What started as a hobby during the pandemic for one lifelong Boston Bruins fan turned into a moment he’ll never forget Monday afternoon.
Brad Marchand waltzed into TD Garden ahead of being honored for playing in his 1,000th NHL game sporting a white jacket with gold sleeves that included the names of his wife and children — Sloane, Sawyer and Rue — on the right arm. The jacket was made by Ben Weiner, a Holliston, Massachusetts native and founder of “Jeanius Jackets.”
“It was pretty crazy. It was like a dream come true,” Weiner told MassLive of seeing Marchand wear his jacket. “… It’s really cool. It’s even cooler to do it for the Bruins. This is a dream job I never knew I wanted. If you told me five years ago I’d be sewing or doing any of this, I probably would have looked at you pretty funny.”
Brad Marchand’s custom 1,000th game jacket.Ben Weiner/Jeanius Jackets
Weiner was contacted by Marchand’s wife, Katrina, in hopes the 28-year-old could create something special to commemorate an important day for her husband.
During their initial call, Katrina and Weiner bounced a few ideas off each other. Weiner’s first jacket design was “very different” from what the family ended up wearing. It was black, with Marchand’s first name arched over the bear and last name under it. Katrina wanted the 1,000 “to be way bigger” and for the jacket to be white. So Weiner went back to the drawing board.
The end result was the white satin jacket with gold sleeves, an eight-spoked B on the front that had “1,000″ within it. The back featured “MARCHAND,” with the C stitched in gold to honor Marchand’s first year as captain. A vintage Bruins logo with “1,000″ on it sat above his last name, and the names of his children were sewn onto the right sleeve.
Weiner also created jackets for Katrina, as well as their children. He knew the kids were going to wear the jackets for the pregame ceremony. What he didn’t know was that Marchand was also going to wear his into TD Garden.
“That was the coolest surprise to see,” he said. “I was pretty shocked by it. … I know Katrina said that it was gonna be a surprise to him. But him wearing it was a surprise to me.”
Marchand family custom jackets for Brad Marchand’s 1,000th NHL game.Ben Weiner/Jeanius Jackets
The creations didn’t stop with Katrina and the kids, though. Marchand’s sister, Rebecca, also reached out to Weiner and the two collaborated on a jacket she could wear to Monday’s game. This one was black and included Marchand’s No. 63 and a “C” on the right side. The inside also included a patch with all of her brother’s career milestones.
Custom jacket for Rebecca Marchand made by Ben Weiner.Ben Weiner/Jeanius Jackets
A patch with Brad Marchand’s career milestones.Ben Weiner/Jeanius Jackets
Weiner was working from home in 2020 when he decided to teach himself to sew by watching YouTube videos. He was working in content marketing, but was feeling creatively restricted. He turned the second bedroom in his Dorchester apartment into his workspace, which allowed Weiner to tap into his creativity. And soon his side hustle was matching and sometimes surpassing what he was making at his full-time job. In June, with support from his mother, he left his original job.
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Since then, Weiner has made designing jackets a full-time job. What began in a bedroom in Dorchester is now a large shop in Plainville.
Other customs have made into the hands of Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, and former Bruins forward Nick Foligno — who is one of Weiner’s favorite NHL players. He also created a jacket for David Krejci’s wife, Naomi, and their daughter, Elina, for last year’s playoff run, and one for Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s wife, Camai.
Jeremy Swayman with custom Team USA jersey made by Ben Weiner.Ben Weiner/Jeanius Jackets
Being able to combine marketing, his love for hockey and his sewing talent, Weiner was able to turn an idea into a reality.
“It always felt possible,” he said. “I always felt like I could do it. I have a lot of belief in my work.”
