw a party for him at Weeki Wachee's water park, Buccaneer Bay. As he sat eating cake and opening presents, mermaids Tonya and Sativa were carried over by a lifeguard to wish him a happy birthday.

"Two green-tailed mermaids came over, a goodbye kiss, and they swam back to do their show," Eric said.

Soon after, he began drawing portraits of mermaids at the park. He became interested in the tails they wore, and began making his own out of different materials.

"When I was about 6 or 7, my grandparents used to bring me to Wal-Mart all the time," he said. "I would buy materials, trace the outline of my legs; I would begin to sew in and out and in and out, then I would jump in the pool and go swimming."

Around that time, Eric also began training for the underwater life.

"I would tie my legs together with rope and practice swimming," he said.

At first, his parents thought his fascination was simply a phase. Now they know differently.

"It's not just a passing fancy," said his mother, Candy Ducharme. "This has been going on for many years."

Eric's early tails were made of plastic garbage bags stuck together with gluesticks. He hand-stitched his first fabric tales with needle and thread.

Then, thanks to his grandmother, Carol Grabler, Eric learned to use a sewing machine by age 8 or 9.

His Mertailor studio, and his tails, have come a long way since those early days.

"This is where all the magic happens," he said, crossing the threshold into the studio, which is in his home near the Hills of Avalon development in Lecanto.

Eric walked past photographs of himself at Weeki Wachee's Adventures Under the Spring mermaid camp and a Barbie doll sporting a green lame tail.

He sat at his desk, surrounded by a mermaid statue from SeaWorld and a white Kenmore sewing machine, and described the latest design on his sketch pad.

"This is a wedding tail for somebody who wants to get married underwater," Eric said. "It's stretch-velvet, white. I was thinking of a wedding theme - white, glamour, with bows and lace."

A tour of the studio revealed his latest creation: his own merman attire. It consists of a royal blue sports top and a royal blue stretch-velvet tail with navy glitter

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