Our Story
Stress Less, Breathe More
From trustworthy and transparent education, to safe and progressive skincare, ATEM is the first direct to consumer brand focused on marrying premium body care with mental health.
We’re a small and gloriously purpose-led team redefining the way the world and consumers see wellness.
ATEM is a brand that celebrates all things natural, essential, and of premium quality.
Spelled backwords it also reads meta: about the thing itself.
Stress less, breathe more is our motto in life, and we believe part of that comes from introducing clinically proven and natural products that will give you just that.
We are committed to a journey of wellness, because living well is really the only way to live– and we hope you’re here for that same reason too.
Skincare Origin
Meet Susan. A Korean-American New Yorker who was always asking a lot of questions about why things are the way they are, and one day in 2017 she asked herself a couple, particular questions which ultimately led to the creation of ATEM’s skincare line. Some of her questions, after 6 years of specializing in the global luxury brand and product development space, were this: Why are new technologies in Korean and Asian cosmetics entering the Western market years, years late? Why is there such a high ratio of Western companies capitalizing off the K-beauty wave compared to Korea-bred companies? What factors prevent high-quality, and often affordable and innovative products of the world from reaching the everyday consumer in real-time, while comparable luxury products with the contrasting trait of sky-rocket prices of other companies thrive? Why are there so few brands that embody and offer values and narratives that are contextually progressive and global? ATEM was created to bridge together the hardware of the East and the software of the West and guide the next generation of conscious, discerning, global consumers.
Founder's Letter
I was dealt some challenging cards in my youth: I struggled with a neurological disorder that had me blacking out every day for a time, a couple traumatic experiences with sexual assault, and a long period of depression.
My healing journey and recovery has been a long one, but this dogged pursuit for a better and good life than the one I was being shown- the one I discovered I deserved and was worthy of- has brought me to where I am today: in a place of incredible stability and resilience, and living intelligently, with purpose, in value, and with joy.
At present, I look to a quote by Thomas Merton, a 20th century Trappist monk, poet, and social activist, which captures our ATEM mission here:
“They knew they were helpless to do any good for others as long as they floundered about in the wreckage. But once they got a foothold on solid ground, things were different. Then they had not only the power but even the obligation to pull the whole world to safety after them.”
That’s our mission here, to urge and help people onto their walks to wellness and to a better life, and we’re doing this through personal care innovation, brand, education, and advocacy.
ATEM as a company encapsulates a philosophy I hope to share onto the world– to be intelligent and intentional in the living and to relentlessly seek out good and eliminate the bad for yourself.
Since 2018, this is what we’ve been working on:
ATEM Wellness Lab is our personal care innovation and OEM arm, home to where we develop the the world’s most innovative personal care formulations and push the envelope on our industry’s standards for what clean and sustainable mean so we can improve the wellbeing of our consumers and our communities of tomorrow for our partners around the globe and for our very own ATEM skincare.
ATEM Life is our wellness blog, a safe space and educational resource bringing advocates, industry leaders, academics, and consumers together in a conversation around mental health and wellness, reflecting a diversity of thoughts and minds, data-backed opinion and facts, and timeless wisdom and insight.
And there is more to come.
I hope you’ll stay along for the journey and see us do good things, together.
Susan Yoomin Im,
Founder, Creative Director