I'm founder and CEO of a colorful and conversational women's wear brand that is ethically sourced, produced and distributed. I cover my start-up journey and the inspiring entrepreneurs I meet along the way. My designs have garnered over 50 top-tier press placements in magazines like: Vogue, Glamour, and WWD. In 2014, I wrote an Award Winning business plan for The New York Public Library and Citibank’s Business Plan contest. I have been a featured speaker for the NY Public Library, Capital One, Sirius XM Wharton Business Chanel, and at The World Bank. I'm passionate about women supporting women.
I spent the majority of this past month outside of Manhattan traveling. Familial responsibilities beckoned me to Lagos, Nigeria for three weeks from the end of September to early October. While I could have used this time to relax with family, if you know me, relaxing for three weeks straight simply isn’t in my DNA. I have extreme workaholic tendencies, am eternally curious and have a lot of energy so even my vacations need to be structured around getting experiences accomplished.
For example, this is a typical day on vacation for me: 10am-workout, noon-brunch, 2pm - hike in the mountains, 4pm- zipline, 6pm -return to room and shower, 8pm- dinner, 10pm-nightcap and show. I even schedule things like laying out on the beach- say from 12noon-4pm.
- CHECKOUT: Nigerian Student Fashion and Design Week
Also, the inherit drama on constant display within my extended family meant I would be doing little to no relaxing. Is this just my family? I have a feeling I'm not the only one. To give you a couple examples of the drama that occurred during my three weeks I was in Nigeria, my cousin got married and someone stole all the money that was thrown at the new couple (a Nigerian custom) and her purse during the reception. To make matters worse, she thinks it was one of her bridesmaids. My grandfather passed away and my aunt and uncle decided to bury him in the same cemetery my grandmother was buried in. This wouldn’t have been a problem if said cemetery had not dug up my grandmother’s grave, resold the plot behind my family’s back and lost my grandmother’s body. (Don't worry we eventually found her).
In an effort to keep sane around my never-a-dull moment family, I focused on work in Nigeria: both exercising to reduce stress (which I did five-six days a week) and working on my business.
First on my agenda was finding authentic made-in-Africa textile suppliers. Then, my goal was to find female-owned fashion production facilities that I could hire to make garments from the made-in Africa textiles. My goal with the production companies was to test their skill level and ability to produce at a Western quality standard. I had long heard that while tailors in West Africa had 20-30 years of sewing and free-hand pattern making experience, they lacked the Western production methodology of making and using paper patterns that could be graded and produced for mass production. In Nigeria, the dress-makers tend to have more of a custom, made-to-measure business model for clients.
So I decided to source four female-owned production facilities to make sewn-in-Africa garments. As you may be aware- I did a similar program in 2014, where I hired 8 young women in Ghana, teaching them hand-beaded embellishment techniques and paying them fair-trade wages. This time I wanted to actually have the garments sewn and sourced on the continent, deepening our commitment to made-in-Africa garments.
I found the production facilities via word-of-mouth and pure luck. I asked everyone I knew until I had five options to consider. Most had small free-standing shops or worked out of the back of their homes. I gave them all the same process and was able to see who interpreted my design sketches the best, who had the best sewing and finishing techniques and who delivered the garments on time.
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