Our Story

Our Story

Paxmora did not begin with a business plan. It began with a feeling, one that many of us know but few of us talk about. The feeling of being invisible. Of not being enough. Of moving through the world quietly wondering if anyone truly sees you.

That feeling has a name. And for the founder of Paxmora, Catherine Crossley, it has a story.

From a very young age, Catherine experienced emotional trauma that left deep marks. Growing up feeling unseen and unheard, no matter what she achieved, no matter how hard she tried, she carried a quiet but heavy weight through childhood and into adulthood.

That weight shaped her. It affected her relationships, her sense of worth, and her mental health in ways that took years to overcome, from self-battles, counselling, therapy, and immense courage in her early 20s to begin to understand and heal. One of the hardest parts of that journey was allowing herself to be vulnerable, to open-up, to ask for help, to trust that she deserved the emotional security and support that had never come easily to her.

But the weight of her own journey was not the only one Catherine carried.

Catherine is a mother of five. And two of her children have also battled with their mental health.

There are few things more painful than watching someone you love more than life itself struggle in silence and feeling the helplessness of not being able to take their pain away. As a mother who had walked that road herself, Catherine understood in the deepest way possible what her children were going through. She knew the isolation. She knew the shame. She knew how desperately a person needs to feel seen, heard, and loved in those moments.

It is from that place, from her own healing, and from her love for her children that Paxmora was truly born.

“This brand is my heart. It is my story. And I hope it becomes a small part of yours too.”

Paxmora comes from the Latin word ‘Pax’ - meaning peace. It is a name chosen with intention, because peace is at the heart of everything this brand stands for.

Not the absence of struggle. Not pretending everything is fine. But the kind of peace that comes when you stop, breathe, and give yourself permission to just be, exactly as you are, exactly where you are.

That is what we call Peace in the Pause.

Paxmora was created to do something quietly radical, to take the most personal, private conversations we have with ourselves and put them on clothing, so that the world can see them too.

Every Paxmora garment carries an affirmation across the back. Not a slogan. Not a trend. A message. Written with love for the person wearing it and for every person who passes them in the street and catches a glimpse of words they needed to read that day.

Because mental health struggles are often silent and invisible. And sometimes the most powerful thing in the world is a stranger’s hoodie that says:

“You are allowed to take up space.”

There is no need to suffer in silence. There is life beyond the battles you are fighting every single day. And you deserve every bit of the support, love, care and attention it takes to get there.

One day. One step. One breath at a time.

From the very beginning, Paxmora made a commitment: 10% of our annual net profits will be donated to UK mental health charities.

We rotate our chosen charity each year, so that our giving grows alongside our brand and reaches different communities and different lives. Our first chosen charity is Cornwall Mind, rooted in Cornwall, where Paxmora was born, supporting adults in our community who are living with mental health challenges. In year two, we hope to partner with The Wave Project, whose extraordinary surf therapy programme transforms the mental health of children and young people across the UK. Both charities are close to our heart and we are honoured to support the vital work they do.

When you buy a Paxmora piece, you are not just wearing an affirmation. You are part of something bigger. You are helping fund the support that someone else desperately needs.

Catherine Crossley is a sole trader, a mother of five, a mental health advocate, and someone who knows what it feels like to battle in silence and to watch the people she loves do the same.

She built Paxmora from scratch, with purpose, with love, and with an unshakeable belief that clothing can carry hope. That a single affirmation, worn by a stranger on an ordinary day, might reach someone who needed it more than words can say.

She is proof that no matter where you start, no matter what you have been through, you can build something meaningful and beautiful from the pieces of your own story.

Paxmora is her pause. And she hopes it becomes yours too.

Wear the words that carry you.

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— Peace in the Pause —

Paxmora • www.paxmora.co.uk • hello@paxmora.co.uk