LA’ORENTE ATELIER BEYOND TAILORING

 LA'ORENTE ATELIER BEYOND TAILORING

By: Owokorodu Maryam

I am Adebisi Eniola, creative director and head designer at LA'ORENTE ATELIER, situated at Ikorodu, Lagos. To start with, I will say I'm naturally gifted, I perform very well in Fashion related ideas eg, makeup artistry, jewelry making, bags and shoes making, hairdressing and tailoring but my passion for tailoring and making good outfits, made me opted for it, hence, other ideas became hobbies. I've been making outfits since primary school days, even though they weren't perfect, you wouldn't believe someone who didn't undergo training made them. I kept making the outfits for myself and younger brother till I entered secondary school. I was so convinced I would excel with Fashion designing, so I took myself to where I first learnt male tailoring, I was in my senior high school then. 

I was so dedicated about the job that I got so many compliments from clients and I was tipped alot. I remember I made many pants for my boss then the first day I started training, it was during festive period but his joiner disappointed him, so I told him to show me what to do, he was very impressed!. I kept doing my thing, learning from different sources, I don't discard any idea I come across, I try it out, take note of the errors and kept improving. 

I actually didn't do much during my tertiary education days, I've been on and off the machine due to the stress of higher institution. After I graduated in 2017, I decided to fully concentrate on my Fashion business and I've always been thankful to God ever since. I started buying some accessories, little by little, till I now have almost everything it takes to fully operate a successful business.

Adebisi Eniola
C.E.O La’Orente Atelier

How much capital did you use to set up this business? I cannot remember the exact amount but I started by buying what's crucial for my Fashion business one by one as the money comes in, I bought a machine first that cost about 40k then, then as times goes on I started going big. I recently spent over 2 million Naira to get a new space, furnish it and get some few equipments relating to the business. 

 

Did you share the capital with another person, or it’s sole proprietorship? It's a sole proprietorship, The money was saved up from my sewing

How have you been able to cope with the constant power outage in this location? Oh! That's a huge setback I have presently. Electricity is a huge luxury at the location my business is currently established. I buy fuel every single day! It's sickening!

What other challenges do you face? Hmmm, apart from the power outage, I don't think there's any peculiar challenge I'm facing, it's a new business so it'd doing pretty well for a start.

 

How satisfied are you with the sales traffic? Somewhat satisfied for a  business in a new location but I know it will get better

How do you procure your products? I simply go to the market when the needs arise or if it's something I can't get in my local market, then I will order international.

How much is the estimated sales per month? Depends, but I think about #200,000 on average. Sometimes sales could be low, other times it could be way higher. About 2 months ago, I made slightly over #700,000 in that month. 

Where did you see your self in the next 5 years ? I see myself and my business on every lips of Nigerian. I also know and believe my business will be international because I'm taking the steps already.

How did is you intend to support the Nigeria economy and the society? Even though the country isn't encouraging in anyway and won't give anything in return, I intend to pay my tax to support the economy. I'm already doing that by buying fuel everyday!

 

EDITOR : KAREEM AFIS OLAYINKA