The Salty Minx Story

Where we started

Shopping for swimwear online can be, in a word, frustrating.

Sure, you avoid changing room dramas by shopping from the comfort of your own home, but you have to put up with sizing that’s completely unpredictable, items that never arrive, or mismatched sizing in tops and bottoms. And when something isn’t right, it’s virtually impossible to sort out a return or refund.

The idea for Salty Minx was born in 2018, the result of another fruitless, frustrating search for the perfect bikini for an upcoming holiday.

I’m a curvy mama. I have a body that I’m very comfortable with, and while the models on the websites are beautiful, I realised I wanted to see the suits on models who were similar in size or shape to me, to get an accurate idea of how they would fit.

The more sites I browsed, the more I became concerned with the ethics behind the manufacturing of some of these brands. There was just no possible way the super low pricing on some of the sites I came across could sustain paying the people making the swimsuits an ethical wage for their labour. 

So, I decided to start my own swimwear line and do it better.

Finding manufacturers with ethical practices was the first step, and I was thrilled to find two companies I was really impressed with. I wanted to make sure the workers were paid well above standard wages and working in healthy, safe working conditions. Both manufacturers work with Econyl® and Repreve® fabric, which is made from recycled plastic and ocean waste. Samples from both proved to be of amazing quality and the sizing was true to standard sizing. I also sourced sustainable or bio-degradable versions of all packaging, labels, and liners.

With these core aspects of the business sorted, Salty Minx was born. I got to flex my creative muscles to design the swimsuits, bikinis and prints to create products that are not only functional and ethically sustainable but uniquely beautiful as well.

To showcase the Salty Minx line, I love working with small local businesses, so all our product photography is done by a line-up of fantastically talented local photographers and make-up artists.

As for our beautiful models, they are all everyday women from my local community.  I seek out women who fit the sizes we offer, meaning that as our range of sizes increases, you’ll see new faces (and bodies) appear. I want you to be able to click on your size in any suit and see a photo of a person who wears that same size, to get an idea of what the suit will look like on you!

To this day, Salty Minx is still just me, Hayley, though I have surrounded myself with an amazing team of contracted suppliers whose values align with mine.

That means that when you email or call Salty Minx, I’m the one who responds to you personally. I handle all your enquiries and any concerns or issues you might have.

Salty Minx is my baby, and I’m so proud to be offering products and a service I can really, 100%, stand behind.

Where we are going

Right now, Salty Minx is in its infancy; we’re a small business just at the start of a very exciting journey. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, and so excited about where we’re going.

In the future, I’m planning to expand both our product range and the range of sizes we offer. We will soon offer activewear made as well as our premium swimwear. As our size ranges increase, I hope to find community models to showcase not only diversity in body shapes and sizes, but also in every other uniquely human trait.

Basically, if you have a body and want to come and model our swimwear for us, we’d love to have you.

So that’s our story. Who we are. Who I am.

I’m so excited you’re here. If you don’t find anything that works for you right now, please check back from time to time, as we’re adding new products all the time.

Thank you for visiting!

With love,