Around the Bend | Person of Interest
Conversation with
Lauren Page Local bathing suit designer /owner of Coco Kini By: Whitney Noble Photo: A. West Photography You started your monogramming business, LPE Monogramming & Embroidery, LLC., with the help of your grandma, who bought you your first embroidery machine. With that business now booming, how did you decide to branch off to swimwear? I started my embroidery business when I was fresh out of high school. Although I love it, I have changed a lot as a person. My interests and style have changed. I started traveling and surfing a few years back and have had issues finding well fitting and functional bikinis that were also stylish. Tops were the worst! I eventually pulled out my sewing machine and put my skills to the test. I just really enjoy making swim suits. It has definitely evolved into my passion and allows me to be extremely creative all of the time! Since Coco Kini has blown up, I’ve been lucky enough to have an assistant who was willing to take over all of my embroidery business so I can focus on continuing to grow Coco Kini. What inspires the fit and designs for the Coco Kini line? Surfing and being active in general is definitely a big inspiration for the suit styles I create. I try to make every style as functional as possible, because I want Coco Kinis to be great pieces that girls can potentially wear under any circumstance. Whether it be water sports, beach volleyball, or just laying out! I name each style after my favorite places that I’ve visited. I have a top named after one of our own local beaches, North Packery! Coco Kini has the cutest patterns! How do you choose them? I literally spend hours upon hours choosing fabric patterns I think will make great swimwear. I consider everything from the colors to the size scale of the print, because it is all important. I absolutely love floral patterns and anything tropical. As a matter of fact, most of the fabric that I use is the artwork of freelance print designers. So what each
24 The Bend
Coco Kini owner has is not only a cute suit, but custom art! Usually when I am considering new fabrics, I will try to include my customers by posting the prints on social media and get their opinions. You sell locally, but also on Etsy and your own website. Can you remember your first sale, and where has been the most exciting place an order has been placed from? Right now, I am trying to stray away from Etsy to become more of a brand instead of an Etsy shop. Most of my sales run through www.cocokinisurf. com. A selection of Coco Kinis can also be found at Paper Crown, a boutique in Lamar Park. And of course I remember my first sale! I was wearing one of my very first suits at the beach, and a girl came up to me and asked where I got it. That simple question gave me all the initial motivation I needed to actually begin selling my swimwear. It was so cool to me that people were noticing my designs! Now, I get sales from all over. I do get pretty excited when I see an order come in from California or Hawaii, because the bathing suit market in those states is so saturated. But I’d have to say that Corpus is still my favorite place to receive sales from. It’s my goal to fill our Coastal Bend beaches with babes in Coco Kinis! How is each suit customizable? Although every piece is custom made to order, I do not take each individual’s measurements. They are custom in the sense that you get to choose from a main fabric as well as a reverse fabric, and you get it in whatever style and size you want! I offer many different top styles, and I’m always working on new ones. My bottoms are pretty basic, but that is because they are meant to fit well and stay on during active summertime movements. I offer three different bottom coverages – Cheeky, Cheekier, and Moderate.
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It’s important to you to keep that small business feel despite your rapid growth. How do you do that? I really try to be friendly and professional when speaking with customers, yet I also try to showcase my personality when responding to emails, social media comments, and any other forms of communication. When I sell at Farmers’ Markets, I take that opportunity as my chance to interact with my customers so they know there is a fun-loving and dedicated person on the other end who really enjoys making their suits! What do you expect the future will be for Coco Kini? Right now, I can’t say I’m 100% sure, but I do know that I am extremely optimistic. I think Coco Kini has the potential to really grow, as it's proven itself already. I’ve had a few more inquiries from stores that want to sell my line, so that’s something I will have to consider! I would love to start doing more events, maybe even branch out of state. I recently traveled throughout New Zealand and was able to visit a few markets there. I think it
would be super cool to even branch out to different countries, so that’s probably one of my biggest goals! I’m also working on a really professional website, and simply continuing to grow and learn in my bikini making skills. I’m always looking for ways to improve and that is what pushes and excites me most. Contact: cocokinisurf.com etsy.com/shop/cocokini facebook.com/cocokinisurf/