Bow tie business a score for former Holland College football MVP
Demetrius Ferguson has paid for marketing degree with sales from My Father's Collection
A former Holland College Hurricanes football MVP is scoring with his made-on-P.E.I. bow tie business targeted toward 20-somethings like himself.
Ferguson has sold hundreds of his bow ties through his business called My Father's Collection. He says he's earned enough money to pay for his degree.
"I've been wearing bow ties since I was a kid. It is really popular. It's coming back. It's kind of bringing a 60s and 50s and 70s and 80s all back into it," said Ferguson, who runs his business from Halifax.
"I kind of want to put an old-fashioned vintage retro look to it and so it's been going good so far that way. And people who love our bow ties are going to spread from word of mouth and it just keeps going and going and keep growing and growing from there."
500 bow ties so far
Ferguson's inspiration came from Nora MacEwen, the Holland College instructor he billeted with while on the Island. Ferguson calls MacEwen "mom" and they consider each other family.
MacEwen made Ferguson a bow tie from a pattern she purchased.
"By the time he'd gone to university last fall, I had 65 made and I thought that was a lot," said MacEwen.
"At Christmastime he was very good to help and last summer when he was home he would help me cut out the patterns, cut out each tie and do a lot of the ironing, which he's very good at."
She and her sister are still doing the sewing, making more than 500 bow ties for My Father's Collection. MacEwen says they are coming up with new ideas all the time.
MacEwen says they will have to outsource the sewing if the business gets much bigger.
Building business slowly
Ferguson, who was a two-time MVP at both Holland Collage and St. Francis Xavier, tried out for the CFL eastern combine and had calls from some scouts, but decided to focus instead on building his business.
He started selling the bow ties at a Dartmouth boutique and at both university bookstores. Now he sells online and in a few more stores.
Halifax mayor Mike Savage and Island Storm basketball coach Joe Salerno already sport Ferguson's bow ties.
Ferguson has been invited to the Gentlemen's Expo in Toronto in September, a show that bills itself as "a celebration of all things that encompass a true gentleman."
Right now, Ferguson is working two other jobs but he hopes to go full time with this eventually. He wants to build his business slowly without borrowing money.