MEET THE TEAM
Welcome to the first edition of the ONE Boutique Store blog where we get to meet the people behind the brand, what drives them and of course, learn about all the exciting developments that the OBS team has lined up. To give you a little hint, a new and exciting winter sleepwear range is on the horizon.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Olinski Snyders and Eric Pierce, Co-Founders and Owners of ONE Boutique Store.
Q: We’re curious to know about the people behind the brand. Tell us all about Olinski and Eric.
Eric: I’m Eric Pierce, Co-Founder and Head of Logistics and Finance.
I’m definitely the more introverted one between Olinski and myself. I have 20 years experience in the information technology sector and furthermore, you’ll recognize me from the OBS website and IG channel as I’m the part-time model for our men’s sleepwear range.
Olinski: My name is Olinski Snyders and I am the Co-Founder, Creative Head and part duo owner of ONE Boutique Store. I’m obsessed with all things creative, therefore my role at OBS includes (but not limited to):
My roles and responsibilities at OBS can definitely be attributed to my prior corporate career, which spanned over 17 years and included stints in the Information Technology, Marketing, Hospitality, Finance and Retail sectors. Furthermore, I’m also a part-time model and fabric buyer for OBS.
Q: What’s it like owning a business with your partner?
Eric: Without a doubt, a very rewarding experience.
Olinski: It’s incredible. Eric completely understands my capabilities and limitations. He also knows exactly how to push me when needed and he’s the best sounding board that I could’ve ever asked for.
Q: How do you manage to balance (and separate) your professional and personal lives?
Eric: The key ingredient is clear and regular communication. However, it can be challenging at times to separate work life from that of your personal life. Therefore, it is important to establish boundaries and understand that work related tasks are to remain during business hours. That said, it can be a tricky situation and as business owners work-related aspects can extend outside of business hours, but if you remain cognizant of the task at hand and can identify it as such, you will be in the correct state of mind to take on any task at hand without personal aspects being a factor.
Olinski: Honestly speaking, it can be a challenge given that our business is part of our everyday lives. As Eric said, having a clear and open sense of communication truly helps. However, this hasn’t always been the case for us. It’s definitely something you learn and develop as you navigate throughout the journey of being business owners. Honesty is vital as well.
Because we personally live and work in the same space, we tend to have micro outings on the weekend to help us establish and maintain that work life balance.
Fun Fact:
ONE Boutique Store stands for Olinski and Eric Boutique Store
Q: What inspired the birth of the OBS brand?
O&E: Our motto is: A journey filled with memories is an everlasting gift. The business ethos was conceived from our passion for cherished memory making and understanding that the value of this is the most important as one journey from milestone to milestone. If everything fell away tomorrow and you physically had nothing, what remains is your life memories. We understand the personal value in celebrating these moments and wanted to help others celebrate the gift giving in an elevated way with an elevated product offering and service experience. Here we are 4 years later.
Q: If you could choose one word to describe the OBS brand and its ethos, what would that word be?
O&E: Celebration!!! Celebrate life, immerse yourself in those celebratory occasions that make up the construct of your life in our opinion. Cherishing the memories that touch and shape you, because the details live in all things significant.
Did you know?
All fabric is locally sourced and each garment is hand cut, which eliminates mass production and contributes to a superior product offering.
Q: What makes an OBS garment so incredibly special?
O&E: Apart from the above, all our garments are ethically produced, which means we have a qualified age appropriate team who work within the labour compliancy within SA. Our in-house studio (cut| make| trim) came to life during the pandemic over and above wanting to elevate the garment quality from when we first started the business. Furthermore, we utilize 3 industrial sewing machines. This results in a cleaner, neater finish when the machines are maintained well and the upkeep is consistent. This approach ensures each garment goes through durable sewing. (Our head garment constructionist has 45 years’ experience in the garment construction industry.) We believe in quality over quantity!
Q: From luxury sleepwear to outerwear. What has been the inspo behind this?
O&E: We’ve come a long way. From luxury bridal gifting to satin sleepwear and more recently our soy wax candles, which took us over a year to perfect. We’ve also extended our offering to satin scrunchies, satin pillowslips and a kid’s sleepwear range. In a nutshell, people grow and evolve and we as a business are no different.
With the launch of our soy wax candle range, we launched a ladies day wear collection, which has the tagline: Walking in your essence. The tagline encourages women to embrace the core of who they are and walk confidently and comfortably in this strength regardless of size, background or ethnicity. We are now able to take our female clients from the bedroom to the grocery store, a summer picnic, the beach or cocktail hour, all whilst dressed in relaxed, yet chic and fashionable pieces.
Q: Please share a life lesson that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught you?
O&E: Don’t give yourself permission to give up! Plan ahead as best as you can and be flexible while remaining true to your brand and what it stands for.
Q: As entrepreneurs, what do you wish you had known from the very start of this journey?
O&E: Running a business is costly and it demands sacrifice. There is no time-off and while others are out playing, there will be days, including weekends, where you will be required to work. With that said, it’s an incredibly rewarding process!
Q: Finally, what other exciting developments can we look forward to from OBS over the next few months?
O&E: We are always looking at ways to evolve and grow. Being a small business, we are limited and set goals that we mitigate one at a time with the hope of evolving and growing holistically. With that said, our customers can look forward to:
Ladies autumn winter collection
New men’s sleepwear
Kids winter sleepwear