Name Pontine Paus | ||
Pontine Paus (born Cecilie Alexandra Pontine Paus, 15 June 1973 in Athens, Greece) is a London-based Norwegian designer, businesswoman and socialite. She is most widely noted for designing exclusive handbags sold under her own label House of Paus, and was considered by Vogue as the "hottest new name in handbags" in the early 2000s. She is also the founder of the natural beauty brand Dr.Lipp. She divides her time between London, Norway and Verbier in Switzerland.
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Background
Pontine Paus is a member of the Norwegian patrician Paus family and was born in Athens, Greece and raised in London to Norwegian parents. She is the daughter of the London-based investor Christopher Paus and Cecilie Paus (née Wilhelmsen). Her father is the son of the steel industrialist Per Paus and Countess Hedevig Wedel-Jarlsberg, whose father was Lord Chamberlain Peder Anker Wedel-Jarlsberg. Her mother belongs to the Wilhelmsen shipping family and has owned Wilh. Wilhelmsen with her siblings since 1978. Pontine Paus' maternal grandfather was shipping magnate Tom Wilhelmsen. She is also a descendant of the business magnate Einar Westye Egeberg, Sr.
Pontine Paus' great-great-grandfather, the steel industrialist and chairman of Den norske Creditbank Ole Paus, was a first cousin of Henrik Ibsen. Pontine Paus' father is a second cousin of the singer Ole Paus.
Career
She studied industrial design in Milan before turning to fashion, and the city has played a key role in many of her ventures.
House of Paus
Pontine Paus is best known for designing exclusive handbags as the owner of the House of Paus fashion label. She was cited by Vogue as the "hottest new name in handbags" in 2003. Her clientele includes Kylie Minogue, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Queen Sonja of Norway. In Norway, her handbags are sold by Benedikte Ferner who cites Pontine Paus as her favourite handbag designer, and UK outlets include Paul & Joe, Ananya and Mirage.
Dr.Lipp
The idea for Dr.Lipp was born in the lobby of Milan's Savoy Hotel in 2004, whilst Paus was on a design trip for her handbag line, which had also first been spotted and commissioned in the same city. Speaking to a friend about the effects she had seen using lanolin on her dry skin and eczema, Paus realised there was a gap in the market. She took lanolin out of the breastfeeding market, where it had most traditionally been used, and reinvented the way it had traditionally been presented in order to suit the cosmetics market. Launching in Space.NK nationwide in October of 2004, Dr.Lipp quickly became one of its best-selling hero products, and pioneered the glamorous side of the natural beauty movement. The balm became a cult staple among the fashion set, and with international celebrity make-up artists including Charlotte Tilbury, Pat McGrath, Sharon Dowset, Sara Lindsay & Karla Powell. Dr.Lipp has won several awards.
Other business activities
With her parents and sister Olympia Paus, she also owns stock in Scorpion Offshore.
Personal life
Outside of business, Pontine Paus splits her time between London, Norway and Verbier and spends most of her free time ski touring in the Alps, if not working on new creative projects.