Today we’d like to introduce you to Lina Dickinson.
Hi lina, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Here are various things already written for interviews so I can get you information quicker and easier!
Coincidentally, Melanie and I both ended up moving to Kansas City from California because of our husband’s jobs. Our oldest children ended up in the same preschool class, and we became fast friends. We spent years raising our children together, and when they got older, we were itching to do something new. We both had professional careers before kids, and we both had a dream of building our own business. We both loved to travel, and we both yearned for the coasts and thought we could create gifts that could transport us daily through scent and texture. Our first product was a candle in a bag. We found a woman who made feed bags for horses about an hour away in the country and convinced her to make our bags! We started in our kitchen — washing labels off or glass we bought at IKEA and packaging them in our little canvas bags — and since then, we’ve grown to be named as the Fastest Growing Business in Kansas.
Here is a basic bio for Lina Dickinson that gives a little more background on the company:
Lina Dickinson is the co-founder of MERSEA, a fashion and home goods brand inspired by travel and the sea. In 2018, MERSEA was named the fastest growing company in Kansas and #279 nationwide by INC 5000 magazine. That same year, MERSEA was named the second fastest-growing business in the Kansas City metro area by Ingrams Magazine.
Lina, along with Melanie Bolin, started the company in the fall of 2013 with a tight assortment of candles and one travel wrap. Since then, MERSEA has expanded into ready-to-wear apparel, beauty and home. They are in over 1,300 stores nationwide and work with key accounts such as Anthropologie, Tommy Bahama, and the Masters. MERSEA has grown to a multi-million-dollar brand that derives over 50% of its income from its ecommerce channel.
Lina graduated from Vanderbilt University and worked in the insurance and real estate industries while getting her MBA from Rockhurst University. She took 12 years off from her career to raise 4 children. In 2012 she and Melanie Bolin began the year-long process of developing the MERSEA brand and officially launched it at the American Royal Tablescape event. In 2023 they will be shipping their new spring/summer collection designed for the ready-to-wear market.
The Founders, Melanie Bolin and Lina Dickinson, are connected by their children and by the call of the ocean — even in Kansas. Both were successful professionals in a different life, and after taking 13 years for their families, they set back to work to create a business of their own. Combining a small investment, and their talents of graphic design, product development, and sales, they soon began dedicating their time to creating a company inspired by their travels.
Knowing their love of the beach, they set about to capture the essence of peace, tranquility, and happiness through scent, color and texture. They wanted to bottle a feeling and transport people with the product.
Melanie Bolin
A passion for adventure, books and the ocean pulled Melanie away from her Dallas roots and into a world of West-Coast creativity. After graduating from SMU, she moved to LA to work for Mattel Toys on the highly coveted Barbie account and she worked for the best story-telling brand in the world, The Walt Disney Company. Melanie moved to Kansas City in 2005 with her two kids and husband to follow a job opportunity.
Lina Dickinson
Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Lina spent her summers in San Diego with her grandparents, attending surf camp and eating Juanita’s flautas. When it was time for college, Lina found herself at Vanderbilt University. After meeting her Missouri-native husband, she found herself moving to Kansas City in 1997. There, she finished her MBA and worked in sales until she took time off to raise their 4 kids.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Don’t quote this, but a quick and dirty…
I don’t think you can find an entrepreneur that will say it has been a smooth road! It takes a special constitution to be able to endure the ups and down of business ownership. I have to handle issues and unexpected changes every day. The great thing about it is that I am constantly learning and there is never a sense of boredom!
If I had to put our struggles into buckets, I would say one bucket contains all the internal struggles created from simply building a business and the other bucket is full of the struggles handling circumstances from the outside that are often out of your control.
Most of our struggles come from the intrinsic difficulty of building a business structure. No matter what your business is, whether it is selling a physical product or offering a service, you learn quickly that the biggest part of the business is NOT the making the product or providing the service, it is building the business that can sustain growth. It is creating the systems and processes to make sure you can sell the product. That part is unsexy and extremely difficult and changes over time as you grow. The “business” part of a company is probably every owners biggest struggle.
The other struggles we have experienced are from external forces, such as covid, tariffs, manufacturing partners failures, predatory attorneys, economy pressures. They happen to us all a the same time but some businesses fare better than others, and it really comes down to how you handle them. We always say “keep your sea legs” because you have to stay nimble and able to change on a dime. That is an advantage of a smaller company like ours, we can pivot quickly. We have not always made the perfect decisions in response to outside pressures, but in the end, we have always learned a ton and use that knowledge in the future.
We’ve been impressed with MERSEA, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
lots of basic info about us in the first question. Some more info about us:
MERSEA Company Bio
Founded in 2013 in Kansas City by co-founders Lina Dickinson and Melanie Bolin, MERSEA is a women-owned lifestyle brand inspired by the spirit of travel. What began with a simple idea—to create a candle in a hand-sewn bag—has evolved into a multi-million-dollar company known for its thoughtfully designed travel apparel, accessories and home fragrances.
MERSEA draws from the French word for sea, mer, together are pronounced “Merci” symbolizing both gratitude and the universal connection we all share through the ocean. The brand’s curated collections are designed to transport customers—both physically and emotionally—through scent, texture, and timeless design. From cozy travel wraps and sweaters, ultra soft stretch denim, versatile and packable tops and dresses, and soothing travel inspired scents, every product reflects a balance of effortless style and everyday luxury.
The company’s early success was fueled by grassroots hustle and authentic storytelling. Within just a few years, MERSEA secured major collaborations, including a 50,000+ unit order with Anthropologie and a spotlight on Oprah’s Favorite Things. Today, the brand is sold in over 1,300 retail stores across the U.S., and e-commerce now accounts for 70% of its total revenue. International reach has expanded into Europe, Canada, and Australia, with trademarks held in the EU, Japan and China.
Rooted in values like curiosity, refinement, and authenticity, MERSEA continues to grow—launching a ready-to-wear apparel collection, Voyageur by MERSEA, in 2023 and expanding into denim in 2024. Whether you’re packing for an escape or looking to recreate the serenity of the sea at home, MERSEA offers a lifestyle of adventure, simplicity, and soulful design.
Craftsmanship & Culture
MERSEA stands out for its integrity, artisan detailing, and commitment to meaningful work. The brand is WBENC-certified as a Women-Owned Business and prides itself on building deep relationships—both with its customers and its global manufacturing partners. Their apparel is made by vetted, small-batch vendors, many of whom the founders have worked with in person for years and have become friends. All home fragrance and bath products are made in the U.S., and many are still hand-poured and hand-packaged at the Kansas City headquarters
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Oh goodness. Probably going to Disney Land with my grandparents growing up. They lived in San Diego and when I visited them they would always take me to Disney Land, I have the best memories of Disney Land and still love it today!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mersea.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merseaco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MERSEACO/
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/mer-sea-&-co./
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mersea2968
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/merseaco/
