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Jamye Hickman, owner of Pupcentric, an East Point, Ga.-based manufacturer of pet products, had a brush with fame this fall when she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as a featured guest.
During the episode, which aired Sept. 25, Hickman was beamed into the studio via remote broadcast to join other guests in discussions about all things dog related. Topics ranged from dog tricks and potty training to dog shelters and substandard breeding businesses.
Hickman described the experience as “amazing” and “very fast-paced.”
“It was an extreme honor, and I was very excited to be on the show,” she said.
Hickman said she was surfing the Internet one day and saw Oprah was looking for guests for an upcoming episode about dogs. Hickman sent in a letter about how her three-year-old Shih Tzu, Zoë -Joe, inspired her to change careers.
In the letter, explained how she had originally sought to make a career as an engineering psychologist. But after she made a bag to help her carry all of Zoë-Joe’s stuff, a new path as a designer of pet products materialized.
“It all kind of grew from there,” Hickman recalled.
In 2006, she founded Pupcentric, formerly Ribbons & Bow-wows. Hickman draws on her background in engineering psychology and experiences with Zoë-Joe to create products that help support the tasks of pet parents.
“I could have taken the safe route and did what I went to school to do,” Hickman said. “What I did was totally unexpected, but I’m happy. I knew that I wanted to be happy and Zoë is what truly makes me happy.”
Oprah isn’t the only television show host to shed a spot-light on Hickman and Pupcentric. Rachael Ray selected the E.B.D. (Everything But the Dog) Carry-all as a “fave” in the August issue of her Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine.
Posted November 24, 2008
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