Richard Branson wearing my brand, my biggest wow yet – Ese Odiete

What was your story before Hesey?I had just graduated from Covenant University and completed my NYSC. I served in a bank in Maiduguri. As a young graduate the first thing on your mind was get a job, so like everyone I was applying for jobs. I started a leisure blog writing on my plights as […]

What was your story before Hesey?
I had just graduated from Covenant University and completed my NYSC. I served in a bank in Maiduguri. As a young graduate the first thing on your mind was get a job, so like everyone I was applying for jobs. I started a leisure blog writing on my plights as an unemployed graduate. I knew I could do more than just write CVs and apply for jobs. So I started fuelling my passion for fashion. I read up a lot of documents from the internet and started learning how to run a business.

How did the Hesey brand come about?
 I have always been intrigued by the fashion industry, even as a child and have always wanted to build a fashion brand that would promote the Nigerian economy. I passionately believe that trade is what Africa needs for development. So after my university degree, I decided to set up a fashion brand with a mission to promote Nigeria and Africa, so Hesey Designs was born. I started the business with my savings of about N10,000. I produced a few bags, sold them and used the money to produce more.
As a young entrepreneur, starting up was difficult. My first main challenge was sourcing for fund. I had to make do with the little savings I had and grew from there. Also getting the products out was another challenge. I couldn’t afford a store so I made use of the Internet. I sent emails to fashion sites requesting that they feature my designs. I knew I had a great product but I needed to be known. So many of them featured the product with my contact. A lot of people started contacting me, requesting for the product.
I started after the university and didn’t have an idea of how to go about running a fashion label.  So I read up a lot of articles and business management books from the Internet.  They were books and articles on how to start and run a fashion label especially with little funds.
What’s your favourite story behind a piece?
 My map bag. It drew inspiration from the Nigerian map. It was even supposed to be more complicated than what we actually produced.  But since we had limited time, we decided to leave the full concept for next independence.

What’s the inspiration behind your designs?
 My designs are African-inspired, so I try to make this obvious in all designs. I always wanted people to see my designs and know this is Africa.

How did you learn the art?
Passionate about running my own business, I used the internet to learn about starting and running a fashion label. I had always been a bit creative, so coming up with designs was not so difficult. I gathered inspiration from all around me. I watched a lot of production and creative videos on crafts and bag making and I practised with these.

Could you explain the feeling of Richard Branson wearing your product?
Words can’t describe it; I’m still super excited.  One of the world’s greatest entrepreneur, rocked my shoes! I actually thought he would take it off but he wore it, complementing it with a bespoke Vivienne Westwood suit to the launch of Virgin Atlantic new uniform. Standing on the stage at the party, he introduced me to the fashion forward crowd. Richard Branson wearing my brand is still my biggest wow yet.

Was he somebody you ever imagined you would come across personally, more so in the way that you did?
No, never! Sometimes I still pinch myself to wake up from the dream. The places my business has taken me to  still makes me wonder. I had big dreams about the business but never in those dreams did I envision that two years down the line I would get to meet and learn from one of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs. Imagine what the future holds!

Who else do you look forward to wearing your work?
I have started designing Barack Obama’s shoes (laughing) and Michelle’s bag and dress.

How stiff was it winning the Enterprise Challenge?
The competition was mostly online so I did not get to see other people competing. It was made up of three rounds; essay on our entrepreneurial journey, a video pitch  for our businesses and a panel interview pitch. I met really smart people doing great things in their different fields. I believe I met the criteria set by the judges.

What’s your muse? Who are your favourite designers and why?
Christie Brown. I love her African-inspired designs and I always look to her for inspiration. I look forward to working with her someday.
 
What would you describe as the climax of your career so far?
As a young entrepreneur, starting up was difficult. I started after the university and didn’t have an idea of how to go about running a fashion label.  The only tool I had was the Internet and I used it to school myself on business management and creating designs. My parents wanted the best for me and felt fashion was not it, so I did not receive their support. So with my savings of N10,000, I not only started a business, but I also run an empowerment centre where I equip women with skills to set them up as entrepreneurs.
It’s been two years since I took the entrepreneurship oath and yes, am loving it. Many people considered it a hobby I will outgrow. Well, I did grow; I grew the business to one that has impacted 40 women over to one that has been recognized by great entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Ibukun Awosika; to one that has been featured on different online, print and electronic media; to being able to inspire other young people. And just recently I got my two major motivations to do more; I won the Google Africa connected competition and the 2014 British Council enterprise challenge.
And as I replay the images of how far I have come, it’s nothing compared to how far I am going; I have barely started.

Ankara is a fabric prone to fading and fast colours. How do you manage this for durability of your products?
Quality Ankara fabrics are not prone to fading and so we source for quality fabrics like Daviva and Vlisco.

What’s the most interesting part of doing what you do?
Getting great feedback from our customers and fans. I open my mail and I see a happy customer. I open my message and I see a touching message from someone. That is the best part of running Hesey designs, the fact that it has grown from being just a label to an inspiring brand.

What kind of challenges do you face in the course of production?
My present challenges are getting adequate materials, dealing with craftsmen and shipping products internationally. As a designer during the concept stage, you already have an idea of what you want the final product to be like, so finding all the materials that will make that picture a reality can sometimes be different. Also, it’s very expensive sending our products to customers abroad. We are looking to work with a courier firm that can offer us great services at a fair price.

How easy it is getting and maintaining staff to work with?
I was very lucky to have gotten a great team that I have been working with since we started, although one left to go further her studies. As a business I believe we have crossed the struggle stage and we have given our staff reasons to believe in the business, so maintaining them has not been so difficult as we try to involve them in the processes and make them feel highly appreciated.

What’s your most expensive item?
Most expensive item right now is a lace bag which cost N15,000. We are, however, starting our premium line soon to cater for high-end customers.

If you also design for men as one of the photos on your site indicates, why is Hesey Designs referred to as a woman’s apparel?
The label started strictly for women but as we grew we got orders from men, so we did a few designs for them. But our primary targets are the women.

What projects are you working on?
The brand is very passionate about women empowerment and development and this has been very evident in our different activities so far. We will be setting up a full empowerment school soon and we will be able to take in some of our students as workforce.
We also have other projects we are  working on.