MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM
Thursday, October 3, 2013
kids making news
MO KNOWS BOWS
Young Designer Has Sewn Up Success
M
oziah Bridges loves to sport a suit or tuxedo for special
occasions or no occasion at all. Moziah, or Mo for short, has
always loved dressing up and that passion for fashion
led him to launch his own company, Mo’s Bow, when he was
just 9 years old. Now 11 (and turning 12 next month), the
busy Memphis sixth-grader recently took time to answer
questions about his growing business and future plans.
Q: Tell us about the start of your business.
A: “I wanted to wear cool bow ties but I couldn’t find any
in the stores that I liked so I decided to ask my Granny to
teach me how to sew so I could make my own bow ties. I was
9 when she taught me and now I’m 11 years old and have been
sewing a lot of bow ties since I started. I look for fabrics and prints
that are cool and fun.”
Q: Business is booming. How do you keep up?
A: “Now that my business is getting so big, I have family help
most of the time, but I have also had to hire a manufacturer to help
make the ties because it’s getting bigger than the family and me.
Plus, I have school and other activities after school like dance and
basketball.”
Q: Does your mom or grandma help you shop for the fabrics?
A: “Yes, my grandma has a large vintage stash of fabric since she
has been sewing for over 50 years. I find a lot — I mean a whole
lot — of fabrics that no one will see because they don’t make them
anymore. I like finding things that no one else can buy at regular
stores.”
Q: Do you dress up for school?
A: “I’m in the 6th grade now and I have to wear a neck tie to school
every day. It’s too bad I can’t wear a bow tie, but when I start making
my own neckties, I’m going to ask my principal if I can just make all
of the neckties for the other boys that have to wear neckties every
day. I think that would be so awesome if all my friends at school wore
my classic swagger neckties instead of the boring ties we have to
wear now.”
Q: Do you have a favorite style or look?
A: “My favorite style right now would have to be a tuxedo with
tennis shoes. I will wear that anywhere — even if I’m just going to the
store with my mom. If I feel like wearing something, I just wear it no
matter where I go.”
Photos courtesy of Mo’s Bows
Mo’s Bows features about 80 different bow tie styles right
now, including these, but Mo says “I’m always adding more,
like every week or something.”
Q: How many bow ties are in your own personal collection?
A: “I have a couple of hundred bow ties in my own collection. Some
are vintage prints and some are just new fun colors and prints with
dogs and candy on them.”
Q: What are your future plans?
A: “My plans are to grow my business and start making other men’s
accessories like neckties and pocket squares. I also want to have my
own clothing line for cool kids like me. I will go to Parsons School of
Design for college.”
Q: Do you have any advice for kids?
A: “Yes, I give the same advice to everyone: figure out what you
like doing and find out how you can make money doing it. It’s that
simple.”
By Janis Campbell
Fast Facts:
Birthday: Mo turns 12 on November 13.
Home Life: Mo lives with his mom, Tramica, in Memphis,
Tennessee. They have a French bulldog named Buju.
Afterschool Activities: Dance class and basketball.
Style Influences: “Well, my dad and granddad dress classic
and cool and I dress with classic and swag,” says Mo.
He also admires the style of Ralph Lauren, Andre 3000 and
Fonzworth Bentley.
Where to buy Mo’s Bows: The ties are sold in 11 stores across
the southern United States, including Tennessee, Alabama and
Texas or at www.mosbowsmemphis.com.
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