LE PAUME Bikini Care co-founder Lisa Dorian gave us the scoop on the Maldives + a serious case of wanderlust. Learn how to take care of your 'kinis and Shop LE PAUME Bikini Care + their exclusive Samudra collab xx
Where to Sleep | Four Seasons Kuda Huraa—about a 30 minute speed boat ride from the airport. You walk out of the terminal and hop on your boat. Eat | The food and cocktails at the Four Seasons are amazing. I ate enough for three people each meal. See | The water alone is beyond incredible. The bright white sand makes it an unreal turquoise color. Treat | The gorgeous spa is a minute-boat-ride away. My husband and I had a couples massage in our over-water bungalow. You can see the fishys swim by through the glass floors.
Tell us a little bit about how you like to travel: The thing I now focus on most is my health because it’s no fun being sick or super jet lagged on a trip. On the plane I travel with green packets, electrolytes and probiotics. I’ve found that it’s so much easier to adjust to a huge time difference and hop right into the fun if I stay hydrated and healthy on the inside.
Your 3 essentials: I never leave home without a great hat and sunglasses, and am pretty obsessed with my sunscreen regimen. And I always throw in a light Turkish towel—love how fast they dry.
What inspired you to create LE PAUME? I’ve always been a bit obsessed with bikini care. I did a blog post with you years ago on how to keep your suit looking like new. We spend, or maybe I spend, a fortune on bikinis, every year. It’s a bit silly not to protect your investments.
How do we use your product?Mix a quarter size of LE PAUME with cool water. Hand wash & soak your bikini for a deeper clean, then hang dry in the shade. This little extra love keeps your bikini ready for your next adventure!
We caught up with Carly Osler, Women's Creative for TAVIK Swimwear.
With your new collection dropping and moving manufacturing stateside, this is such an exciting time for Tavik. What inspired you to move production to California?
Our biggest inspiration for domestic production was for our team to be closer and more hands-on, from start to finish. We pride ourselves on quality, fit and delivering on time. With production in Southern California, we get to feel the fabrics and try the fits in real time. We aim for our customer to experience this dedication so they can wear Tavik with confidence. We cater to those looking for special swimwear with a great fit, who appreciate where the product comes from.
What are your three fav pieces from the Made in California collection?
I’m really excited about our new ribbed collection- it’s beautifully textured and the colors are dyed to perfectly match our solids and prints. My two favorite sets are the Jett top and Jayden bottom; and the Ryan halter and Ali bottom.
I can’t forget the Jessi top--we brought it back in multiple colors and prints; the cutouts add just the right amount of edge and sexiness. It’s my go-to top when heading to Palm Springs for a mini vacay with my fiancé.
We're huge fans of your look. Has being able to create everything in your backyard influenced your designs?
Thanks! Yes definitely. With our factory right down the street I can be involved in the whole process and am able to play with textures, hardware, and custom prints. This year brings a feminine touch of brushed-gold and matte metal hardware. The move to domestic production has also helped launch our Essentials Collection--signature tops and bottoms offered year-round. We’re able to update the Essentials as we see fit--adding seasonal colors and multiple coverage bottoms (minimal, moderate, full).
Tell us a little bit about your personal style.
My closet mainly consists of monochromatic basics accented by a few investments in well-made and on-trend pieces - usually shoes, boots, purses and jackets. Splitting my time between two countries, I feel lucky to have the modern city influence of Vancouver mixed with LA’s relaxed beach vibes.
What's the next big thing?
We plan to take the Après Beach lifestyle around the world. It demands sexy, stylish pieces that serve both as swimwear cover-ups and barely there night-out-attire. Our cover up and apparel collections will send you on a search for your modern beach and keep you looking on point no matter where you end up.
In honor of Mother's Day, we wanted to give a shout out to some of our favorite moms who are killing it in the industry and with their personal style at all times. They've shared secrets to maintain balance and raved about some of current obsessions.
Meet the fab duo Mandy Fry and Summer Rapp, owners and designers of Amuse Society: these ladies are the definition of industry veterans!
BB: Best thing about motherhood?
MF & SR: Motherhood is loving and caring for someone in the most extreme way possible! It’s witnessing life with virgin eyes again and really living and enjoying all the love around you. We are both career driven women who spend so much time trying to balance it all…work and family…we always say it has to be quality over quantity…in everything we do:) Our sons and daughters are best friends but they are extreme opposites….it’s important to treat them each as their own person. Motherhood is setting examples and guiding them, but not doing it for them:) Letting them make their own quality decisions is so important….It’s how we got to be where are:) So, thank you Mom (and dad:)
BB: Fav Mom Tip?
MF & SR: You gotta just roll with it! Sometimes, most of the time actually, things will not go as planned and you just have to laugh it off and go with it! Like, if you forget a diaper or a change of clothes and you find yourself needing one or the other, you just make do! Also, stopping to enjoy the moments, without interruption, are so important! Put the cell phone down, stop instagramming, no texting, etc. Relish in the moment, life is good!!!
BB: Current Obsessions?
MF & SR: Both of our little girls LOVE Tori Praver’s swim suits and Lolli. Jagger and Brixton live in their Amuse tee shirts!!!! After that we shop our local boutiques, Zara, Crew Cuts, or our favorite vintage stores for clothes for our little ones!!! We really only use Sun Bum as our sunscreen! Both of our kids are obsessed with green smoothies every morning! Us too but we also love a glass of good champagne! As for destinations…..Mandy is off to her annual Tavarua trip and Summer is heading to Cabo next month!! Kids love the warm weather trips the best!
Meet Cheryl Brubaker, Co-Owner and designer of Knot Sisters, the super rad company that's one part femme fatale and two parts tomboy cool.
BB: Best thing about motherhood?
CB: When my daughter says she loves me and wants to marry her Dad and watching them grow. The Funny things they say, Kids are so pure, they tell it like it is!
BB: Fav Mom Tip?
CB: Although I get overwhelmed sometimes, and as cliche as it sounds en every moment, cause it goes by quick!
Meet Lyndie Irons, the co-owner//designer beauty behind the powerhouse swim line, Acacia Swimwear.
BB: Best thing about motherhood?
LI: Finding purpose. Im a far better person for knowing Axel and Im so incredibly honored to be his mommy. Axel has taught me so much about myself and I strive everyday to be as happy and carefree as him. Im so thankful that I have him.
BB: Fav Mom Tip?
LI: As cliche as it may sound.... ENJOY EVERY MINUTE that you get to spend with your baby. Laugh and have silly fun with them cause they grow up way too fast and you want to be able to look back and smile knowing that you gave your baby the best of you.
BB: Current Obsessions?
LI: Surfing Tandem with Axel, Bikram Yoga, Building Lego's, Traveling and the Acacia/ Epicuren Sunscreen.
Meet Mai Dalle Cort, the fashionista and bombshell behind Aila Blue.
BB: Best thing about motherhood?
MC: The best thing about motherhood is that my sense of purpose has changed and this has created a newfound passion and drive in me to succeed. That and waking up every morning to the sweetest little face.
BB: Fav Mom Tip?
MC: The best mom tip I can offer is to always listen to your heart. As mothers we always worry about our parenting skills and the choices we make. And everyone around us has very strong opinions about how we should feed, nurse, sleep, our babies. But I've learned the only thing that matters is if it feels good to me. My 16 month old sometimes stays up until 10 pm, he eats french fries and chocolate, and gasp, we co-sleep. But we are a very very happy little family!
Meet Emma Mcclean the mom behind Children of the Tribe, a stylish clothing label for free-spirited little people who love to roam in the sand dunes, daydream in treetops, and run barefoot through long grass.
BB: Current Obsessions?
EM: Although we're currently heading into our 'winter' (if you want to call it that here in sunny Byron!), I still never leave the home without my current must-have-daily-beach-session-obsessions: My felt Fallen Broken Street Hat Valley Sunnies (they're large enough to cover any evidence of a sleepless night and stylish enough to make any outfit look amazing!) My trusty new iPhone (for work on the GO!) Willow's coconut water (her obsession is my obsession! Whatever makes her happy, right?!!) Coco's new Rainbow Gardens Baby Wrap from our current collection- this print is so beautiful, colourful and distinctive plus I use the wrap as a pram cover, picnic blanket and even a cape when we are needing to get creative with little miss Willow!!
We are thrilled to introduce Kissmax, one of our new favorite Aussie brands and the man behind it all, Mike Blackwood. Check out our interview for a sneak peak inside the company. xx
Bikini Bird: Tell us about yourself and how Kissmax began?
Mike: Sure, so I live in Torquay Australia with my 3 kids Lottie, Lucy & Max. I’ve worked in the Surf Industry all my life. Was in the retail side for nearly 20 years then spent 15 years with Quiksilver/Roxy & Quiksilver Womens. I’d always wanted to do my own thing at some stage, so a couple of years ago things were all changing at Quik and the timing seemed right to take a leap of faith and go out on my own. The original concept (hatched 6 or 7 years earlier) was to have a traditional bricks & mortar retail store that just sold guys & girls basics. When it came time to actually do something and put together a business plan I decided to make it online based and the product line kept getting refined till it ended up with what we have today. The Little Black Bikini Collection for girls and a pair of Jeans, a short & a t-shirt for guys.
Bikini Bird:Your son Max plays a big role in your company’s philosophy, can you tell us a little more about it?
Mike: It’s a fusion of the KISS theory (Keep It Simple Stupid) and the organically simple philosophy of Max who has Down syndrome. Max doesn't need much to make him happy and he's way happier than most people I know. He doesn't waste time on things he doesn't need. He doesn't have stuff just for the sake of having stuff. His life is really …. Simple. So I thought it would be kind of neat to take that same thinking to the brand. We are running with the mantra of "Own Less Live More" which is probably a little weird when you are trying to sell things but that’s cool. Hey, at the end of the day, if you could only have 1 bikini, it would have to be a Little Black Bikini, wouldn’t it?????
Bikini Bird: What is it like being one of the few male designers in women’s swimwear?
Mike: I’m not sure that I’d call myself a designer (I actually think its a pretty over-used word!). I'm super lucky that I get to work with a couple from the Gold Coast, Carl & Gail Birch who started the Iconic Australian swimwear brand "Cheetah"back in the 80's. These 2 have probably forgotten more about swimwear than most people actually know. The way it works is that I come up with a bunch of ideas which generally consists of some terrible hand drawn sketches, a poorly written brief and a few conversations with lots of hand gestures (I'm waving my hands madly right now). From there, Gail weaves her magic and 1 or 2 samples later, we get our finished product. The process is really old school and really simple, no computers, lots of pins, pens and paper.
Bikini Bird:You’ve worked in the industry for decades, what is the most important thing you've learned?
Mike: It’s pretty simple really (kind of goes with the KISS ethos!) You must be passionate. If you don't love what you’re doing, go and find something you love and go and do that.
Bikini Bird: Your suits are simple and stylish, where do you find inspiration?
Mike: It comes from all over the place. Lots of years doing what I do helps. So does spending as much time at the beach and traveling as possible. Spending way too much time on social media. Plus I love taking some of those 80s swim shapes and making them relevant to now. It’s all about doing something Stylish, Sexy & Timeless.
Bikini Bird: What has been the biggest moment for Kissmax thus far?
Mike: Just launching the thing and seeing something that you've poured your heart and soul into turn into something that people actually love is pretty amazing.
Bikini Bird: What’s next for Kissmax?
Mike: There's a few new shapes that we have almost finished sampling that are looking great and we have a Limited Edition Lily White collection coming out in a few months that I'm really excited about.
Bikini Bird: What do you think the biggest trend is in swimwear for next year?
Mike: The Little Black Bikini. Remember - you heard it here :)
Bikini Bird: It’s really cool how you donate to an organization, can you explain more in detail?
Mike: There are so many organizations that do incredible work for people with disabilities that get little or no support from the government, so I figured anything we could do would be of some benefit. At the moment we are supporting Down Syndrome Swimming Australia.We've run a couple of different charity auctions KeepItSimpleSnaps (photos) & KeepItSimpleShapes (surfboards) where Photographers and Shapers donated framed photos and surfboards that we auctioned at events and on Ebay. In total, we’ve managed to raised nearly $10K. That makes me really proud and I’m stoked that so many people have helped us along the way to raise the funds needed. We have a few new ideas for this year and are also looking to partner up with an organization or foundation in America & Europe.
Bikini Bird: All your suits are black but what’s your favorite color?
Mike: It’s debatable whether Black & White are colours so I’m going to have to pick… Blue!
Bikini Bird:Could you tell us some of your favorite spots in Aus for our readers? (beach, bar, restaurant, shop etc.)
Mike: This is tough question, the entire coastline of Australia is one big beautiful beach but it’s pretty hard to go past Northern NSW – particularly the area around Byron Bay. The Great Ocean Road down in Victoria (where we are based) is one of the most spectacular coastal drives you can take in the world, with plenty of secluded beaches. For Shopping and eating I don’t think you can beat Melbourne. If you can’t get your fashion and food fix here, there’s something wrong.
