CLEVELAND Ohio — Harrison Chmura’s love for bow ties prompted his parents John and Tera to create a company.

• Their 10-year-old son is the reason they created the brand "H-Bomb Ties" in 2018
• Harrison was born with Down syndrome, and was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4 
• The online retail store sells bow ties, neck ties, pocket squares and dress socks for youth and adults

“He's always loved bow ties,” said John Chmura, Harrison’s father.  “When he was a baby we would put him in bow ties, he didn't have a choice, right?  But once he started picking his own outfits, he still chose bow ties.”

Along with Harrison’s fashion sense, his special needs are the driving force behind the family’s business H-Bomb Ties.

Harrison was born with Down Syndrome and was diagnosed with autism at the age of 4. 

“Even from a young age, I think we kind of figured we were going to have to be involved in his adult life somehow, right?  And we, we certainly weren't planning a bow tie business at the time,” said John Chmura.

“We thought, why don't we create the opportunity… we knew what he needed,” said Tera Chmura.

 In 2018, H-Bomb Ties became a reality.

The online retail store sells bow ties, neck ties, pocket squares and dress socks for youth and adults. 

“If there’s any orders from overnight, I'll process those and get those ready. Tara usually ships them out during the day,” said John Chmura.

John works with four wholesalers to order the products.

Tara takes care of social media content.

And Harrison has tasks that build and further develop his skills, like stamping thank you cards and hand delivering local orders. 

“Early on, he showed some strengths in sorting and matching and things and so…” said John Chmura. 

"He enjoyed them, so he wanted to do them right at school. That's huge. And they want to do it," said Tera Chmura.

Tera says she hopes H-Bomb Ties not only provides work training for Harrison —

“It’s really hard for our kiddos to get jobs, a lot of times, and sometimes it's even harder for them to do the maintaining… that was the big thing,” said Tera Chmura. 

But that the business is able to financially sustain him into adulthood. 

“We have an end goal of how we want him to be able to operate within the business by the age of 22, and we're starting now at the age of 10,” said Tera Chmura.

John and Tera say when it comes to employment, those with special needs can thrive, especially when the opportunity is built around family. 

“People want to hire someone with special needs, they see the benefits …but it's so hard for them to bend their business model,” said Tera Chmura.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 80% of individuals with a disability are unemployed.

It’s because of this that John and Tera hope one day, H-Bomb Ties is able to employ other individuals like Harrsion.

“if all it ever becomes is self-sustaining and that it provides this opportunity for Harrison, then I suppose mission accomplished,” said John Chmura. “But, really, our hope is to expand it beyond that and to be able to provide an opportunity for other individuals as well.”

This year, H-Bomb Ties will launch a line of original designs, which will include Down Syndrome and autism awareness bow ties.

For more information on H-Bomb Ties, you can visit their website.