CHAMO WEAR, INC.

From a very young age, I always had a fondness for and a way with animals and  I especially had a great interest in reptiles and always commiserating with our resident family of garter snakes. 

Having been raised in the Nebraska panhandle and spending a great deal of time in the mountains of Wyoming with my father, I was used to being around animals and grew up loving and having a great deal of love and respect for the beauty that surrounds us, the animals in it and their dependence on humans for their survival, whether that be us leaving them alone or us keeping the world a place where they can survive and thrive (or both).

My original plan was to be a zoologist – kind of like a Steve Irwin type.  In order to do this, I figured that I would have to be in school/grad school for 8+ years to achieve this.  Knowing that my family was not independently wealthy to pay for those 8+ years, I would have to take out massive student loans and then I would be making practically nothing when I got out, thus making it quite difficult to pay back those loans.  Riding on athletic and academic scholarships to pay the bills (only for 4 years…), I did the next best thing and earned a degree in business management and went on to work in the “corporate” world in Chicago’s loop.

I began volunteering what little available time I had with greyhound rescue after the adoption of my first greyhound, Secret.  What wonderful animals these dogs are and, unfortunately, exploited for their inherited talent.  As they say, they are like potato chips and you can’t have just one.  Well, my husband, daughter and I have had MANY over the years and have continued to volunteer with one or more greyhound rescue groups with whatever time or other efforts we might have available.

Very early in 2007, the passing of my beloved Secret left a gigantic void in me and today, it still makes me teary just thinking about him.   Even though we still had other greyhounds in our household at the time, I just couldn’t bring myself to think about getting another.  I knew I needed to do something else to fill the void.  I have always had a fascination for chameleons and monitors (the big ones!).  Knowing that our home did not have the space required for the larger species of monitors, I started raising chameleons and delving deep into the world of color with Panther chameleons.  We have already committed an entire room in our house (and other places throughout the rest of it) to our beautiful boys and girls (as well as a pair of Meller’s chameleons, several types of geckos, and a Timor monitor).

Very early on, I started to go to many of the reptile shows in our area and the rest of the country learning more and more from a few of the more reputable breeders and enjoying what I saw.  The thing I was most disappointed in was that there was no one who sold apparel with “pizzazz”.  I LOVE color and things that are funky and fun and I kept saying to people, “Someone should start doing that!”  Well, that someone became me. 

With my good business sense and go get ‘em attitude, I decided to create Chamo Wear, Inc.  Sounds funny, but the name comes from a combination of “chameleons in camouflage” and the fact that almost everything my daughter wears is camouflage!!  Currently, the company is in its infancy, but my goal is to create apparel with lots of color, funk and fun and the occasional rhinestone to give the ladies some pizzazz, all incorporating those scaly, forked-tongued friends of ours.  Oh, and don’t forget the humor!

I invite everyone who loves reptiles to check out my stuff and to stop by and say “Hi” at my next show!  Thanks for checking out my website – hope to see you soon!

Sincerely,

Julie L. tenBensel

My critters:

Panther Chameleons: Nano, Loki, Jr., Rainbow, Vern, Elle, Calli, and “Mas”

Meller’s Chameleons: Fria and her “boy toy” (we haven’t named him yet, even thought we’ve had him for months…)

Geckos:

Sticky and Slushy – Crested Geckos (who currently have 4 babies…)

Stubby and Amber – Crested Geckos

Pair of Vorax Geckos (even after over a year have not been named – currently have 4 babies)

Pair of Flying Geckos – not named even after over a year

….And one Timor monitor.