Photos by Aleeza Zinn
Meet Margaret Johnson, North Carolina native who is currently a freshman at Elon University. Johnson has always had a love for the beach, having grown up next to the ocean her whole life. She has also modeled for a local bathing suit boutique and decided to combine her love for the beachy lifestyle and bikinis into a blog, The Beachy-Keen Blonde.
Hometown: Wilmington, North Carolina
Major/Minor: Cinema and television arts major with human service studies minor.
What was life like growing up by the beach?
It was definitely a privilege. Growing up, my dad taught me how to do all sorts of water sports. I learned water skiing, wakeboarding, and skurfing, which is surfing on the waves created by a boat. Once I was old enough I learned how to drive boats, so I was able to pick up my friends on the water. We didn’t have our drivers’ licenses yet, so it was nice to have another way around.
How did your hometown influence your interest in starting a blog about bathing suits?
I grew up living in bathing suits, especially during the summer, because I live by the water. I was always interested in finding new bathing suit brands and as I got older I started following different blogs about girls’ bathing suits. My interest continued to grow and I started researching different swimwear fabrics and then modeling for local boutiques’ swim lines. I talked to my friends about it and everyone said I should do something more with this and take my passion to another level. I began to seriously consider my options and I decided to take my interests and start a blog.
What is your blog about?
My blog is brand new, but I’m planning to review different swimwear brands, tanning oils and lotions, beach cover ups and write a few lifestyle posts about beachy aspects of life.
Do you plan to expand your brand, The Beachy-Keen Blonde in the future?
Of course! I already have a plan to expand and make it into a youtube channel. The very talented Zaria Zinn made me a logo which I will print stickers of and brand with on campus. Hopefully The Beachy-Keen Blonde will grow, that’s the goal!
How do you hope to incorporate The Beachy-Keen Blonde in a career?
I’m very into website design and graphic design, which I have been able to experiment with while creating my blog. I used to love scrapbooking, which for me was an early introduction into layout design. Maybe my career will be related to that, but more importantly I know that I want to be by the beach!
What is your favorite bathing suit brand that you’ve tried thus far?
As of now it would have to be Frankie’s Bikinis. I also love L Space, they have a big range of bathing suits and their fabric is amazing, but recently I have grown to love Frankie’s. Their fabric is extremely soft, all of their bikinis fit perfectly and they’re very comfortable to wear. Also, the designs are really cute.
Check out Johnson’s blog, The Beachy-Keen Blonde, to read about all things bathing suits and beachy lifestyle!