Eleven-year-old Darius Brown loves dogs, giving back to the community, elegance and sophistication.

Recently, he combined all of these passions to create his own company, Beaux and Paws. The idea sprouted from the impacts of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Brown was deeply motivated to help displaced dogs in the aftermath of these natural disasters.

Most days after school, Brown comes home to his sewing kit, iron and a glue gun where he spends a lot of his time hand crafting the bow ties for his company.

When he first started the company, he donated the majority of the bow ties he created to the New York ASPCA reports PIX11. “I saw the destruction that was happening and it made me really sad. So I thought for a quick moment, why not donate some of my bowties to the ASPCA so that dogs can get adopted faster?”


And it worked!

“As soon as I gave them the bow tie, boom: adopted," he said. 

Three years later, Darius' bow ties were shown in a New York City fashion show.

The impact even sparked Barack Obama’s attention, which resulted in a letter of encouragement from the 44th U.S. President of the United States to Brown.

“Know that I’m rooting for you in all you do, and I wish you the very best,” the letter read.

Brown is hoping to expand his business by starting his own clothing line, inventing his own brand of dog food, and owning his own store. To see more of Brown’s work follow him on instagram @sirdariusbrown.