We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandye Kemp a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brandye , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.
Lauren Quinn is our Founder and Creative Director at Bromelia Swimwear. She first employed me as a sales associate in early 2022. I remember being so awed by the advancements Lauren had made in such a condensed and precarious time (the pandemic). She had not only relocated her life and family from Brazil to Los Angeles; she had reimagined her strategy, uprooting and replanting her business in its the earliest stages: when foundation is crucial, constant pivoting is inevitable, and anything can change everything. I felt then, and still feel now, close to something important. I felt a gravity around what she created, and I leaned into it. Early on, Lauren recognized my innate skills. As a start, she supported my visions for how I could organize our space to improve our workflow. Within just a few months of working with her, she nurtured my talents with more dynamic tasks that brought my involvement closer to our purpose.
I was being met with what I wanted: to be a part of bettering something great. After workshopping through a broad range of tasks, we’ve curated a unique role for me that centers around garment production, design, and holding a “big picture vision” for what our brand can do.
Seeing the best placement for someone’s talents and character traits is a mark of strategic team building within strong leadership. Lauren practices this intuitively, and while she is a wellspring of attributes that ensure her success, her leadership style of directing raw talent brings success to her team as well. I’m grateful for the forward motion she has gifted to me, both professionally and personally.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My professional background is like an everything bagel schmeared with customer service, sales, events coordinating, e-commerce, content creation, and selling my own art. Maybe some readers can relate: a slew of seemingly unrelated hustles eventually leading to one that uses all of them. Fast-forwarding to my start with Bromelia, I was working with a corporate clothing brand, and wanted out…as it can go in those places of shifty workplace culture. Curiously job surfing one night, I saw that an independent swimwear company was hiring for a sales position within walking distance of my apartment. I was desperate to make a change, and I had “that feeling” about it.
When I was hired, a close friend gave me some assurance, “OF COURSE you’re going to sell swimwear to women! That job is perfect for you!” reminding me of a time I helped her shop for swimwear and actually made it fun. Though, this early into my new role, I hadn’t quite connected the dots.
Selling for Bromelia, I learned how to find the right fit for different body types and what women really want in their swimwear that’s missing in the market today. We’re bringing it: fit, form, function, fabric, and ethical manufacturing.
My time fitting women in our swimwear built the solid foundation for working with our production. I co-create new styles with our founder, and oversee the manufacturing process with its many details. Having the equal connection to both product and purchaser is a unique aspect that sets Bromelia apart. Lauren Quinn started the company with the purpose to create jobs for women while providing a better option in the swimwear market. This foundational ethos is still true and we only aim to solidify it more with our company’s growth.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Being so close to the center of how a company operates, I’ve had to unlearn hating making mistakes. There’s just too many elements that can go awry in the course of a project, too many messages that can get crossed, and too many other things to get done and move forward with to be stuck on mistakes. They happen, they sometimes have to happen to discover better methods, they can bring about an accidental and fortunate result, and they will continue to happen as long as progress is happening as well. I’m aiming to reframe them as just part of the learning process.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Our entire team has a passion for the woman in our suits, and we are fueled by her. Our company is addicted to providing something great; and we’re all deeply connected to the entire process: from the start of the fabrics being spun from spool to the reposts on Instagram of memories made wearing our brand. I want to see Bromelia become the foremost brand for elevated and accessible swimwear for women.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bromeliaswimwear.com
- Instagram: bromelia_swimwear