Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Karpel.
Chelsea, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born in Upstate New York in a small city called Hudson. I moved out on my own at the very young age of 15. I worked whenever I wasn’t at school to get by and I truly believe that is what gave me my entrepreneurial spirit. I moved to New York City at the age of 17. I started modeling and working in restaurants and bars. I was living a very fast lifestyle until 2016 when I was forced to slow down because of a cyst that was found on my ovary which I needed to have surgically removed and tested for cancer.
Luckily, everything came back negative but I had a recovery period where I couldn’t do much. During my down time I remember going to Michaels craft store to look for some type of craft to do. I stumbled across a sewing machine and decided right then and there that I would teach myself to sew. Having no knowledge on textiles or materials my first creations were quite horrific.
I kept at it and got better and better Shortly after relocating to Atlanta in 2017 I started offering custom swimsuits on Instagram to my followers for extra income. That’s how Sea Marie was born. it wasn’t long until I got so much traction that I couldn’t physically keep up with making things by hand so I started searching for a manufacturer. I tried a couple that weren’t the right fit for me. And finally found One out of Brazil that was the perfect fit. Sea Marie is a Private label brand and All of our Swim Suits are Eco-Friendly & made from recycled plastic. They are also PETA approved vegan and a Percentage of our Profits are donated to an ocean conservation called One Ocean that is based out of Hawaii.
I wasn’t one of those people that knew what I wanted to do with my life early on but what I did learn is that Sometimes God gives you roadblocks just so that you can turn them into stepping stones. That’s exactly what I did and although the Journey wasn’t always easy, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t always a smooth road. Coming from no background in owning any type of business and not having any family members who owned businesses there were a lot of times I didn’t know who to ask hard questions to. I will say that this has made me very resourceful as a business woman though! There were also times when things would go terribly wrong. For example, my first Manufacturer out of LA messed up an entire color way on my first collection and used a different fabric than I approved. He didn’t want to correct his mistake and I was left to figure out what to do next. Being a New business owner there will always be things that you need to think fast for or figure out how to over come but in the long run it’s very rewarding and worth it.
Sea Marie LLC – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
All of Sea Marie suits are handmade by amazing women in Brazil. The manufacturer has an amazing code of ethics which makes me confident in working with them. I chose for my swimsuits to be made from a fabric created from recycled plastic. The suits are 100% cruelty free and approved vegan by PETA. My goal with Sea Marie was to give my customers trendy and flattering suits while allowing them to support a much needed cause. The suits are extremely high quality and will last my customers a long time.
If you had to start over, what would you have done differently?
If I could start over, I would have done more research before choosing my first manufacturer because it would have saved me a lot of money as well as time.
Contact Info:
- Website: Seamarieswim.com
- Phone: 4047849237
- Email: info@seamarieswim.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/Seamarieswim
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