10 minute read
The French & I
Our story begins with an ending. In 2016 I found myself coming out of a 10-year marriage, the company I had been with for the better part of a decade was merging and the department I ran was going away. The most important and influential person in my life passed away, my dear Mama Zoila. On top of everything going on, m y health took a turn for the worse, which led to heart issues. I sold my house, moved into a one-bedroom apartment, and for the first time, I felt completely alone. It was just me and four walls, and I felt as if I couldn't breathe and the walls were caving in on me.
You see, I am a U.S Veteran and even though my ex-wife always told me I suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), I always brushed it off and told her she was crazy. It wasn't until she wasn't in the picture that I realized what she did for me to live a normal life. She would go into restaurants and ask the hostess to sit us in a particular spot in the restaurant, we avoided large crowds or would get VIP passes to events to ensure I wasn't in a place or position where I would start to shake and grow anxious. But in Septem ber of 2016, my support system wasn't there anymore, and my world was dark, and thoughts of suicide started to consume me. The confident man that I once was had vanished. To the outside world, everything isn't what it always seems.
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I went to the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) to see my primary physician, per usual they ask about my mental state if I've had any dark thoughts and as always I said no. This time around I said yes, and the first thing they tried to do was for me to see a counselor, and per usual they prescribed medicine. Sleeping pills, among other meds. However, I am a deathly afraid of taking medicine as I relate them to my father who had Lupus and him taking so much medicine that I correlate it as a bad thing.
I left the VA outpatient clinic and found myself even more confused. My previous outlet for destressing had always been cooking. It reminded me of my Mama Zoila and how she always made everything better with her food. My love for cooking had vanished, everything I once enjoyed wasn?t anything I cared to do. As I sat in my apartment staring outside the living room window, I started reflecting on my life. I remembered the time my father brought home two puppies, one for me and the other for my younger sister Jill. I remember how happy I was, and how Spikey used to follow me around, and how great everything seemed with him in my life.
I went online, and found an ad for French Bulldogs for sale. I reached out to the person who posted the ad, and two puppies were still available. I first inquired about the female puppy, but for some reason, the male caught my eye once I saw additional pictures and video. I arranged for an in-person m eet-and-greet with Mrs. Johnson, then two days later I drove to College Station and m et Mrs. Johnson at the Chipotle parking lot across from Texas A&M.
There I met the puppy that would change my life
Out of a Cadillac Escalade came out the most beautiful Frenchie in the world. One look from the puppy and I felt a rush of emotions that just brightened up my world. I was so happy that I couldn't contain myself, and the look the puppy gave me just melted my heart. I signed all the paperwork, said thank you, and off we left back to Austin.
On our two hour drive back home, I called out a few names to see which ones the puppy would respond to, Maxim us I called out, no response. Napoleon, I shouted, nothing. I said Zeus, and he immediately looked at me. From that moment he would be known as Zeus Wayne Hern. He left his bed on the passenger seat, came over to my lap, looked up and gave me the greatest smile ever.
At that moment, I was reborn
Zeus Wayne changed my life, all of the negativity went away. For the first time in my life, I felt unconditional love, and I found joy once again. I was like a child, I was smiling again and I found myself wanting to do just about anything to make my son Zeus happy. I started taking him everywhere with me, even to places where they don't allow pets, but for some reason, no one would enforce their rules. Everyone would flock to pet him, even push the cart for me so that they could play with Zeus.
At dog parks, we met a lot of great people, we joined dog groups on Facebook and went to dog-friendly events. At almost every place we went to, I noticed most dogs wearing the same things. Finding clothes, or accessories started to become difficult as Zeus grew. To me, Zeus was a one in a million. Therefore I wanted something different, so I began attempting to make bandanas. I remember my first over the collar bandana I made, the stitching was horrible. After several attempts and long nights I had a few acceptable pieces, and I started having Zeus wear them. He was a natural with the camera just like Derek Zoolander he too has a signature gaze similar to"Blue Steel."
Receiving positive feedback, I started making more and more bandanas and took a crack at making shirts. I found joy out of making things for Zeus to wear and fell in love with my new hobby that included him in it. It just being the two of us, "The French & I" was born. He is the French and me; I'm the I. Our little brand was born.
After a year of learning to sew, screenprinting, website building, rebrandings and focusing on what we want to produce, we finally filed paperwork to become The French& I. The learning never stops, making sure we stay focused is difficult at times and learning to take constructive criticism has taken time. Now it's something we love; we want people's feedback, after all, it's the only way we will become better.
Zeus has been a blessing to me, as I was shutting down and closing myself off he bust open the doors to life. We have met tons of great people, including my girlfriend Lisa and her wonderful family. roots, we are "The French & I" except now it's more like The French & Us as we now have a second Frenchie named Athena Hern.
In August of 2018, we did our first event —? the Austin Pet Expo. We learned a lot from that event and met other great entrepreneurs. We received a ton of feedback, learned about who we are, what we want to be and what we don't want to do. Several events later our product line has grown. Never content, I took sewing classes at Kim Tailor & Cleaners in Pflugerville and learned how to use commercial sewing machines. Ms. Kim sold us our first industrial sewing machine for pennies on the dollar, teaching me a valuable lesson — it isn't always about making money but helping those around us to lift one another.
The Dynamic Duo as I refer to Zeus & I is now more than just the two of us. Our tribe has grown, and now we've formed a family. One of the most difficult things of being with an entrepreneur are the long days, the longer nights, and the never-ending weekends. Finding someone who can understand the lifestyle is difficult, but Zeus and I hit the jackpot! We have an excellent support system that goes beyond Lisa, it includes her family — and thanks to them The French & I grew from a one-bedroom apartment utilizing a livingroom /workshop combo into a full-fledged workshop. Her father Carlos and her brother-in-law, who we all call Tata, drove up to Austin and, over a few weekends, we turned a blank canvas into what we call "The Shop."
What separates us from most brands out there is that everything we produce is made in-house. There is no overseas or dropshipping, this U.S veteran's two hands make everything. We take pride in utilizing U.S sourced materials, working with other small businesses and forging relationships with our vendors. We are investing in our infrastructure to keep up with our vision to make my son Zeus?' icon a recognizable brand. We are a small company but we're based out of the heart of Texas, and in Texas, everything is bigger, including our passion and will to be the best.
We love participating in events and meeting folks who love their pets as much as we love ours. Zeus saved me when I needed a hero the most. It is because of the purpose he gave me that I have been able to meet such wonderful small business owners who have welcomed us with open arm s. In seeing how they operate, their feedback it has allowed us to im prove and see things from a different perspective. I remember Courtney Emken from Dog Boy's Dog Ranch in Pflugerville suggested we go away from iron-on labels. Nate & Blake from Rogue Pet Science suggested different venues and groups for us to be vendors at other events. Jillian Dretzka from Work & Woof is always opening her doors for us and making room for us at her events. Leah Thom as from Pawsom e Dog Delivery treats making time to accommodate our last minute orders for us to pass out her amazing treats to our furry friends. Kathy from kathyphantastic is always supportive and helps with shoutouts on social m edia. Chris from Legacy Lazer has been instrumental at figuring stuff out from our bandana templates to our custom sign at "The Shop" to our retail hooks. Beba Rossi from Luna y Sol Co. is amazingly talented and created our custom "Icon" Pinata, takes amazing pics of our pups and pupsits for us at her chihuahua ranch.
You see, to me Zeus and Athena are more than just dogs. They are my children, my inspiration, my heroes. They have been better than any pill my doctors could have prescribed to me. When we make something that we sew our label on, it isn't just another SKU — it is a product that we are proud of. Our hands physically took fabric, webbing, thread, etc. and created something out of love. To see one of our products on a smiling furbaby is why we do what we do.
We've come a long way from our first Brother sewing machine, but our goal has always been the same. We want to make quality products utilizing the best materials we can find, down to the thread. Every product has to be something that we would wear so the patterns and colors are all carefully chosen. We know we don't want to be like everyone else, after all, it's my son Zeus that inspired our brand.
Today, Athena is the face of our brand at most of the events we vend at, Zeus prefers to be at home chewing on his leather toys or hanging out at the Chihuahua ranch with Beba's two beautiful daughters. He makes appearances at events that are shorter in length and closer to home. His trainers tell us he is in his teenage years, which of course makes us laugh. So if you ever see us, stop by and say hello give us a chance we promise you'll love the quality of our products. We stand behind our products; we want to play a part in showing everyone that a quality product made out of U.S components can be made in the U.S. at an affordable price.
The French & I was inspired by a French Bulldog named Zeus, made for all dogs to enjoy by a U.S Veteran
