• Ayeni, TemmyGrace CEO

By Nicholas Otumu

Temitope Grace Ayeni is the CEO of TemmyGrace Apparel, a fashion brand that designs and makes stylish and trendy African and English wear for both men and women. In this interview, the graduate of Demography and Social Statistics from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, shares how her love for sketching and encouragement from her husband, Ayeni Idowu, inspired her to become a renowned fashion designer. The Ijebu, Ogun State-born stylist laments how the high inflation and economic downturn, among other challenges in the country, are affecting the fashion industry. She also states what the government should do to encourage female entrepreneurs. Excerpts: 

Why did you go into fashion?

I was inspired to venture into fashion designing due to disappointments from my designers. While I was still schooling at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, I was using my leisure time to sketch out beautiful designs because I love sketching. Oftentimes, when a design idea pops into my head, I’ll just sketch it out, so whenever I want to make a new outfit, I would just pick one of my sketched designs and give it to my designers to make for me. But oftentimes, they get it so wrong, and whenever I wear the outfits without making proper adjustments I will feel so uncomfortable and less confident at whatever gathering I find myself wearing the outfits to. Sometimes, I lose them and will adjust the wears myself with just needle and thread and they usually come out perfectly well.

So after all the tiring experience with my designers, I decided to go beyond sketching by learning to make the clothes myself. I was also inspired by my then-friend who would later become my husband. We were just close friends when we were still in school, though he was not in the same school as me, I met him through a friend and that was how it started. So when he discovered I love designing he then encouraged me to attend a fashion school to be able to put my skills into use effectively.  I gave it some thought and I felt that if I didn’t listen to him, I would still be having the same experience as my designers. Again, I also felt I would be able to help those who are having the same ugly experience in the hands of their designers, by helping them to feel confident in their style choices. When I decided to get trained, I didn’t have enough to pay for my tuition fee.  I discussed it with my husband and he assisted me with the tuition fee and also got me all the necessary materials required for the training.

Tell us about your brand

Over time, my passion increased and became stronger day by day, and I decided to start up my brand which has been in existence for about seven years. My brand name was drawn from the initials of my name. From Temitope Grace, I came about TemmyGrace and because I love sketching out all kinds of clothing designs, I decided to name my brand TemmyGrace Apparel. We design and make stylish and trendy African and English designs for both men and women to build their confidence in whatever style of their choice, and also create a fashionable lifestyle for our clients. My clientele includes women and men of all ages. Today, men and women are increasingly interested in fashion. For that reason, we focus our target on those who are fashion-conscious. TemmyGrace Apparel also targets local and international markets.  My brand also engages in the online market space, with some marketing activities engaging men and women in the online space and it has been working for my brand as most of my clients are from the social media space.

How has it been since you started?

It has been a wonderful, beautiful, challenging, and demanding experience, but above all, it’s been a beautiful and worthy lifestyle for me. Being in the fashion industry has been a journey with so many experiences and importantly I have learnt to embrace the difficulties that will occur, to always be calm and stay flexible, to work at 100%, to give everything I have got and not be afraid of making mistakes, because everything is for the sake of the experience, without confidence, passion and determination, it will be hard to make it in the fashion industry.

Where do you envision your brand evolving in the future?

I see TemmyGrace Apparel brand evolving globally with amazing and creative designs, influencing the world of fashion positively, implementing measures to broaden the world of fashion, and creating a fashionable lifestyle for our present and future clients. My goal is to achieve global recognition while creating more amazing designs and exploring some innovative textiles, and technology, and to network and collaborate with both local and international designers. 

What type of fabric do you enjoy working with the most?

African prints! Because it has a wide range of variety of colours and prints. The prints are vivid, eye-catching, and very flexible. They’re lively and aesthetically enticing and they always look stunning. 

Acceptability

Fashion is an ever-changing landscape, with trends evolving rapidly. One of the ways to remain relevant and up-to-date is by engaging with fashion media including reading fashion magazines, following fashion blogs, and browsing fashion websites. These platforms often provide insights into the latest trends and emerging designers, and by attending fashion events across the world. Following these platforms and trends to infuse new ideas into my designs.

In the process of training, I was detailed actually on how to get quality materials and the right location to get them. I also build a cordial relationship with some of my supplier clients that sell quality materials and at any point in time, I can call them to waybill some materials whenever I need them for my clients. The satisfaction I have been getting from my clients is an assurance that I get my materials from the right sources.

Challenges 

One of the challenges I faced was logistics; rates of shipment in and outside Nigeria are on the very high side, and when you charge clients more to cover up for the shipment expenses, they feel you are overcharging them and in some cases, you lose some clients because of that. So to retain your customers, you make painful concessions for the awesome work you are doing leaving you with little or nothing. Another challenge is most of our Gen Z youths don’t want to learn skills. A lot of these young apprentices and stylists do not want to work not to talk of dedicating their time. Often time when we have a heavy workload, we hardly find anyone to assist in meeting up with dateline for a particular project, most times there’s always little or no assistance in achieving work projects. Inflation and economic downturns are also an issue. This has really caused a big rise in the cost of textiles, energy costs, labour costs, and logistics, among others which leads to higher prices for consumers and lower profits for us in the fashion industry. 

What kind of support do you need from the government as a female entrepreneur?

The government can support female entrepreneurs like me by making policies that will help access funding in such a way that they provide targeted grants, loans, and tax incentives to help women overcome financial barriers. There should also be a mentorship and training program that connects female entrepreneurs with experienced mentors, skill-building workshops, and networking opportunities. The government should invest in technical education, and make it a policy to highlight and celebrate the achievements of female entrepreneurs to inspire and motivate others. The governments can also create a more inclusive environment that empowers female entrepreneurs to succeed and contribute to the economy. 

Emerging designers

To start a fashion brand doesn’t require much. You start small to become great. I started at a corner in my home, and after rounding up from fashion school, I just decided to talk to people and friends to create awareness of what I do. At that time, I didn’t have much to get a space at a preferred location. When I started my designs, people saw my pieces and they loved them. I got lots of encouragement to do much better. My advice to all aspiring fashion designers is to fully express their passion for the profession. The truth is that it is very easy when you put your heart and mind into it. Be confident, and passionate and invest your time meaningfully. You need to make designing a lifestyle, love what you do and impress every customer’s mind with your beautiful and amazing designs.