Zoza: Making business from creative arts

Zoza Icha is a graduate of Industrial Design from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. She has been actively in business for about four years now.  Her passion is making art part of our daily lives and converting it into functional pieces that we can carry along and items to be hung on the wall to […]

Zoza Icha is a graduate of Industrial Design from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. She has been actively in business for about four years now. 

Her passion is making art part of our daily lives and converting it into functional pieces that we can carry along and items to be hung on the wall to beautify the home.

“We have quite a number of items that we produce through creativity using the Nigerian ankara including glass work, wood work, leather work and metal work. For wood work we do wall hangings and trays, for leather we do carpets, journals and carry-cases. 

“All the pieces are works of art; they are not products, they are works of art. Let me tell you their names and why they are called so. The pieces that are round and wide are called the conscience the reason they are called that is the idea behind which is that when we were born we were small and then our lives widen up as we grow. So we have the top narrow and the bottom wide which represents growth, the round design here represents your conscience being, an aspect of your life.

 “In every part of your life, conscience is needed in making decisions. The idea of the conscience collection is to remind you of what you are doing; and holding on to your conscience.

“The tall big one is actually a sort of funny piece. Many people would like to have their tea or coffee in one big cup, so we came up with the name ‘Longer throat’ from our Nigerian pidgin English. This is not a serious piece as the conscience collection. 

“A lot of our customers in Abuja when we tell them the name they laugh and say so now I am ‘longer throat’ and things like that,” Icha explained.

Talking about the fabric used for the art works, Icha, the MD/CEO of Asah-Boro said, “We use our local Nigerian fabric like ‘atampa’. The whole idea behind this is that it is brand new; it is not something that has been done. We are using this as a method of preserving our fabric and instead of just wearing it, we look for ways to make the fabric live longer. 

 “The mugs can be washed, they can be put in the microwave oven and nothing happens to them. I see it as another way of promoting our Nigerian culture. We do have some that we made from start to finish. 

“Mostly my work is aimed at getting our Nigerian audience to appreciate our culture because it is still something foreign for many Nigerians.”

 On how lucrative the business is, Icha said, “Because of the poor education and level of exposure of the Nigerian populace, we found out that only high class Nigerians and foreigners patronise our products. 

“We have already started exporting them and you will notice that every piece is carrying the Nigerian flag. The idea behind that is to show where it came from wherever it goes.”

 She added, “We are proud of being Nigerians. We will not be ashamed because we have different issues facing the nation; we are doing our own part to show that Nigerians are talented.”

 On the prices of the products, she said, “The prices range from N5,000 to N30,000 and even more depending on the piece of art of work and if the original idea has not been done.”

 She pointed out that, she has about five people working in her company. “When we have large orders like 1000 pieces or more to make, I have staff that are on standby so that we can meet up the deadline,” she added.

 Asked how much is required to start the business, she said, “I won’t say it is a capital intensive venture. But to begin with, because a lot of research has to be carried out, on the average, you can start with N300,000  to be able to get the right chemicals the right machines for mixing and so on.

 “I tell people I worked at the BBC for nearly 10 years but I decided to resign and start my own business. I used to tell women who seem to be undecided to “bring up your ideas, make your dreams true because somebody needs that dream to encourage her own dreams.

 “I am not of the idea that a woman belongs to the home because even at home a woman should be able to add value because that is the only way people will begin to celebrate women; our gender needs to be celebrated.”