Meet Sophia Kim of Siempre Golden in Brentwood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Kim.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sophia. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I think it all started when I went to Hawaii as a high school graduation trip. I was staying with a local family in Kailua, and they introduced me to a bit of Brazilian bottoms they had. After that, I was on a search for little bottoms, but everywhere I looked they were over $100 for a pair of bottoms. Even vendors who sold bikinis at a stand on the beach were $100 a pair. I guess you could call that the first spark or obsession I had for swimsuits.

Once I went to the University of California, San Diego, the culture of being at the beach all the time – I was constantly on the hunt for the best bikini. I didn’t like the options Victoria’s Secret or Target provided, the bottoms were always a more conservative – wide cut. I went to the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach while I was in college, and basically just looked at every girl’s swimsuit to study what was trending. By the second year of college, I had my mind set that I wanted to start a swimwear brand.

I graduated from college within three years, and so I took my “fourth year” to take on this venture to start. Long story short, I went through all of LA to find a manufacturer then went to Bali to find someone. Since everyone in LA turned me down due to the time, it would take to make braided bikinis.

Has it been a smooth road?
It was definitely NOT a smooth road haha. If entrepreneurship didn’t have any struggle, I think everyone would love to be one. For one thing, there isn’t any stability in the beginning. Not only that, it was very tough to go against my mom.

My mom is very traditional, and since she was an immigrant herself, she didn’t want me to go through any hardships or adversity. She wanted me to live a “simple” life of going to college, then law school or medical school to get a license. She thought that was the ticket to success and financial security. We argued for almost three years straight that this shouldn’t be a career choice for me.

Haha during my third year into the business, she pleaded that I go to community college and take some sort of pre-requisite class for Nursing School. I took Psychology to appease her. Another struggle in the beginning was, there weren’t any mentors or friends or podcasts that were doing the same thing I was doing. So I felt very lonely in the process.

Now there’s a huge movement where you practically know the CEOs of each company and their story — which I think is great and provides hope for others!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Siempre Golden – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Siempre Golden is a clothing brand that specializes in swimwear. We have now expanded to clothing and most likely will get into lingerie. I’m mostly proud that I didn’t give up!

I think the unique cutouts are what sets apart Siempre Golden from other companies. We aren’t afraid to do something different!

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and the least?
I like that Los Angeles is filled with dreamers. Everyone here has hope to become the next big thing, whether it’s for fashion, acting, modeling, vlogging, etc. It’s invigorating to be surrounded with such positive-minded people.

The downside to this is, the “fake it to you make it” attitude. Yes, I believe in being positive. However, I do not support lying to people or providing a facade or fake life. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, but then put in the work to achieve your dreams.

Put actions behinds those words! Never expect it to be glamorous from the start. I think this teaches you to be humble. If you only knew the three multiple jobs I had when I first started Siempre Golden — people only see the accomplishments on social media, not the grunt work, the tears and sweat you shed trying to make it work.

Pricing:

• $58-108 per set
• $40 clothing

Contact Info:

• Website: siempregolden.com
• Email: support@siempregolden.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/siempregolden

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.