The Story of Angel Kiss
It officially started, in the end of 2019, but unofficially it began long before that, actually several different experiences in my life led me to this idea. For starters...I've always loved swimsuits and always liked to have a lot of them when I went on trips. I won't lie, I had a different one for every day of the week!
After traveling and working around the world on cruise ships as a Fitness Instructor and later becoming a hostel owner by the beach in Costa Rica. I can assure you that I bought my share of swimsuits, and one of the most frustrating thing was... that I never found good quality swimsuits that fit me well ... small waist and relative big breasts (which turned into 2 bananas after having 2 children!).
In Costa Rica, swimsuits are very important piece of clothing, we wear them all the time. It is extremely hot all year round (west coast), we use them every day, either at the pool, at the beach and even while at work at our hostel. Yes, as I mentioned before, my husband and I have owned a hostel since 2015.
After many years of frustrations of not finding a good fit, I thought to myself that I am surely not the only one in this situation! I thought... why not create my own line of swimwear and try to help other women like me; real women, mothers of families, young or old, with different bodies, of all sizes, marked by different events of life. I want to help you look good, beautiful, sexy and stylish at any age.
Also, for me and my family, caring about the environment is very important and living in Costa Rica for 5 years opened my eyes to our terrible plastic consumption. Picking up washed over plastics on the beach was our daily routine, and it hurt my heart every time. We -as a family- took some personal measures to reduce our plastic consumption, like using solid shampoos and bamboo toothbrush. But is not enough... so I thought… why not creating a swimwear line made from recycled plastic bottle fabrics. I knew some companies were using recycled plastic fabrics for yoga leggings, but there weren't many swimwear companies using them yet.
So I got to work, not without questioning myself a lot at the beginning. Whenever I was unsecure, whenever I thought I was not good enough, whenever I was uncertain about how to continue on.... I always got a sign … a sign from my guardian angels.
We each have angels who protect and guide us. Yes... I know how does it sound...but you don't have to believe it, I just do and they helped me while I was going through some rough times in my life. I started to learn more about Guardian Angels while I was becoming a Yoga instructor. I even started using some Angel Cards.
As I was saying...I received a lot of messages from my guardian angels in times of discouragement telling me to keep going, to trust myself and my projects.
Therefore, when looking for a name of the company, Angel Kiss Beachwear seemed a perfect and obvious fit. The name of almost every swimsuit model represent a name of an angel and you will find the meaning of each one on my website or social media (haven't decided where to put them yet).
Anyway, after 3 months of hard work, I'd managed to make a small production to sell at our hostel. Unfortunately, this only lasted for 2 weeks and then covid-19 hit us full on. We went from being full to empty in just two days I had to leave Costa Rica with my 2 children, left my husband who stayed there to take care of the hostel, and come back to stay with my parents in rural Quebec. I brought a machine with me, some fabric in my suitcases, and made a little workshop for myself in my mother's old sewing room. I had to buy everything again. I continue to work hard to develop new ideas with the arrival of my leggings and top sports. I am always looking for new techniques, new models and with my husband now with me in Quebec, he gives me a lot of help with my ideas for social networks and fabric cutting!
Thank you very much for reading until here, for your trust and for your support of my small local Quebec eco-friendly business.
Stephanie Lebel
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