No job is assured in life except the one you create yourself. Ebunoluwa took a huge step to create her own job from her childhood passion. The reward she has reaped since then is immeasurable.
Aside from the paycheck, she is fulfilling her dreams.
Can you briefly introduce yourself to the audience?
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My name is Ebunoluwa Balogun. I am the CEO of Glamours Stitches, located in No. 2, Fashanu Street, Baruwa Ipaja, Lagos.
Glamours Stitches is a Fashion design Business that deals with varieties of clothing from casual wears, office clothing, wedding gown etc
It doesn’t matter where you are in the country, we got you covered and that I am sure.
Thank you for the brief introduction. When did you start your company and what was the motivation behind it?
It started briefly in Ado Ekiti, in the year 2017, but I embarked fully on it when I moved to Lagos in November 2018.
What motivated me into Fashion Designing is my drawing skills. I’m very good in stretching. Before I went to a Fashion School, I had always been the one that sketches my styles for my Tailor. I just felt is something I can also do.
I sketch most of the clothes, even if you give me your own style, I still want to bring out something unique that’s not in the style you brought.
I always had a very particular idea about what I wanted to wear, sometimes, I couldn’t find it in clothes I liked, so I would design my own and give it to my tailor to sew them for me.
I eventually decided to make a career out of it. It’s a pretty unique field because it’s both the combination of business and art, which is really appealing to me.
That’s an interesting story of turning passion into a profession. We live in a country where society classifies some jobs for low-level people.
Being a graduate, how did you feel when you venture into such a business?
Thank you for the question. I have always been a business oriented person since when I was in Secondary school, and I have been very dogged when it comes to business. I don’t classify business as low or high level. Your mindset to the business is what that matters
The fashion business is a business that requires you to step up your game every day. So, all I feel when I started was fulfilment.
I completely agree with everything you’ve said.
Every business has its own challenges, what are the challenges you’ve been facing?
One of the downsides of the industry is that – it’s very competitive and starting out, you don’t get paid a lot.
How have you been coping with it?
One of the best things to do while doing business is to stay through to your cause. Many have started to see the works of our hands. We make sure our brand is unique and those that really know good design have been patronizing us
We are not relenting. We are doing all it takes to showcase our brand nationwide.
Where and what platforms have you been using to showcase your work?
Whatsapp most especially has been doing the magic. We roll out our unique styles every week using Whatsapp status update and it’s been a great advantage
That’s interesting to know. Have you tried other social media sites like Opera News, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter?
We actually have an Instagram account, we have not been utilizing it at such. But, we have rolled out plans for the year 2020 as the year to go beyond Whatsapp.
What advice do you have for young graduates out there?
My advice for young graduates out there is to look beyond the Certificate they are holding and key into their passion. Everyone of us has that thing we do effortlessly.
Anything you find yourself doing, always strive to be the best. Learn and relearn each and every day. And for those that have a passion for fashion business, the reality is that there are very small percentage of people who are able to turn their passion for fashion design into lucrative career, however, they are many avenues they explore with fashion design industry. For instance, if you have a great technical skills you should look into being a pattern maker, or a sample sewer. And if design is for sure the way you want to go, maybe look into customer design or textile design.
Thank you, Ebunoluwa. You have spoken well. If your service is needed, how can you be contacted?
We can be contacted through the following phone number; 08035072710 and 07052020960.
Our business address is at No 2 Fashanu Street, Baruwa Ipaja, Lagos.
Where do you see your business in the next five years?
First step we have taken is to learn the nitty-gritty of fashion business in Lagos. And move the business nationwide. Also, we have plans to launch our e-commerce website so that those that are not in Lagos can check through our designs and pay for them.
We also have plans to create data log for our customers where every information about them will be logged in.
Thank you for your time. Have a wonderful year ahead.
Thank you a lot too, Chinedu.