My Story
My story
Cali girl at heart.
Coolangatta
is home now.
I'm Kim. I design things I actually love, surf when the waves show up, and make every shirt when you order it. This is the whole story.
I've been making things for as long as I can remember. It started early: my first real art showing was in 5th grade, our class theme was the Statue of Liberty right around its centennial, and my teacher pulled me aside afterward to tell me to keep going. That one conversation set the direction. Through high school I spent most lunch breaks in the art studio, I studied design, I got my hands into silkscreening and letterpress and anything else I could. I even hand-printed our wedding invitations. Making things has never felt like a discipline I had to learn. It's just how I think.
MoxiCali started life as Moxie and Sundries, a little Etsy shop I launched while we were living in San Francisco. The name felt right at the time: eclectic, a little wandering, not easy to pin down. As the brand grew and we moved to San Diego, the Cali side of things started pulling harder. The nature, the colour, the warmth and the weird and the openness of it all. That energy had always been in me. I just hadn't named it yet.
Watching the sun go down, we played around with words until MoxiCali appeared. Yes, it's close to Mexicali. Given how we feel about tacos, we were fine with that. What I love about it is the balance: Moxi is the outward energy, the drive to make things. Cali is the ease, the sandy feet, the feeling that everything's going to be okay as long as the sun is out.
santorini, greece
My first time surfing was in Mexico, years before any of this. First session, I caught one real wave and time stopped. It probably lasted three seconds and felt like forever. That feeling never left. When we settled in San Diego I started properly, and the ocean humbled me fast. Surfing is genuinely hard, and the sea doesn't care how keen you are. But I've never stopped loving it.
There's something about being in the water that I can't fully explain and stopped trying to. The beauty of your surroundings, the way a good session pulls you completely into the moment, nothing else exists. It's where a lot of my best ideas come from, and honestly where most of the designs are born. The ocean has a way of showing you exactly what matters.
After years of my Australian husband talking up the Gold Coast, I finally caved. Coolangatta is home now, and I have to say, he was right. We still miss the tacos terribly. We would genuinely love a Trader Joe's. But most mornings I'm in the water at Rainbow Bay or Greenmount, and I've watched whales breach, dolphins run the lineup, turtles drift past, the odd stingray cruise underneath. It never gets old. The ocean gives you something different every single time.
I print on demand. I pick quality garments. I don't chase fads or drop designs after a season because I want you to be wearing these for years, not weeks. The water, the light, the wildlife out here: it all shows up in the work. Lucas is my muse, my biggest supporter, and my surf partner. He deserves full credit for the shorter brand name too.
One person. A design degree. A surfboard. And a deep love for the good stuff.
With love from Cooly,
Kim ❤️
P.S. I really do love hearing from you. Say hi, tell me where you caught your best wave, show me how you're wearing it. My inbox is always open.