Dolphins Delight! Decor ideas for your Entry

One of My Favorite Things
Oh how I love the beach! As an artist who happens to own a ceramic address plaque business, one of my favorite things is introducing a newly designed house plaque. Releasing a new product design is right up there with jumping in the warm Pacific Ocean for a swim on a hot summer day. The opportunity to design and create something new – something that is unique, creative, and fun brings great joy and fulfillment and satisfies my need for artistic expression.

Enter the Dolphin
To celebrate the New Year and commemorate the unveiling of our newly remodeled website, Classy Plaques is pleased to introduce our  Dolphins Address Plaque as the newest addition to our line of Beach Address Plaques. Sometimes the best ideas come from a customer which was the case for a California woman who wanted a Dolphin plaque. We hope that dolphin lovers from California to Florida and everywhere in between will love this new custom designed house number sign.

Why the Dolphin?
The dolphin is arguably one of the most loved creatures of the sea – and for good reason. Dolphins have been interacting with humans for as long as we have known of their existence. Known for their gentle and playful spirit, dolphins are highly intelligent and are good at “tuning in” to the patterns and rhythm of life and nature. Better yet, dolphins are social creatures that spend most of their waking hours playing together in joyful harmony - with one another and with their environment. Apparently, they have learned the rich value that playful fun and loving friendships bring to life.

Myths and Symbols
Dolphins are often associated in mythical lore with higher forms of consciousness. Considered the "king of fish" by many ancient cultures, dolphin meaning is closely associated with kingly qualities - not the dominating qualities, but the gracious ones. In the traditions of many cultures, grace is a core theme related to dolphin meanings throughout the history of art and literature.

A short list of other symbolic dolphin meaning would include playfulness, gentleness, harmony, intelligence, contentment, friendship, community, resurrection, and generosity. In Christian art, the dolphin conveys an aspect of Christ and is often symbolic of resurrection. Artists often use the protective, stabilizing, compassionate spirit of the dolphin to send a message of peace and well-being to the pure of heart. For many, these cultural associations may make our  Dolphin Address Plaque a perfect symbol for your home.

10 Fun Facts About Dolphins
1. Dolphins have large brains and many scientists believe that dolphins are as intelligent as humans.

2. Dolphins use a variety of whistles, grunts, clicks, and body postures to communicate with each other. They use a unique, personal whistle to get the attention of another dolphin.

3. Dolphins live in social groups (pods) of as many as 200. They hunt together, eat together, play together, and protect and care for one another.

4. If a dolphin is hurt or ill, other dolphins will tend to them, lifting them to the surface to breathe. At birth, several dolphins will gather to help with the birth and pull the newborn out by its tail. They then swim in circles around the newborn and its mother to protect them from imminent danger.

5. Dolphins navigate and hunt like bats, bouncing high-pitched sounds off of objects and listening for echoes.

6. Dolphins use echolocation (see #5) to find prey and hunt together by surrounding a school of fish to trap them before taking turns swimming through the school to catch fish.

7. The Bottlenose dolphin averages eight feet in length and weighs 500-600 pounds. Smaller species like the Maui’s Dolphin, are only four feet long and weigh 90 pounds. The largest dolphin species, the Orca (aka killer whale) can grow to be 25 feet long and weigh up to 20,000 pounds.

8. To prevent drowning while sleeping only half of the dolphin’s brain goes to sleep while the other half remains awake so they can continue to breathe!

9. Dolphins live long lives with some species living about forty years and others living as long as eighty years. 10. Scientists believe that dolphins conserve energy by swimming alongside ships, a practice known as bow-riding.