#WIB - Q&A With Zelda Visser Owner Of Pause Apparel -

1. Can you please tell us more about your business?

A. At Pause Apparel, we create art that you can wear to express yourself creatively. Anywear. My aim is to stimulate most of our senses with each product. I buy original art from street/graffiti artists. Each piece of art tells a story. Then I work with a digital artist and we use the art that I bought as a basis and place the art creatively on athleisure wear. Quite a time intensive process, because of my obsessive attention to detail. We don’t do repetitive prints. I create not more than 2 products a year, as we support the slow fashion movement.

All our designs are Limited edition never to be repeated. 2018 – Pre-production samples 2019 – Be-Yourself 2020– Be-still and Pause 2021 – Purple Pause Jacket 2022– Eye of the storm, coming soon The company’s name changes, we started as be-bliss (loved the name and still do) then changed to Fanzeewear and now we are Pause Apparel and here to stay.

2. When, how and why did you start your business?

A. The idea started at the beginning of 2018. After 100 washes to ensure the ink will last, the 1st design was manufactured by the end of 2018. As a Yoga teacher, Pilates instructor, and Fascia therapist, I was travelling the world with a slight obsession with yoga leggings. At that stage I did a Fascia course in Sedona Arizona USA, I bought another pair of leggings for $120, because I loved the design, just to realise what a bad fit it had. From a functional point of view, it was just not working. I made a decision that I will create the best yoga/pilates leggings money can buy. (Little did I know, what I got myself into.) At that stage, I had 48 pairs of leggings which I bought from all over the world.

3. What is your role in the business?

A. My role in the business as the owner? Everything. The question can be better answered, what is not my role… I do not plan all the social media posts, I normally create a theme, and then the girls need to do the rest. Although I approve everything before it goes out on Social Media.

4. Where did you study and what did you study?

A. My studies that matter, Yoga Teacher, Pilates Instructor, Fascia Therapist. The entrepreneur came naturally. I’ve had my own business for the last 20 years.

5. How did you finance your business?

A. My start-up capital came from the money I made when I sold my Pilates Studio, which I had for 10 years. I kept on doing fascia work, to support the day-to-day expenses of the business, while I started Pause Apparel. My husband is my “silent“ not so silent partner.

6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.

A. My workdays differ as the season goes. I train every day, whether it’s walking or running, I am a firm believer of stretching, and doing that daily. I don’t like a routine at all, so I take it as it comes. Sometimes Pilates is back in my life, and other times I practice Yoga. During the creative part of the year, I’m very busy with designers, creators, sample making and it’s quite stressful not going to lie. Before Covid I travelled often all over the world, gathering ideas and learning from the leaders in the market. Covid made me think differently about the business. The basis of my day, I need to do physical exercise, meditation even if it is walking meditation, fresh air… And at least 30 minutes of just doing what I like on that specific day.

7. How do you balance your home life and your work life?

A. Challenging for sure. Sometimes it’s very out of balance and then we go somewhere like a road trip now that we can’t travel overseas so easily anymore… That seems to work well. I don’t think there can be a rigid plan here, things keep on changing, and as a business owner, we just need to adjust as we go.

8. What drives you and inspires you?

A. Creating artistic garments, and admiring the end product, makes everything worthwhile. Constantly thriving to make the product better, and sustainable for the future. My absolute love for packaging and creating is first prize.

9. Where and when do you have your best ideas?

A. When I’m alone in nature either walking along the beach or where there’s lots of trees and water.

10. Where and how do you market/advertise your business for sales leads?

A. This has been my biggest challenge. We’re on all the social media platforms, and making slow progress. We were invited to feature in the wedding essentials magazine this month. We also advertise in Life and style magazine, and one of our influencers Keri Miller featured on the front page of the Get it Magazine Umhlanga wearing our leggings. It didn’t work well for me having influencers on social media, so we keep on trying to find new avenues.

11. What is next for your business?

A. We’re moving into sustainable fabric, that is “eco-friendly“. Our first Pause jacket is manufactured from our unique polyester fabric using chemical recycling system technology.

12. What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs hoping to start their own business?

A. Follow your passion, then it won’t feel like work all the time. Self-care is a must, and follow your OWN instinct. Just keep on going, doesn’t matter what everyone tells you, listen to Yourself. If it was easy everyone would’ve done it. Be kind to yourself, always. We make mistakes but they’re not actually mistakes, only lessons, we learn as we grow.

Bio

I am a businesswoman, mother, art lover, avid traveller, and multi-certified, experienced movement teacher. Pause Apparel is a reflection of my journey and an expression of my personal belief in choosing happiness, living my life in freedom, and creating my own personal sense of style.

My journey first led me to Pilates, and later yoga, and instilled in me a desire to share the many benefits of these gentle disciplines. Now, I’m a qualified Pilates instructor and yoga teacher with many years of experience. I have travelled the world to learn, experience, and teach. I live in activewear and have done so for many years. Leggings became my ‘studio to street wear’ long before ‘athleisure’ became a trend.

As leggings have become more fashionable, so the designs have become prettier and more fun. However, as far as aesthetics go, many brands are designed to look good only on Instagram bodies. And in terms of functionality, most fall short of the mark.

My background in movement, my love of art and fashion, my desire for uniqueness, and my obsession with quality, showed me that I have the knowledge and ability to create a superior brand of movement wear.

My life outlook can be encapsulated as ‘ikagai’, a Japanese concept that means ‘reason for being’. The word refers to having a direction or purpose that makes your life worthwhile, and towards which you can take spontaneous and willing actions to gain satisfaction and a sense of meaning.

In execution, ikigai means that you should infuse the actions and ideals that spark your passion with your own mission, vocation, and profession. This is where you find your purpose, and it’s from this place that the concept of Pause Apparel was born.