The Founder’s Story – From Switzerland to Taiwan to Hawaii

SurfAce was founded in 2014 in Southern Taiwan, growing into a brand as international as its founder, Eileen Carls.

Born in Zurich with Swiss, Taiwanese, and German heritage, Eileen left Switzerland after high school to explore her roots in Taiwan. There, she discovered surfing at 17, turning a weekend hobby into a lifelong passion. After 12 years of adventure and transformation, she moved to Oahu in 2021 to be closer to the ocean and her local partner.

From a childhood spent hiking and camping in Switzerland to chasing waves in Taiwan and Hawaii, her journey is woven into SurfAce—where adventure, culture, and a love for nature come together.

Surfing in Taiwan

Surf culture in Taiwan is still young compared to other places. When Eileen started surfing in Kaohsiung, only a small local surf club existed, mostly made up of uncles passing down their knowledge. It was an exciting time, but as one of the few female surfers, it felt intimidating.

Finding boards, suits, or even basic surf gear was a challenge, and most people were figuring things out on their own. Surfing information in English took longer to reach Taiwan, and even today, surfing here feels like the “good old days” elsewhere—fresh, new, and growing.

Being part of this emerging surf culture was exciting, but it also came with challenges—one of them being what to wear. There were no surf-friendly bikinis or swimsuits, so Eileen’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in. Determined to solve the problem, she studied business at university while teaching herself how to sew bikinis on the side.

Designing and Selling Bikinis

Initially in 2014 her handmade bikinis where sold out of her home-studio. Two years later she graduated from university, moved to an office building and started manufacturing in a small local factory. The business grew fast and soon there were too many customers walking into that office as well, so in 2018 she started collaborating with other retailers in Taiwan and opened a brick and mortar shop herself. It was an intense and fun chapter! But once the pandemic hit, she decided to close the shop, transfer all of the business online and move to Hawaii! 

Now all of our products are available exclusively online and sold in a few chosen retail shops in Taiwan. 

Why "SurfAce"?

The name SurfAce comes from "surface"—the surface of the ocean where the surf happens, the waves crash, and where we find joy and excitement.

"I chose to capitalize the "A" in SurfAce to split the word into two parts: Surf and Ace.

"Surf" is simple—it’s what I love most.
"Ace" is about empowering women to feel confident in the lineup and "ace it."

Surfing is challenging enough without having to worry about your suit coming off in the waves. Trust me, I’ve been there—naked in the surf, searching for my top or bottom, and it wasn’t fun. That’s why I created bikinis that stay in place, no matter the surf.

I couldn’t find a cute, surf-ready bikini where I lived in Taiwan, so I decided to make one myself!

Now, we make both leisure and active bikinis. The active designs are surf- and dive-proof, solid, and stay in place so you can focus on the surf, not your suit. Wear it, paddle out, and go ace it!"

— Eileen

Ethical Manufacturing & Conscious Consumption

All the way up to 2016 our bikinis were handmade in our home studio in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. ​In 2017 we started working with a small, local family owned factory. To this day, we are still manufacturing exclusively in their factory because we are close to the family and cherish their values and business ethics.

We always insist on using regenerated, high quality material wherever possible to decrease our ecological footprint and encourage everyone to consume "consciously".

Read more about our brand values