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BRADENTON, Fla. — What do you use to tailor the perfect Black history lesson and a dream? 

A sewing machine, of course.

At least that’s the case for Travis Ray’s bow tie business, Dapper Bowtique.

“It was actually a dream where I dreamt about this African woman who came to me with a Kente cloth bow tie and dropped it on my head, which fell in my hand and in my lap, and the next morning I decided I wanted to start a bow tie business,” he said.

After tracing his roots talking with family, Ray says he confirmed that what he saw in his dream was as on point as the needle on his sewing machine.

“Two years later, after I had started my business, I found out that the woman in my dream, when I went to visit my uncle in Alabama, I saw a photo of a woman on the wall. And the woman on the wall was actually the same woman from the dream,” he said.

He went from a dream to the real thing, using some of the finest fabrics.

“It’s believed that people who receive and work with Kente cloth, they actually are not only royal decent, but Kente cloth itself brings abundance,” he said.

And that’s where the rich history comes in.

“The Kente cloth is similar to this design here. It has a little bit of Kente in it. Originally, the Kente cloth is believed to be weaved by a spot in Africa in Ghana, Africa,” he said.

Each tie has a story, and each story has a tie to history.

“When I see people wearing an African print, it’s like, oh, maybe there’s a connection to their heritage. When I see someone in pinstripes and polka dots, I think oh, maybe that’s someone that’s more classic,” Ray said. “When I see people wearing bow ties even of mine that’s of sports teams, I feel like it connects them to maybe tradition or legacy. And when I see that in someone else, it always takes my mind in a whole other direction most people wouldn’t think.”

He loves that his stylish and colorful creations are head turners, but he says he wants people who spot someone wearing them to know it’s about more than that.

“I’m connecting with people through fabric, and in essence that creates conversation, and from there it helps us to educate as well as heal our community,” said Ray.

Stitching, patching and mending are techniques used to heal. Luckily for this bow tie maker, he specializes in all three.