Debra Sherni - Curious and Unconventional
When she was a kid, Debra wanted to be a street artist. The sort that sits around and does portraits or paints landscapes. She didn’t see it happening so she satisfied herself instead by having crafting, sewing, and painting for hobbies. She has a penchant for all things homemade and would much rather pour an evening into making something for someone than to buy something off the rack.
During her school years, she decided to pursue speech pathology, and then design, eventually winding up with a major in Child Psychology, and a minor in Publishing. An accomplishment that had its own set of challenges, rejections, and hard-nos. As a mum of two (a 4 year old and a year old), she says the former has been helpful in raising her kids while the latter has helped her find a love in illustrating picture books. She spent another 4 years doing a diploma in Special Education and working as an Allied Educator for Learning and Behaviour Support in a Primary School. During this time, she got married and had her first kid. Both she and her husband found it really hard to be working away from their child and left the workplace for a myriad of reasons a month apart. They then invested the last bit of their savings on a sewing machine, bolts of fabric and haberdashery. Debra says these were the best expenses ever on hindsight. Her husband convinced her to try doing something she had always wanted to do - sew their son his very own pair of soft soled shoes with the Union Jack on it. Since they had nothing to lose anyway, she created her first prototype of a shoe model with a heart mixed with fear and excitement. They tested it on their son and they have been at it ever since, launching their company Hiro & Jack which retails almost everything you would imagine needing for your child. Her first prototype has evolved into the classic Hiro & Jack Shoe model, their signature product.
In our fifth tenacious woman feature, Debra shares with us a look behind the curtain to her life as a mother, wife, and business owner.
How did Hiro and Jack come about?
I had a difficult experience trying to source affordable soft soled shoes for my son while he was learning to walk. Most of them were made in the UK and US, and I wasn't keen on paying that much of shipping costs. When I successfully made the prototype and saw that my son loved it, I felt that perhaps I could start advocating for soft soled shoes in Singapore and be the solution for other parents who were facing the same shoe shopping issues as us. I was also hoping this could tide us through some months while my husband secured a new job elsewhere. We never did think we would end up doing this permanently.
Hiro and Jack are actually the names of my guinea pigs. My husband's friend gave us his father-son guinea pig duo after he had a 2 new litters. They were my first babies (before my own kids!) and I wanted to do something to have them remembered for a long time. Hiro (the dad) has outlived the average pig lifespan and will be 9 this October. Jack (the son) passed on back in 2016 at age 3.5 due to respiratory issues. I didn't put much thought into the name of the business though. I remember I was having breakfast one morning and the idea just hit me suddenly, so I did up a quick drawing of them and we've kept it that way since.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently in launching Hiro and Jack?
I've thought about this so many times and I almost always conclude that I wouldn't want anything to have been different. The circumstances we were in and the struggles we were facing then led us to create Hiro and Jack the way it is today. I think the amount of learning and discipline we had to put ourselves through was thoroughly necessary to develop us and prepare us to become stewards of what we have today.
How do you stay focused and driven when it comes to your business?
Our goal as a family is to do a world tour on land while homeschooling the kids and running the business. I remind myself who I'm doing this for and why I've chosen this tedious journey instead of doing a 9-5. I've had my share of tearful nights and declarations of 'I don't want to do this anymore!" These are always met with a calm response of "Sure, let's shut the business tomorrow morning" from the husband, and in that split second I would be so certain that I'd still like press on.
Do you have a favourite item you have worked on so far? Or a favourite project?
Yes I do! A friend trusted me to design an animal themed backpack for her toddler niece, featuring all her favourite animals. She loved the watercolour illustrations I had done previously and wanted me to create a custom piece for her. It took a couple of weeks' worth of effort to get it put together and I love how it turned out! She wrote to me saying her niece would point out all the little animals and their sounds and that really made me smile!
What is the most misunderstood concept about starting your own business?
Most people think since the business is mine, I get to plan and be in complete control of my schedule. Unfortunately, that is far from reality. I learnt pretty quickly that there are many areas that cannot be controlled - shipping/freight, supplier issues, deadlines, family emergencies, etc. There is this need to be constantly prioritising tasks and events. Eventually, some things need to give and that for me usually, is social events.
What is a common comment or question you get about your work that probably comes from a place of good intention but actually makes you sigh/ roll your eyes a little bit?
'Where are my items? I've waited close to 3 weeks." Most of the time this is said out of worry that their items may have been lost in the mail or because they missed out on the product details during purchase. I understand that with e-commerce, you tend itch with excitement about receiving your goods after the first week of purchase. But as with all handmade items, they are made with love and care and may require up to 3-4 weeks on the average. If you need something urgently for an event, talk to us before placing your order, and we will do our best to make something work!
You graduated, got your job, got married, and had your first child all within a very short period of time. To the casual eye that looks like it must have been a lot to handle - was that the case? How did you balance them?
I didn't find it particularly difficult. My then job, which I had been accepted to even before graduating, wasn't something I placed much importance on. It was simply a means to make an income to sustain our lifestyle. I made it clear to my bosses that family was my priority and that decision made everything else fall in place. Married life was also just an extension of the friendship my husband and I had for close to 7 years. I think the only challenge was living with my in-laws while caring for my first child before we moved into our own home. It was a steep learning curve, to accept different cultural opinions on prenatal/postpartum self-care and caring for a newborn. As a couple, we had to stand our ground on many issues. Thankfully, it worked out in the end.
I feel like you have kept going in your life. Even when things seemed like a clear no, you didn't give up. You just kept going and doing what you can. Could you speak a little more to that?
I felt like my growing up years were spent achieving things to please people around me. When I got slightly older, even when I tried to put across my opinions about major decisions, I was met with opposition. So, I guess when things didn't work out when they should have, I bulldozed my way through anything and everything as much as I could so I could finally achieve something for myself.
What does a typical day look like for you?
My day starts at 9.45am. The kids usually get up at 9am, laze around and entertain themselves in bed while waiting for me to get up. Then it's breakfast and free play for the kids while I pack up and get the mail sorted for the day's shipments. The husband settles lunch for us all. Nap time for the toddler is at 2pm. We try to do some homeschooling for up to an hour with the son and then it's free play/nap for him until 4.30pm. I usually get some quick sewing done while the kids nap and the husband does some social media work for the day or helps to run some errands. Once nap time ends, it's snack, dinner-prep and dinner later at 7pm. After dinner, we get some tv or games with the kids and then it's bedtime at 9pm. From 9pm-1am is when I get most of my work done - designing, sewing and emailing. Sleep is important for me so I do make sure I get 7-8hrs every night.
You homeschool your kids and you run your business from home. How do you draw boundaries to juggle being a good businesswoman, a mother, and a wife?
It is hard! I must admit I still don't have it altogether. I do try to keep certain times of the day strictly for family or work. Evenings and dinner time is family time. There are days I spend extra time on working on my orders and I miss out on play or bedtime stories with the kids. Mom-guilt does creep in, but I try to make up for it on other days. I'm thankful my kids understand.
Homeschooling and all other duties of the home are shared between my husband and I. Our teamwork is critical in keeping all 4 of us sane!
This is a very interesting time to be Indian in Singapore - what has it been like to be in a biracial marriage, and raising biracial children?
Earlier this year, my son would tell others that he was English, because he spoke English and nothing else. He couldn't identify himself as Chinese, Indian or a mixture because he didn't speak Cantonese, Mandarin or Tamil like his extended family members. While we fully understand his struggles, we have been trying to help him understand his heritage. We do frequently get curiously stared at on our trips out on public transport or at restaurants (also because our toddler loves to say hi to everyone) and there were even times when random strangers would make detours to simply get a peek into the pram to see how a mixed race baby would look like. My husband and I have Christian, western and liberal ideas of raising our children so there has been no cultural conflicts whatsoever. I must add that my husband has certainly experienced first-hand some level of prejudice. He is now often assumed to be and treated as non-Chinese simply because he is with me.
What would you like to be known for?
I would like to be known as someone who dares to dream, and someone who dreams alongside you. I think having a dream in life is important.
Having a dream gives you a direction in life, it makes every day meaningful and inevitably pushes you out of your comfort zone. Because dreams are not easily attainable, right? As you achieve more things out of your comfort zone, that's when growth happens and you will be amazed at yourself! Too many kids and adults I come across these days live life with zero motivation and it eats into every area of their lives. I used to be one of them because everyone was so judgemental about my dreams for myself. My son taught me to dream again. He learnt to kick a ball before he could walk. He would beg us to hold his body up (at 10 months old) just so he could kick! He's turning 5 now and he dreams of becoming a professional football player. He would spend hours practicing goals and writing lists of player names and clubs. This blows me away and yet, if we need to, I would readily move to another continent to make his dream come true. I believe we are not made to live boring lives. We need to find something in our everyday to get us excited!
What does the word “tenacity” mean to you?
It means knowing in your heart that it(your goal) is meant for you and pushing on despite circumstances crashing down on you.
What would you say to the woman trying to find her passion/ niche?
Try everything you want to! You will fail. You will be embarrassed. You will cry with pride. You will even be upset you tried something so late. But it is in these precious moments that you know who you truly are, what you truly want to do and who you need to become, to get to where you want to be.
If you want to find out more about Debra, you can do so by following her on Instagram. And if you want to find out more about Hiro & Jack, you can do so by following them on Instagram, or have a look at their website!
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