When Anthonia Adelore was growing up, one of the things she was not sure of was the next place that would be her residence. The reason was that her father, Venerable Kolawole Adelore, was always on the move. Her father, surely, would take her to the next town he would be transferred to.As her dad was being transferred from one town to another, Anthonias mother, Omolara Abike, was also busy transferring a useful skill into Anthoniadesigning and making of dresses. Even though Mrs. Adelore was not a commercial seamstress, she ensured that all her six children could make their own dresses.At Saint Annes School, Molete, Ibadan, Anthonia explored an opportunity to hone her sewing skill. In the Home Economics class, she saw that she could specialise in Clothing and Textile, and she wasted no time in taking the option.Anthonia went on to read Marketing at the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree. Good enough, she got a marketing job with a newspaper. However, as she went to offices to canvass for advert for her newspaper, the opportunity to make commercial sense out of her love for dress making kept coming.She says, People kept admiring my dresses and I would tell them that I made them. I told them that if they liked it, I could make a similar thing for them. That was how I kept getting clients. Of course, I had a sewing machine in my house. When I go back home, I would design and sew the dresses for them.As her clientele increased, she had to get an assistant. She explains, Sewing is not really an easy job. It is not something that one can do alone. You need somebody to assist you.When Anthonias assistance was no longer available, the business suffered a setback but in 2008, she decided to throw her full weight into it. That led her to get a workshop as well as a showroom. She also had to get three people to work for her as she acquired six industrial machines.To get into the business of fashion designing, Anthonia says the first qualification is the love for the work. According to her, this should be followed with training which could last for a period of three months, if the prospective seamstress has deep interest in the job.She also mentioned creativity as a very important requirement to be successful in the fashion business.As I am talking with you now, there are some things I am learning from what you are wearing. Dont be surprised that the next time you might see some adaptation of your shirt from me, she says.According to ehow.com, the level of education and skill of a seamstress can determine the type of job they attract.It adds, Some areas of the design industry may require you to have a degree in textile design or fashion. Other areas may depend more on experience than a formal education.Start-up capital could be as little as N25, 000 to buy a simple sewing machine and sewing materials, such as needles and threads. This amount of money applies to a person that wants to start from the home.Another fashion designer based in Abuja, Titilade Kusimo, proprietress of Tit Home of Fashion Taste, says there are several segments of the fashion business that a person can get involved in. According to her, these include designing, cutting, sewing and marketing.Although she is involved in all aspects of the business, she says one prospective fashion designer can decide to specialise in one aspect and still be able to make good money. She adds that one can even decide to be a dealer in fashion.In that case, the person can source supply from available channels and stock the products for customers to patronise. It can also include stocking accessories and related products, she says.Anthonia, on her part, has moved on to establish an outfit named Abike Couture, after her mother, which has expanded its line of business to make a full fashion shop. This makes it a one-stop fashion shop that provides a variety of what a prospective customer wants in a dressing.When our clients come, they might say: oh where do we get a good bag for one occasion or the other' So we decided to stock bags, perfumes and shoes so that they dont need to go elsewhere to get what they want, she says.Her slogan is, Enjoy Lagos Price in Abuja.According to her, since she does not need to travel and pay transport fare to get her stock, there is no reason she cant offer cheaper prices in order to attract a good number of customers.In this business, you must have your unique selling points, she adds. For Anthonia, the unique selling point is good price and combining fabrics to achieve both simplicity and distinctiveness.
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