By Diana Cavagnaro
Hola Swim is a local business operated by Aida Soria and Syncletica Maestas. These two have been lifelong friends here in San Diego and decided to start a company when they couldn’t find swimwear that they liked. Soria received a communications degree from San Diego State University and Maestas received a business degree at Parsons, The New School for Design.
When I interviewed them many years back their business was called Dos Caras Swimwear. People had trouble pronouncing it so they changed it to Hola Swim which reflects their Latino heritage. Hola means ‘hello’ or ‘wave’ and communicates a warm feeling. Last year they opened an adorable storefront on Logan Avenue and currently are open by appointment only. The store is very intimate and they have events on the street during the year.
This amazing duo creates comfortable and stylish swimwear for all sizes and have had everything made here in San Diego until coronavirus lockdown measures. In March, many operations were halted which left them with a lot of left-over fabric. They found that it was taking too much time bringing their new line from the pattern maker, and then to the cutter, and onto the sewer. These small businesses here in the US were too slow and they found that everything was delayed. Soria and Maestas felt their next option was to make small capsule collections in a factory in Bali that will do everything for them. Now they won’t have to wait and wonder if the cutter will complete the job in time to give it to the sewers. It will all be done with this one company. Since this is a second job for both of them this will take away a lot of stress and they will be able to meet their orders now.
In 2018 ,they had rave reviews when they showed a collection at Fashion Week San Diego. In February 2013 they went to NOLCHA at New York Fashion Week and then again in February 2019 they showed at Pier 52 with small emerging brands. There was a lot of press there which led to being featured in Vogue Paris and Cosmo Latina. A pivot in their life was going to the Small Business Counseling Development Center. They helped them to come up with a plan to help grow their business. Since they moved online, their business has grown remarkably.
In addition to online sales, they also sell wholesale. These swimsuits are very versatile and multifunctional. Their swimwear can be worn day or night and appeals to a much larger audience. If you would like more information about this rapidly growing business contact them at www.holaswim.com.
These two women have done an amazing job of including women of every size and shape. In my opinion they were so brave to “climb this Mountain’ They are young enthusiastic and probably most important willing to take a chance. It is great to know that young people are risk takers willing to work to achieve.