Mer-Sea’s ocean-themed beauty-products line isn’t just a day at the beach

Even on rainy afternoons in Kansas, Lina Dickinson is ready to hit the beach. When I stop by her warehouse in the midst of a late-spring thunderstorm, the tall California blonde is modeling a travel wrap from Mer-Sea, the ocean-themed bath, beauty and home-products line she founded with her friends Melanie Bolin and Stephanie Lawrence.

Lightweight, classy and stylish, the linen garment is part sweater, part scarf. “It’s also a swimsuit cover-up,” Dickinson tells me, knotting the light-blue fabric around her waist. “I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

Despite our landlocked state — not to mention the fat raindrops pelting the pavement outside — it’s easy to picture Dickinson rocking the breezy wrap while strolling a sandy shore. Which of course begs the question that always seems to accompany someone’s move from a coastal location to the Midwest: Why?

Why?!

For Dickinson, as well as for Bolin (who is originally from Texas) and Lawrence (Maryland), the answer is simple: family. After marrying Kansas City boys, the three women put down roots in town and met one another through their children. Eventually they realized that, with their combined talents in graphic design, product development and sales, they could whip up a good business plan. So, in 2013, they founded Mer-Sea (pronounced like the French “merci”). And they’ve discovered that the city of fountains has a lot to offer local business owners.

“The gift of this town is, people help each other,” Bolin says. “If you make something, people buy it, and they encourage you.”

In Mer-Sea’s case, strong local support has helped the company establish a recognizable brand in three years. Its soaps, lotions, candles, clothing and other items are in more than 800 stores across the country, including multiple locations in the Kansas City area. Their summery scents make you nostalgic for that tropical vacation you took that one time — think citrus fruit, salty air, crisp linens and fresh flowers.

The women also this year began a collaboration with Anthropologie, offering a line of products crafted especially for the national retailer. On a recent visit to the store’s Plaza location, I noticed a sign at the top of Mer-Sea’s multi-tiered display tower proudly announcing the line’s local origin. A friendly saleswoman told me that the store has had trouble keeping the products in stock.

At the warehouse, Dickinson shows me a shelf of items destined for Anthropologie’s shelves. Thick, sugar-whipped, coconut-scented lotions look oddly delicious in cork-topped glass jars with tiny wooden spoons affixed to the sides. The bubble bath and salt soak come in slim, single-use vials, and the round, richly scented soaps are wrapped in linen pocket squares instead of in plastic. Unique and sophisticated, the packaging demands attention.

Bolin says my strong first impression of the products is no accident — in fact, every aspect of Mer-Sea is characterized by meticulous attention to detail, from the inspirational quotes that accompany each product to their calming color palette. In the warehouse’s upstairs office, Bolin shows me products being developed for the holiday season, explaining the symbiotic relationships among scent, name, color and font.

In other words, there’s more to making bath products than mixing essential oils like a mad scientist — though there’s a little of that, too. There’s a Mer-Sea scent bank, stocked with essences waiting for the right market moment.

I start to ask Bolin if she expected Mer-Sea to take off the way it has, and she’s nodding before I can finish the question.

“We wanted to be strategic and thoughtful,” she says. “It wasn’t just a hobby. There was a lot of thought behind it before this train ever left the station.”

“We always thought super huge,” Dickinson adds.

The only drawback to thinking huge: As Mer-Sea’s popularity grows, its founders have less time to take that trip to the beach they all crave. But even on a busy day, Bolin says, she seeks out moments to relax, going for a quick coffee at Aixois or having dinner at Bella Napoli.

At this, Dickinson remembers that they still have the champagne a friend gave them after Mer-Sea’s first successful year. “We should probably drink that,” Bolin says, laughing.