Kayla Bell is the founder of Arrow + Phoenix Swimwear, a Black owned eco-friendly and sustainable swimwear brand based in the United States.

In today’s episode, Kayla shares her incredible journey starting Arrow + Phoenix, the inspiration behind her company and its mission, and her biggest dream. Born in New Orleans, Kayla has a strong sense of culture and she lets her travels inspire her and her collections. Her mission through Arrow + Phoenix is simple: To empower women, give back to the community, and provide creative, affordable, and comfortable swimwear that celebrates diversity, sustainability, + positivity.

Created by a self proclaimed beach bum, Arrow + Phoenix Swimwear was designed for the girl who can always be found near the water. She lives life without fear and travels as much as she can. A+P takes pride in offering pieces that are comfortable, sexy, and are supportive. Functionality is always their goal at A+P and above all else, they want you to feel like the gorgeous goddess you are whether you're laying on the beaches of St. Tropez, at a friend's pool party, or just looking to emphasize your tan lines!

At just seven years old, Kayla had a love for design and a keen eye for detail that has since taken her places she could have never imagined. While in middle and high school, she found that as a petite young woman with a 38DDD bra cup size, locating a comfortable swimsuit top that wasn't made with someone else's grandmother in mind was nearly impossible, so she began creating her own. Somewhere between sporty and spirited, A+P is created with fun colors, '90's influenced styles and comfortable silhouettes. Kayla decided A+P would be her outlet to not only showcase her designs, but also the works of others via her blog, The Wayve.

You can usually find Kayla somewhere in a corner wearing her favorite Nike slides and a Laina Rauma bodysuit with her eyes glued to a computer researching content, working on swimwear, or seeking inspiration while on her many travels.

“I let my joy carry me the rest of the way. I’ve had so much fun creating this brand, even through the hardships that I’ve encountered over the years. It was always important to me [to follow my joy] because I always understood why I was creating the brand. It was a form of expression, and I wanted to build a brand that stood for something. I was always adamant about having a sustainable aspect to our brand, really having diversity, and having our brand known for that diversity. Not just diversity in skin color, but having models of different shapes and sizes, skin colors, and hair textures. I wanted to have representation that I didn’t see growing up, and I never wanted anyone to feel like they were excluded from our brand because of their size.”

— Kayla Bell

Tune in on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7bZHrtjAzbksbLWNaak1NM

Tune in on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stories-of-inspiring-joy/id1510488632

To learn more about Kayla and Arrow + Phoenix visit their website https://www.arrowandphoenix.com and on Instagram @arrowandphoenixswim @iamkaylambell_ and use the code THANKYOU at checkout for a special discount.

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.