Many a Father, Grandfather and Godfather will be receiving a tie for Father’s Day. Ties and Father’s Day are pretty synonymous, a gesture of love and care of someone very close. It was those same reasons why H-Bomb Ties began – love and care of someone very close.
North Royalton residents, John and Tera Chmura love and care for their ten-year-old son Harrison. He was born with Down Syndrome and also has Autism. “We knew that finding employment when he became an adult would become difficult,” said John Chmura. “So my wife and I decided to create something on our own – a business. Harrison has always loved bow ties and we thought why not create a business around something he already loves.” H-Bomb ties was created.
H-Bomb Ties, which launched last November, is an online company that specializes in fun bow ties and neck ties for both children and adults. They also offer pocket squares and specialty ties for special events, such as weddings. “Harrison has always had an affinity for bow ties, and he wears them often for all sorts of occasions. So much so, the male staff at his school started ‘Bow Tie Friday’ where they would all wear bow ties on Fridays in honor of Harrison,” according to the company’s website.
The website also notes that “In the US about 80% of individuals with a disability are unemployed (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017). Of the 17.9% of individuals who are employed, many will lose their job within in the first year. This is a global problem across many other countries with similar statistics. These individuals have real skills and abilities, but many times businesses, despite their hardest efforts, don’t know how to incorporate an individual with a disability into their business plan.”
“The Christmas holidays are always a good time to start. This is uncharted territory, but we’ve been doing pretty well,” said Chmura. We’re taking things really slow. Harrison is only ten, so we have some time to get this going. We want him to adapt and see where his strengths lie.” Currently Harrison is certainly involved in the company. He assists is the processing and packaging of the orders, picking the styles, testing the products and, on occasion, personally delivers the products.
Harrison recently made a special delivery to Ward 3 Councilman, Dan Langshaw. “I was excited to get my custom made North Royalton Style Purple Bow Tie from H-Bomb Ties delivered to my home by Harrison,” said Langshaw. “This is my first ever purple bow tie!” He was turned on to H-Bomb by Ward 4 Councilman, Paul Marnecheck, a well known bow tie lover, who has known Chmura and his wife for many years. Marnecheck already owns seven ties and recently sported a special H-Bomb tie when he testified in Columbus last month. Langshaw thanked Marnecheck for his referral. “Also thank you, too, Paul for helping me up my style a little more for City Council Meetings!”
The Chmuras look to branch into additional products in the future. “Our next addition is awareness ties,” said John. “We’re working on our own manufacturer to create custom designs. We want to start with awareness design for Down Syndrome.”
For more information about H-Bomb Ties, visit their website, https://hbombties.com, email them at hbombties@gmail.com, or call them at 216-236-8163.
GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer