Meet Abby Brown | CEO & Founder of H2OM

We had the good fortune of connecting with Abby Brown and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Abby, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
My motto in life is often GO BIG, or GO HOME. With anything in life, there is no reward without any risk. I’ve often been known to be a risk taker (even if it scares myself or others!), and I do my best to trust my gut as a compass in going for it. I think that’s what has allowed me to build this business and do well in previous careers, to be honest. Playing it safe never interested me. It’s what has allowed me to collect the experiences I have. From traveling, living and working abroad to meeting all the people who have connected me to my next steps, it has given me the confidence to keep going. It’s through the rewards, even if they are small, that have validated the risk(s) being worth it. In saying that, risk can come with missed opportunities. Your idea didn’t work. Your budget didn’t hold. Your plan fell apart. While even though it can be at times calculated and assessed, uncertainty and pivoting is just inevitable. Does it mean you failed? Absolutely not. It means you had the courage to actually try and to keep going even when it’s hard. Life is way too short to be standing on the sidelines waiting for someone to put you in to creating the life you want. Even if you don’t always win, the lesson will help you along your journey to what’s next. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

When I decided to turn ocean bound plastic into fashionable activewear, I knew I wanted to bring in the elements of the ocean into my designs. I also knew I wanted to be extremely mindful of the impact I would have by entering the fashion industry. Therefore, each decision prioritizes the positive impact on both people and planet. As my brand was built from the ocean, I wanted to devote the H2om brand to this space and use the designs to act as a voice to the voiceless. The designs often spark conversation and serve as a platform to educate others about the brand and its mission. I was super intentional in the way I wanted the attention-grabbing designs to do this and so we designed seascapes of underwater life to uniquely wrap around the garment to help tell this story. Through vibrant, eccentric colors and a technical placement of each design, the legging designs are different from most prints that are out on the market. Meaning, the leggings don’t have an all-over, step-and -repeat design, but rather a very engineered layout where the two legs are not the same. The way we achieve this is by transferring the designs onto white fabric through a sublimation print process. This process uses roughly 95% less water than traditional dyeing methods and does not use toxic chemicals that pollute both the product and/or the factory working conditions. Not only are we being mindful in our production process, but we are also able to achieve amazing pops of color in this process. To finish, we use the leftover materials in our scraps to create additional, value-added products including our matching scrunchies that come with each purchase.  While we love the outcome, this process of setting the designs up in this way was very laborious and extremely challenging. In particular, finding production partners who were confident enough to execute our vision while aligning with our goals of wasting less in the process. With little to zero experience in the Garment industry, it was extremely challenging entering this space. We had a lot of people tell us no, and the ones who told us yes either provided estimates that were astronomically high or weren’t really experts in this space. We spent a lot of money in the R&D phase where we tested and developed this unique process, all here in California. All in all, it took about 2 years to navigate with a few kinks in the road that are still being ironed out. When we finally received our product in hand within a price range that was doable, we were extremely proud.

As a business owner, it personally taught me a lot about my resourcefulness, being motivated by a challenge, and not allowing someone else’s opinions prevent me from trusting myself. From bootstrapping since day 1, to understanding the technical fashion lingo, to managing fluctuating supply chain prices and now needing to fundraise to help us grow, I’d say this has been one of the hardest things I’ve taken on professionally. My prior background was in Marketing & Experiential Production, and even as a Creative Event Producer for 40,000+ user conferences the grit required in this role has stolen the show.  In saying that, it has also been one of the most rewarding. Seeing your vision come to life is quite a profound experience, and then seeing people interact with your vision through their level of stoke on your product is just next level. My advice to someone who has an idea or a dream is to put your heart into it and just go for it. Just make sure you are clear on your motivations. Being invested in something for sheer profit and/or fame based on success of outcome can tank your bank account and your self esteem. But having passion is what can carry you through the hard days and push you further into achieving your purpose. We hope to be able to use this brand as a platform to inspire and empower others to get involved in making a difference and become educated about how to create a better tomorrow for our future. If you’re interested in wanting to help us grow this brand or learn more, we’d love to hear from you!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
1 week in San Diego would consist of starting up in Carlsbad and making your way down to Coronado. There’s so much to do here so here are just a few suggestions along the way! Enjoy the shops and eateries in the Village, walk / hang along Carlsbad State Beach and peruse the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch! Next, stop in Encinitas and just off the 101 hit up Hansen’s Surf Shop, Goodonya Eatery and Yogananda’s Meditation Gardens. Head to Culture Brewing for a sunny day beer and pop into the Roxy if the music and timing is right. To top off the night, Cali Cream is a must try just steps away from gorgeous Moonlight Beach, one of my favorite beaches! Next day, enjoy some of the beach day before taking the coast down (The Coaster Train is a fun way!) and make a pitstop in Solana Beach’s Cedros Ave for art walking. If timing is right, head to Belly Up for a show that night. This is one of my favorite music venues! Or, If you’re in town for the horse races, head to the Del Mar Race ground. If not your thing, head on down to La Jolla Coves for some snorkeling, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, sea lion gazing and more. If you’re a golfer, be sure to hit up Torrey Pines Golf Course and/or Hiking Torrey Pines & Blacks Beach. At night, give Osteria Romantica a try for some amazing Italian food before heading to the Comedy Store for some of the best comedy in my opinon! Next, head to PB for a day + night and enjoy Yoga on the Bluffs with Namasteve every Thursday – Sunday. If you’re up for some surfing, rent a board and surf Law Street as well as enjoy the view from the Pier. Head to Fish Shop for Fish Tacos & Poke or enjoy the sunset from Tower 23’s restaurant JRDN. The next day, perhaps rent your own boat and hang out on the water for the day or I’d highly recommend Whale Watching Tours off Seaforth Marina. Next, head to Little Italy and enjoy the Mercado and all the amazing energy this little hub offers. If you want some history while here, I would 100% opt in for the Old Town Trolley Tour or tour of the USS Midway which is a fascinating historical experience. You won’t regret it! At night, Rady Shell is a new performing arts center and has great concerts and movies. Grab a ticket and a table if you can. If you miss a show, head to a Padres game at Petco Park. Lastly, stop in Coronado! I would stay here for 2 days. Rent a golf cart or e-bike and enjoy life on the island. Play a game of pickleball at the renovated Marriott and walk along the shorelines around to Orange Ave where there is Coronado Brewing amongst dozens of other shops and eateries all the way up to the infamous Hotel Del. Stay here for a night and enjoy a beach day with cabanas and live music near the taco shack on Sunday evening. Good luck wanting to leave! 

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My partner, closest friends & family who have all been my biggest fans and support system in this journey, seeing me at my lowest and empowering me to come back up to my highest. Also, the connections made within my community who enrich this experience. I am forever grateful.  

Website: https://www.shoph2om.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoph2om/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brownabby/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shoph2om

Email: abby@shoph2om.com

Image Credits
@Lindsay.McOien, Commercial Photographer specializing in Lifestyle + Fashion