What I worked on
pausecircleplay began with a $30 investment in screen printing materials, and I taught myself the process from videos online. The name was the philosophy: pause to take a deep breath, circle to reflect, and play to live your best life.
Friends helped with the first photo shoots, and the brand spread through my high school by word of mouth. I reinvested the profits in a vinyl cutting machine to add sweatshirts and crewnecks, and handled the screen printing, website, and photography myself.
A feature on a nightly special from Columbus’ local news station brought orders from across the country, and sales reached $7,000. 10% of all proceeds were donated to charities. When I left for college, I made the tough decision to end the brand rather than give up making each piece by hand.