Visit my Website:  Sandy Shores Virtual Mall
Visit my eBay store:  Sandy Shores Virtual Mall

Please remember me and all the information you have received from this website when deciding to purchase mermaids and fish!

Miller Studio was founded in 1934 by Harry and Clela Miller.  It began as a small corner gift shop in New Philadelphia, Ohio. The Millers had the idea that there might be a market in their shop for , hand painted wall plaques and subsequently a full scale sales force was put in place. By 1952 Miller Studio had become the leading manufacturer of decorative wall decor for the house wares trade.  Their sea creatures were made of chalkware and always have the Miller Studio name and date on the side of the piece.  Sometimes in a set only the larger piece had their name/date. They were very thick and the paint didn't seem to have any finishing coat over the paint so that is why we see a lot of paint wear on the vintage pieces.  The hooks were real thin so a lot of them have broken and been replaced over time.  They were stapled to a card when they were sold so you often still see those staples on the back of a piece, or holes where the staples were. They made so many pretty nautical wall plaques and all were pretty big and thick. What you may not know is that they also introduced Magic Mounts and now have a product line of over 150 varieties and sizes of tape, hangers, hooks, protectors, pads and more can be found throughout the home. 

Miller Studios made a lot of fish wall plaques but very few mermaids.  Below you will see the rare mermaid wall plaques they made and then some of the other nautical wall plaques.  I am not showing every sea creature Miller Studio made as it is easy to identify one of their pieces, they always had their name imbedded in the side, and they all were made of chalkware.  Not the home depot type plaster, but more of a gypsum cement (Hydrocal) type chalkware which is real heavy.  Contrary to what a lot of people think, this type of chalkware will not mold in your bathroom.  Now if you took it outside and left it in the rain and then kept it damp in a dark place, yes it would mold like most anything else.  Very, very rarely will a piece of chalkware mold - it will only mold if it gets wet, and then is kept in a warm, damp place... and then other things around it would mold too! 

These are two pretty mermaid wall plaques.  The one in the tub is really rare.  The picture of the one in the bathtub show how she came in the box.  The larger one next to her shows a bigger picture of her but it has been altered.  Someone put lipstick, nailpolish, black eyelashed and stripes on the bow.  I think she actually looks better in the remake. She even has her own soap!  And if you want to know the temperature outside, Miller had the one on the right!