Hip new Pause Designs takes on clothing industry in St. Catharines

To some, clothing is a way of covering up, keeping warm and fitting in, but to most, clothing is more than just not being nude; it is a way of establishing an identity and expressing oneself through artwork and design.
If you are the latter, then perhaps you have found yourself searching the racks, shelves and aisles of your local mall or clothing store, looking for something to wear that does not a) suck, b) cost a fortune, or c) both.
Enter Pause Designs, a group of three men from Niagara-On-The-Lake.
"For a lot of clothing companies, style becomes pastiche," said Ken Dubois, a third year film student at Brock University. "It's not incorporated, whatsoever, into individual identity."
The idea to use clothing as a vehicle for expressing themselves came about in 2001, when Ken and the eventual creator of Pause, Eric Hernder were still in high school.
"I was always just drawing," said Hernder. "Ken and I would always work together in Grade 10 art class, so it just came naturally."
For three years, Pause lived on only in the minds of its creators, and their frustration with the current clothing industry grew. It was not until 2004 that Pause hit play and began thinking of ways they could realistically turn their ideas into a fully functional business.
"We were getting angry at the other clothing companies for costing too much and producing products with very little effort, there just wasn't any emotion in their artwork," said Hernder in response to what finally motivated them to jump into the industry themselves.
"[In 2005] I took some courses at the Institute for Enterprise Education, on entrepreneurship and put together a business plan, got these two guys as partners, and went from there."
The three partners, who share equal ownership rights, all met as friends in high school, both Ken and Eric who graduated from high school in 2003, and their partner in crime, 18-year-old Andrew Sitko.
In 2005, they released their first batch of 125 shirts. They released four styles originally, with most designs in both men's and women's styles and they have since released one more design, made available on their Web site.
The Pause Web site now offers an online store and weekly comic, but the company itself goes beyond just that. Pause is a sponsor of the local hardcore band, A Minute Till Midnight.
"It's a good advertising opportunity for the both of us. It's been promoting the band and us at the same time," said Sitko.
Music has played a large role in motivating the design label and will continue to play a role as the company evolves.
"We're a local business; we have ties to our local music scene as well as various other music scenes which is irreconcilable for youth identity," said Dubois.
The company is always looking for new sponsors and local talent to hook up with free gear in return for some advertising and selling opportunities.
Although the company may not be making as much money as it could be just yet, the three entrepreneurs are un-phased.
"Obviously we would like to make this an occupation so that we could support ourselves. But right now it is very exciting because it is very much still in the developmental stage," said Dubois. "It's still a job but it is fun at the same time. It hasn't gotten to the point where it's too much work.