We were lucky to catch up with Ja’Cole Tabor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ja’Cole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

If I had to choose, then I honestly wish I would’ve of started my business SOONER! So originally, I started selling sunglasses in 2018 along with other “fur” accessory items and I called my business ‘D,Foreman Frames & Fashionwear’. In the spring/summer I did sunglasses, while in the fall/winter I did fur coats, hats, & etc. I had just graduated college in 2017 and was working for the City Dayton Recreation & Youth Services Department, so my business was really just a ‘side hustle’. BUT in 2020, when the pandemic hit & everyone started to create businesses I knew that I HAD TO do something to SEPARATE myself from others. So in 2021, I decided to BRAND my sunglasses, & I launched my website on my daughter first birthday which was May 1st, 2021. From that point forward if anyone had bought a pair of shades from me, it would be known for CERTAIN that they’re from my business because my logo was SOMEWHERE on the frames. Had I decided to just “brand” myself from the beginning I feel like I would be A LOT further in my business & I’d have a wider customer base. The social media world has expanded so much over the last 2-3 years & if I would’ve started to market myself back in 2018 I KNOW for a fact I’d be a global brand by now.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Ja’Cole R. Tabor, my altar ego is J.Renayé and that’s where the slogan #ShadedByJRenayé comes from. I was the “blind kid” in elementary school with the THICK COKE BOTTLE eyeglasses! I’ll actually never forget the day my vision went bad, I was in 2nd grade & I sat in the back of the class & it was time for us to write our “spelling words” from the white board and I couldn’t see the board AT ALL… not even a little bit! Ha. I’ve loved stylish eyewear ever since I was required to wear them and my mom made sure I always had nice ones. My eyeglasses were always on the “pricier” side due to my mom buying me designer ones so that is where I came up with the concept of making eyewear affordable for all. Now my business name? That stems from my late maternal grandmother, one of my very best friends, Darlene Foreman; I wanted to do something in her honor so I named my business after her, hence D. Foreman Frames!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What honestly helped me was getting out and doing bigger festivals as a vendor instead of smaller pop-up shops! I owe TAE WINSTON so much gratitude because when she had the Fashion Meets Food Truck Rally in the old Salem Mall Parking Lot back in 2021….that’s when I grew confidence in talking to customers & telling people about my business; that specific day is when my life changed!

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I had to find a vendor to manufacture my products for me due to wanting each pair branded with my logo. It took me 2-3 weeks to find a good vendor that could bring my vision to life. I absolutely love the vendor I have, the person I speak with is name Mina & she’s become like family to me because we message back & forth even when it isn’t about business! Mina & her team ALWAYS keep up their end of the deal… the worst part is dealing with the shipping carriers and having to get the packages through customs and into the United States.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dffbyjrenaye.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d.foreman_frames/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DForemanFrames

Image Credits
Taylor Snead Business name: Taylored Social