Three Wise Women

Action Sports' Most Influential Women: Monica Wise, Founder L*Space

Basking in the sunny glow of Florida beaches during her youth, Monica Wise grew up heavily immersed in the surf culture. Intrigued by the coastal shops and swimwear design, Wise began to dabble in retail nearly 20 years ago, which turned into the early stages of creating her own brand. Back then, when she was initially developing L*Space, Wise would never have guessed that nearly two decades later she’d accept consecutive SIMA Image Awards and receive Mercedes-Benz Presents Designer Of The Year at the Miami Swim Show—two giant milestones in her career that eventually led to L*Space becoming one of the most well-known brands in the surf industry today.

On a recent morning at L*Space headquarters—an open and airy warehouse-style office in Lake Forest, California—Wise sits perched on the edge of her seat at what would typically be a receptionist’s desk; however, she prefers being able to greet people immediately as they walk through the door. After C&C Companies acquired Wise’s brainchild nearly three and a half years ago, L*Space increased its staff, adding eight full-time employees and expanding its warehouse space. What Wise wasn’t willing to compromise in the deal was the brand’s identity. While it has since matured and expanded, giving Wise the freedom to focus most of her energy solely on the design aspect of the business, it’s apparent that she still enjoys the daily interactions of a small company.

“It’s all about being a people person,” says Wise. “If you’re good with people, you’re good with everything. It’s all about visualizing.”

As a woman, owning a successful company in a male-driven industry may seem like it would present its fair share of challenges, but Wise says that has never even crossed her mind. For her, the focus has always been on developing her business by keeping a good rapport and open line of communication with retailers. In an extremely competitive category such as swimwear, Wise says the most important thing her brand has done is keep its finger on the pulse of what the customer really needs. With all of its production based out of Orange County, L*Space has faster product order fulfillment rates, helping speed up delivery and create a more efficient time-to-market process, according to Wise.

“You always feel a sense of competition, but you find a way to stay ahead of it,” says Wise. “It’s also really always about passion—loving what you do, because if not, you won’t do it with conviction. After all these years, I still look at coming to work as a vacation.

Red Clover: Fertility Herb and Tonic

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) is spreading like wild fire through fertility communities everywhere! So what has given this plant such popularity recently? This is the question I ask myself. As an herbalist, Red Clover has always been a favorite plant of mine, and I know other herbalists will agree. Traditionally it is one of the best anti-cancer herbs. It is also a nourishing blood purifying herb. Because it is so high in nutrition it is often used in herbal infusions during pregnancy preparation, pregnancy and lactation when directed by a natural physician or herbalist.

Red Clover is a nourishing food herb. It is rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals. It is one of the best blood purifying herbs. This blood purifying action is wonderful for pregnancy preparation, aiding in detoxification of environmental pollutants prior to conception. This function also may be helpful for women with cyclic acne. The action of Red Clover is one of the best known for acne and other skin conditions.