Bikinis designed in Bremerton, so good they made Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit issue

BREMERTON — In 1999, Heidi Fish quit her job as a food and beverage manager with a high-end hotel chain. The Seattle resident at the time traded her laptop for a sewing machine, and started making swimwear in her kitchen, keeping an eye on her five kids and handling sales herself.

"Like a gypsy went on the beach," Fish, now 64, describing how she'd head to Alki Beach to sell her products every sunny day.

The sales went really well, however. Her initial success with home-made designs led Fish from a beachside set-up to trade shows and competitions, eventually "winning a Super Bowl for designers," as she put it — her bikinis were worn by models in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue's print edition, in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2013.

Now a Bremerton resident, having moved across Puget Sound in 2016, Fish's basement at her home near Phinney Bay still hosts plenty of swimwear — all designed and made herself, and retailing for between $100 and $250 or so on her website. Some were made with unique materials, such as guitar picks and denim — the type of creativity that could catch the eye of a Sports Illustrated scout who must pare down about 10,000 options to 90 or so that make the iconic magazine.

But Fish says she generates most of the ideas to design clothes based on her customer's needs, not necessarily a professional bikini model's. After giving birth to five kids Fish found that it was no longer easy to shop for swimwear that fits her body shape, so she decided to make customized swimwear for herself and for others.

"Your butts are not the same and your boobs aren't the same. And you just feel like everything's deflated after having so many kids," Fish said.

Originally from Alaska, Fish spent most of her life living in Seattle before falling for West Sound.

"Bremerton is beautiful," Fish said. "I fell in love with Forks. We're gonna be doing a photo shoot out on La Push. It's just so peaceful. What I liked about living over here is how quiet it is."

Fish first learned the skills of sewing — including how to measure with her hands — from her grandmother, who designed and made clothes and hats, she said.

When Fish was in her 20s, she made outfits for herself to go out dancing. Sometimes, she saw the same design created by her appearing in fashion magazines several months after she wore them in public, but she never took it seriously, Fish said. Fish just thought it was cool.

"I was busy bartending and working my way up in the hospitality business and really didn't think much of my current activity at that point," Fish said.

For a long time, Fish's life was filled with work. She served her customers in Seattle to make customized swimsuits at her boutique on California Avenue. Sometimes she went to her clients' houses or apartments to do measurements and communicate with them about their ideal swimwear. In 2019, Fish closed her store in Seattle, seeking a less-intense working schedule while enjoying the tranquility of the Kitsap Peninsula.

"Kitsap is really a nice community. And the people are really really sweet," Fish said.

The global pandemic hit hard on Fish's business, as she couldn't measure people's bodies in person, Fish said. Now, Fish is no longer focusing on bringing more orders and clients in. The grandmother of seven grandkids continues sketching, drawing, designing, and sewing to do what she loved — and is still being noticed by the fashion world, with one of her designs appearing again in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in May.

Seeing her ideas coming into reality is what she enjoyed most at work, Fish said.

"Looking at a finished prototype that has no flaws. That makes me happy," she said.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Swimwear from Bremerton lands in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue