Style: BRECK AND VALE

Valerie Owens founded Breck and Vale Clothing Co., her successful t-shirt company turning her mess into a message.

Article By Vanelis Rivera | Photography by Kelly Moore Clark

Valerie Owens, founder and owner of Breck and Vale Clothing Co., sits in a rare pocket of silence on her couch. Merely a few minutes ago she was putting a three-year-old and fifteen-month-old to bed. As she eases into this late night tranquility, she talks about the miracle of family and opens up about why she founded her successful t-shirt company and how turning her mess into a message helped her get through one of the most difficult times of her life.

Last year, the family was split between two hospitals in Memphis, TN. While Valerie gave birth to her daughter Vale, her husband Rob accompanied their then two-year-old son, Breck, to his first in-patient treatment of chemotherapy at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “This life has just been crazy,” exclaims Valerie. Before her harrowing journey, Valerie and Rob had been dating long distance over four years. She was a nutritionist at a large health club in Hattiesburg, MS while he was in Baton Rouge. When Rob had the opportunity to buy the Beau Vines Steakhouse and The Revelry (formerly known as Rabbs), she moved to Ruston. During their settling into Rob’s hometown the couple were surprised with the arrival of Brecken. “Our lives have been backwards ever since,” she says. Recently, Valerie shared her family’s story on the Breck & Vale Facebook page: “I wanted to introduce myself,” she begins. “I’m the face behind this little shop with a purpose.”

Their son Beck was diagnosed with B-Cell Leukemia on March 2018 just shy of his second birthday. Immediately, they packed up as much as they could and moved to Memphis so that Breck could begin treatment at St. Jude. They spent four months living in a small apartment, seemingly leaving “everything and everyone” in Louisiana, including, to Valerie’s dismay, their senior dogs. In the midst of maintaining faith and waiting at their son’s bedside, they met other hopeful parents and their “beautiful bald children,” some who wore t-shirts with motivational sayings and scriptures. Faith in action inspired and further expanded her deep yearning to act in a way that could impact others. It was in the spaces of desolation, when she felt lonely and missed family back home, where she began writing and jotting down ideas and sayings, especially late at night when she nursed Vale. After four months of treatment, that’s what she carried home with her and that, she says, was the progression of how Breck & Vale Clothing Co. was formed. When she moved to Ruston, Valerie didn’t want to continue in nutrition, but she also didn’t know what she really wanted to do. “I always wanted to do something on my own,” she says. Breck’s diagnosis became a God-forged creative and service-based path that she fully embraced.

After treatment, the family returned to Ruston, and Valerie decided to stay home with both children, and specifically, to become Breck’s main caretaker. In the midst of a transition fraught with hardship and frustration, Valerie felt like she was being led to do something greater than herself. The growing feeling of needing to contribute felt like a direct message: “God kept speaking to me to make something that helps other people feel good about themselves, too.” Her shirts are for the everyday woman and man that, like her, are just “trying to survive in a world full of semi-organized chaos.” She admits on her Facebook post that she’s an avid t-shirt wearer and, at times, barely has time to do her hair, settling for mounds of dry shampoo. In spite of the occasional pandemonium, her children come first. “There was no other name that I wanted. There was no other option,” she says in reference to how she decided on her company name. Her company commemorates her son who endured the more forceful tides of life in such a short time and also her daughter who was their guiding light through a season of uncertainty. “This is for them. To show them this mama may not have it together some days, but to show them they can do anything with God by their side!” Secondly, it’s for the hospital that inspires them daily and that saved her son’s life. “When you’re walking the hall at St. Judes it’s on a whole different level. It’s sad, but you don’t feel sadness while you’re there because it’s a place of inspiration. You feel so impacted to do something.” Her call of duty is a wide net. “I also want to honor those who never came home. This is for you, Cancer Mom, who feels all alone. I’m doing this so that no other parent should feel the agony we have experienced. No child should die in the dawn of life,” she writes.

For a four month old company, Breck & Vale has grown much larger than Valerie ever expected, though she still considers it a small operation. Her t-shirt line is fun and inspired by Louisiana culture but creating a “wonderful line” is not her main goal: “I want to shout as loud as possible how important St. Jude is to our family and children and others. If it weren’t for them we couldn’t have made it.” St. Jude not only provided free treatment for her son, but they also paid for the family’s boarding, gas, and groceries, which they also delivered. Even when they go back to Memphis every twelve weeks, the hospital provides the family a gas card. She clarifies, “They provided everything for us. People don’t really get that when they hear about St. Jude.” Valerie attributes the company’s growth to the influence that she hopes she’s creating as an advocate for the children’s hospital. To Valerie the contribution is small, but the Northeast Louisiana support has been enormous.

When she started the company, Ruston had been hit with an EF-3 tornado, and she instantly reached out by making “Ruston Proud” t-shirts that aided families impacted by the storm. When sixteen-hundred shirts were sold in two weeks, she had the thought, “God, I hear you. I see what you’re doing.” Every month, Breck & Vale release two shirts and sell them via their Facebook page and website. Local favorites include their “Peachy” shirt—a flowy cut with a modest fit and super soft—and “Mama Tried” inspired by Merle Haggard’s song. “God bless Merle Haggard and Dry Shampoo,” reads the shirt’s caption. BayouLife’s favorite is inspired by Miranda Lambert lyrics, Cause I heard Jesus he drank wine / And I bet we’d get along just fine. It’s marketed as the “softest t-shirt in the world” and is available in a tan color. Bulk orders occur frequently, sometimes from out-of-state. Shirts were delivered to music goers at a large Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for example. “I want it to be much bigger than Louisiana and bigger than us,” says Valerie. Each package a person receives comes wrapped like a gift to symbolize a little thank you from Valerie for “giving the gift that keeps on giving.”

Breck still receives at-home chemotherapy everyday and finishes treatment on October 2020. He also receives treatment at the St. Jude affiliate in Shreveport, and every twelve weeks travels to Memphis. “It’s not just Breck,” exclaims Valerie, “it’s so many kids in North Louisiana that people don’t know about.” There is so much more awareness that is needed, she says. Valerie’s husband Rob, along with other local restaurants, hold Dining for a Difference in participating North Louisiana restaurants. Anything they can do, they will do!

Valerie projects a superhuman energy. No question about it, she’s a go-getter and doesn’t seem to have an off button, but that isn’t uncommon for one of the hardest jobs out there: “I’m a mom now! Whatever was before that is obsolete.” It’s easy to get caught up and involved with routine, but when Valerie had to turn from mama to mama bear, her eyes opened and she realized that slowing down is the only way you can truly appreciate what life throws at you. She claims that going through Breck’s diagnosis gave her family their life back. “For a three year old to inspire you,” she says in an emotional sigh, “He puts a smile on his face everyday. He doesn’t know what he is going through.” Valerie has been expressing her gratitude by giving back and sharing her story with anyone willing to listen with an open heart. Ultimately, her message is simple: “It doesn’t matter what you’re going through. Don’t stop! Keep living with every single day. God will show you through it.”

Follow Breck & Vale Clothing Co. on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about their contributions to St. Jude and what you can do to help. If you take a picture with your Breck & Vale shirt, make sure to use the tag #breckandvaleclothingco to be featured in their social media pages.