Welcome to our Local Business Spotlight series, designed to give you a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at the journeys that went into creating some of your favorite brands.

Today's guest is Megan Luchtel from Lake Label, a brand that offers sun-protective swimwear for infants and toddlers.

Let’s dive in.

Tell us a little about you and your background. How did you come up with Lake Label and where did the name come from?

Hi, I’m Megan, the founder and creator of Lake Label, a sun protective children’s swimwear line. Ever since I was little, I have always loved design. My grandmother taught me to sew when I was young, by middle school I was creating patterns and sewing pieces of clothing for myself and in college I designed and made a formal dress for myself. (However, I am definitely not a professionally trained seamstress or designer!)

I remember telling my parents that I wanted to study fashion in college, but I felt like it wasn’t serious enough, so I went to school for international business. It’s funny how Lake Label ended up being a fusion of so many of my passions: design, being outdoors, health, and taking care of our little ones.

My family loves to be outdoors, especially near the water. We spend most of our summers at Lake Okoboji, but getting three kids “boat” ready is not easy. I’ve spent hours chasing the shade with a newborn and lathering up my toddlers with sunscreen – only to find a red spot on their shoulder after a long day of swimming and boating. So, after five years of sunscreen in the eyes, reapplication tantrums and watching all of my hard work rub off into the sand and water, I knew there had to be a better way. By the time I had my third child, Nelson, I really needed a swimsuit that would protect his skin and allow us to spend all day on the boat or dock with our older kids.

This was also right around the time when major sunscreen brands were recalling thousands of products for containing benzene, a cancer-causing chemical. At this point, I knew sunscreen alone wasn’t going to be our best defense against the sun. By the time Nelson was one year old, I could see the sunsuit in my head and had spent a year shopping for it but couldn’t find the product I was envisioning. Finally, I told my husband, “I can’t be the only mom with this problem, I’m going to design a sun protective swimwear line”. That’s when I started sketching and taking steps to bring the idea to life.

The name Lake Label actually came to me while I was in the sauna after spending weeks thinking and meditating on what the brand would be called. I fell in love with the elevated and nautical feel of “Lake Label” and the direct tie to the lake origins that lead me to create the line in the first place. In the end, I want Lake Label to be a swimwear line that allows families to spend more time together outside.

How does one get started in the world of creating a physical product? There has to be so much testing, sourcing fabric, right? Tell us some of those early stages!

In the beginning I didn’t know what to do other than to start sketching. I had to figure out how to take the idea in my head and bring it into the real world. For me, that meant drawing it and thinking through what the physical product was going to look and feel like. This included thinking through details like fabric quality, seams, zippers, print designs, etc.

I quickly realized that I would need some kind of partner to help me with the logistics of manufacturing and developing the product. After a lot of research, I found a partner in Bali Indonesia that works with ethically certified manufacturers to bring small fashion startups to life.

They helped me turn my sketches into digital designs which were then eventually turned into prototypes for testing. We went through more than 20 versions of prototypes before finalizing the sunsuit design. In every detail and decision that was made I thought of my own children and how they would feel in the swimwear.

Fabric sourcing was a component of the business I had originally intended to outsource to my partner in Bali, but I quickly realized that to achieve the level of quality I was looking for, I needed to manage this part of the business myself. I had never sourced fabric before and had no idea where to start so I picked up the phone and started calling fabric suppliers all over the US looking for chemical free UPF 50+ fabric.

After a few weeks of calls I found my fabric supplier who has been an integral part of my business. This was one of the first times I realized that it was going to be very important for me to take ownership of projects and trust my gut, sometimes even when I wasn’t the most qualified. It’s my business and I need to learn about all aspects of it.

What was the process like finding a vendor to make all the suits? That seems like a huge partnership and you want to have the right one!

Yes, finding the right partners was crucial and definitely took some time. But with a little bit of hustle and a Google search bar, you can learn how to do almost anything in the information age. The most important thing I learned through interviewing and finding suppliers and manufacturers is how important it is to work with people you like and can trust.

It’s one thing to have an amazing product that solves a problem, but then you have to sell it! What’s your strategy there and how did you come up with the distribution side?

Believe it or not, sales has been one of the easier parts of my business. Product development and sourcing took almost a year so once it was finally time to start selling the product, I was amazed at how smoothly it went.

I knew that I would need to find retail partners in other parts of the country to raise brand awareness for Lake Label in places where I physically couldn’t be, so I started reaching out to a few of my favorite shops in my favorite vacation destinations and was really encouraged by the interest and feedback on the product. I am currently selling the line in 11 retail stores across the country and selling directly to consumers through my website. When you create a product you love and believe in, it’s so fun to see other people respond to it in a positive way.

One of my biggest challenges getting this business started…

Was figuring out how to turn a sketch into a physical product and the amount of time it took to go through that process while maintaining focus on a quality end product.

Some of my best resources as a small business owner are…

My friends and advisors. I love asking for referrals and advice from people who have been in the industry longer than me and know way more than me. Whenever possible, I have found other small businesses as partners and learned so much from them along the way.