Entrepreneur From N.B. Rebrands Swimwear Company
SAINT JOHN- An entrepreneur from New Brunswick behind a popular swimwear line for men is now offering something for the ladies too as she relaunches the brand.
Katie Carpenter, the co-founder of FYN Swim, has recently relaunched the brand as Fyn and Fia.
The original brand, FYN Swim, was launched back in 2018 with Carpenter and then-business partner Ashley Lemmon. The company created a stylish yet comfortable swim trunks guys wanted to wear even outside the pool or beach. The brand had gained popularity around the world, including with NHL players like Shea Weber, Jack Eichel, Brendan Gallagher and Andrew Shaw.
Lemmon is now operating her own swimwear business. Carpenter is embracing the opportunity to evolve the company on her own.
“I have my woman’s line now, which is going so amazing and it’s almost like everything has finally come together,” says Carpenter. “This is the vision I’ve always had and I’m just excited to be doing it on my own and expanding so quickly.”
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Fyn and Fia officially launched in early July, with products being sold exclusively through its website. The brand still carries its signature men’s swim trunks (with a few new improvements) but has the new women’s line. Right now, the line is mainly minimal bikinis that give minimal tan lines, but Carpenter says she only released a limited number of designs the begin with because of the Covid-19 crisis.
“With everything with Covid-19, I was a little hesitant to drop my female line. I’ve been working on it all year since last August,” says Carpenter. “I just took the plunge. I only did a few styles, six bikinis, and only four trunks. But everyone is shopping online so it’s actually going really amazing.”
Like the signature men’s swim trunks, the bikinis are designed with comfort in mind. Made with soft, stretchable fabrics, and adjustable straps and bands, Carpenter wanted to create a bikini that’s comfortable and fits well.
“Comfort is the number one thing of the entire brand, just straight-up comfort. I want a product where you put it on and you’re just comfortable all day long. It dries fast, it fits good and you never want to take it off,” she says. “The slogan ‘live in Fyn’ is still really going strong with the bikinis as well, because it’s still under that same window of comfort. It will always be my number one thing.”
Looking ahead over the next year, Carpenter says she is focusing on building the new brand.
“I really want to create a community of like-minded people that just want to live their best life, really live in the moment, they’re adventurous. I’m really trying to create a good energetic brand and grow from there,” she says.
She’s currently working on a resort collection along with a whole new collection for summer 2021, which will include new designs with more coverage and one-pieces. She says she’s been approached with wholesaling opportunities but is focusing on e-commerce for now.
“I’m talking about wholesaling, but it’s not my number one priority,” she says. “Mainly just getting more styles out there to accommodate more body types and just different styles for all girls so they feel comfortable in.”
Carpenter also plans to base the company out of the Maritimes. After living in Montreal for a while with her fiance, NHL player Nathan Beaulieu (who is also from New Brunswick), they are currently trying to sell their home and relocate back east, likely to Halifax.
“It’s the big city of the east coast and I feel like there’s still a lot of opportunities there for me with networking and growing my business there,” says Carpenter.
She also misses the people.
“I just miss the Maritimes, the people are the absolute best and I feel like I fit in the best there, even though I’ve lived all over the place,” she says. “I’m so proud to say I’m from the Maritimes.”