NANTICOKE -- For a widow in Luzerne County, making bow ties has become a coping mechanism after her husband passed away 12 years ago.
Jackie Warnick-Piatt lost her husband Jeff suddenly in 2005. His death came as a huge shock to her and their two kids.
Jeff was always known as a sharp dresser. Jackie started making bow ties, which has become a therapeutic way to deal with his passing.
Inside her home in Nanticoke, Jackie works away on her sewing machine. Her workshop is impressive. Jackie has more than 400 eye-popping fabrics that are vibrant and unique. With these fabrics, she makes extravagant bow ties.
"My son Colin at the time was 20. We were walking through a small college town in central Pennsylvania. He saw a bow tie in a men's store and he was like, 'I really like that tie.' And when I looked at it, it was $56. And I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it. And I said, 'I can make this.'"
With that, Jackie started the Pi Tie company. This form of creative expression has helped her cope with her husband's sudden passing.
"My husband passed away 12 years ago, and it was very difficult. My son was 11. My daughter was 13. It was just very unexpected. So sort of carrying on his legacy, he always dressed really nice. He was always a tie-wearing kind of guy. This sort of became therapeutic that I started making these for my son," Jackie said.
Jackie's bow ties can be worn four different ways because they're interchangeable. They actually have four different patterns. Each bow tie is between $25 and $30. With each bow tie made, the memory of her husband, and her children's father, lives on.
"I think it's sort of a way of stepping back, spending time with me and the craft and being able to keep his memory alive."
Jackie is making bow ties to donate to Friends of the Poor in Scranton. She's also donated animal print ties to Audubon Zoo in New Orleans for fundraising efforts.
If you're interested in one of these bow ties, you can visit the Pi Tie Facebook or Etsy page.