Artist of the Month - October

When I met Dana I soon realised she was a 'Serial Entrepreneur' but what I didn't know is that she also creates hand-made products. How many of you ever thought of having your own custom-made bathing costume done by a local? I don't think it was possible, but now it is! Thanks to Dana Carmont, founder of 'Dana Carmont Bikinis', who's been in the swimwear business for over 20 years and made a name across 3 different continents. 

I know, Summer's over and we are talking about bikinis... but October is a very special month for Dana. At the start of the month she launched a very exciting Crowd Funding Campaign with the aim to raise money to buy her much-needed industrial lycra machines, and at the same time help empower other female women in business. Interesting, right? Read about her story in the blog post below and support her creative and inspiring cause!

1. When did you start creating?

I started creating active wear and bikinis when I left school at the age of 16 and had on-the-job training with Australia's most prestigious swim wear label called 'Seafolly'.

2. How did you start your business and how did it evolve today?

It all started in 1991 when I made stage bikinis and gym wear for myself, as I use to compete in bikini, figure and bodybuilding shows. When everybody started asking me where I had bought my attire from, I realised that I had found my niche market; nobody was making stage bikinis or funky gym wear back in those days. 

Over the decades my business grew in different ways. There was a time where I had the biggest boutique gym-wear label in Sydney. Eventually the competition started sprouting and when it got really crowded I decided to stop making gym-wear and instead focus solely on bikinis and swimwear and the 'Dana Carmont Bikinis' was born. This brand swiftly became a popular stage bikini brands in Australia, where I was already very well known in the industry. Website sales were my main focus. I continued designing new models, but as the business grew the majority of my work consisted of trying to keep up with the emails, taking bookings, packaging and posting out orders and travelling the world globally for bikini fittings for competitors of Bikini, Fitness and Body Building contests. As I could not take care of all the work load myself I decided to outsource a helper to do the cuttings and most of the sewing however I personally checked each and every item before it was sent to the client. 

In 2013 I decided to leave Australia and follow my husband to Singapore. As I discovered that the Asian market was being saturated with other similar labels, I started concentrating by offering personalised and custom-made swimwear for the everyday woman. 

In 2015 we moved to Bali where I could continue my customized stage and swim-wear business ta list of repetitive customers as I managed to find a reliable and professional fully-equipped tailor to help me with the production. 

In 2017 we moved to Malta where the struggle was finding the right Lycra Industrial Machines, so I had to momentarily postpone my main line of business as it was not being cost-effective to send everything to Bali and back to Malta and then send them out to the clients across the world. These machines cost around Eur 7000, and I came up with the idea to raise the funds by launching a Crowd Funding Campaign. The campaign started on the 1st of October and will run till the end of the month. The idea behind this project is not only to raise the money to buy the machines, but also to support other female entrepreneurs along the way. I have partnered up with some of the most amazing women I met on this island and we are supporting each-other by promoting each other's business. 

I would like to take this occasion to invite the readers of this blog to view my Crowd Funding Page from HERE and check out all the fantastic rewards that are available!

3. How do you manage the work/life balance?
I organise my work and life so I am giving my all to both. It was a lot harden when my children were younger as I was a single mum and dividing time was hard. However I learnt that I had to separate everything - family, friends and work - so that it does not effect me in a negative way.

4. What has been your best moment so far?
When I grew my online stage bikini business into a 1 person empire. I loved every moment of it!

5. What is your one piece of advice to other handmade sellers?
Never give up on your dream, as there will always be good times and bad times. There will always be ups and downs. There will be times where you have to re-invent yourself over and over again to be able to grow and move your business to the next level.

6. What's your favourite motto for motivation?
"You never know until you go!"

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