Founded by brothers Eric and Brian Barr, surf brand Feeling Swell has just opened its first store at 222 Main Street in Venice. In a neighborhood known for its surf culture, the arrival of Feeling Swell brings something fresh to the Los Angeles surf industry, offering a resolutely optimistic spirit and supporting mental health. Among the surfboards, sweatshirts and tee-shirt collections, Fashionnetwork.com met with the two founders to discuss the opening.
FashionNetwork.com : You’ve just opened your first store in Venice, almost 10 years after the launch of your brand. Why open now?
F.S: The true decision to start the brand was actually made in 2017, whereas 2015 was just when the trademark and LLC paperwork were filed. Feeling Swell was founded in Jersey Shore and, after testing the brand for potential in the first few years of operation, we decided to move out to California in 2021. A surf shop/community space was always the vision, we just never found the perfect location until this space at 222 Main in Venice opened up!
FNW : How do you compare your brand with other surf brands? Is your offer more lifestyle than technical?
F.S: Whether a brand sells technical surf products, advocates for the values of the surf lifestyle, or promotes creative expression, we believe every surf brand uniquely contributes to the greater surf community. Feeling Swell’s unique contribution is to simply offer everyone a reason to smile, and we do that through comfy clothes, surfing, and mental health advocacy.
FNW : What clothes did you start with? And how do you want to extend your collection?
F.S: The first ever t-shirt was designed by a popular surf artist known as Jay Alders. From there we quickly moved to sweatshirts, crewnecks, and hats… Really just your essentials. We plan to develop toward anything surf-adjacent while keeping things comfortable, casual, and fun! We’ve always really loved those retro 90s Billabong, Quiksilver looks so we hope to try and bring back some of that style with a new-school twist. Its just something we haven’t focused on too much yet, as our attention has been given to growing our community and telling our story.
FNW: Your brand is supporting mental health. Why did you make this choice? And what actions are you taking?
F.S: Social impact has been a tenet of the brand since day 1. We settled on mental health for two reasons 1) the mental health epidemic is very real and 2) the mental health cause is close to our family. Through our first few years we contributed by donating money to nonprofits- over $110,000 in our first few years. Now, we both donate money and focus on directly engaging our community. We are currently partnered with a group of students at Venice High School to learn how we can improve mental health services there.
FNW: What customer profile are you targeting?
F.S: Feeling Swell’s clients are anyone who wants to be part of the Feeling Swell community. We offer uplifting apparel to our customers, we do collaboration projects with partner surf shops, we run fundraisers with local businesses, and we work with mental health nonprofits to further their mission. We look for creative ways to get everyone involved rather than view anyone as a client.
FNW: In addition to your e-shop and your first store, what distribution strategy are you aiming for?
F.S: We have sold through wholesalers for years and plan to continue expanding our wholesale partnerships. We sell primarily out of surf shops and boutiques that, in line with our values, care about their local community. Most of our wholesale partners are in New Jersey, Florida, and California. They’re fun to work with and have been extremely supportive of our mission.
FNW : Is sustainability important to you?
F.S: Sustainability is certainly important to us. Now that we have been able to settle in Southern California, one of our priorities is to develop a plan that ensures we are minimizing our environmental footprint and sourcing products ethically.
FNW : As two brothers at the head of your brand, how do you distribute the roles?
F.S: Eric has always driven anything creative: apparel, branding, design, promo materials. Brian focuses on strategic development and communications. Working with family takes pratice, but it becomes a strength when you learn how to do it!
