The women who shaped my view of womanhood

From a very young age, I have been fortunate to see women as magical humans who made things happen.​

I grew up with my grandmother in Ilesha, a city in Osun State, Nigeria. Everyday, I saw women working, selling and making things. 

There were women who would fry casava grains and fluff it up in big trays (very fascinating), some sewed bright fabrics into nice clothes, some traded goods or crops in markets, others would have provisions in large bowls that sat on their heads and they sold door to door, lets not forget they did all this whilst raising families and being active parts of their communities. My 2 grandmothers were also traders, one was a gifted fashion designer and the other was a traditional vintner who made and sold palm wine, she was a no nonsense woman who was popularly known as "Iya Elemu", this is Yoruba for 'Mother who sells Palmwine'.

Whilst this is a norm in most parts of Africa, it really stuck with me that women were traders, they were strong and they were resilient, I had nothing else to compare them with and I could see them no other way.

I came to live in the the UK in 1992 and I remember seeing adverts on TV of crying children with helpless mothers. Even as an 8 year old, this confused me. I never saw women as helpless, they just always made things happen. In my mind and based on what I was used to seeing, that mother would be out there trying to do, make or sell something to raise money to help that child. Almost 30 years later, we still have those images on TV. ​

I have always had a deep rooted burden to let the world see Africa and the true beauty she holds, not just images of starvation and strife.

Absolutely, millions of people suffer and have a very hard time but i'll be damned if the world is led to think they just sit around all day not trying to help themselves because that couldn't be further away from the truth. 

I want the world to help women and girls see themselves the way I did at the age of 4, as powerful badass humans who make sh*t happen. I wanted to make something that women could see and have as a daily reminder, what better way to do that than with a item that sits closely on your skin... Jewellery!

I was initially quite perplexed  about going into the world of fashion and jewellery because It was so far away from a corporate background. I was worried I would come across as unserious or fickle by 'selling earrings' but I was fortunate to realise that we make a change in how we do things and not just what we do.

My ultimate goal is to create purpose driven factories across Africa where trained women earn a good income for themselves by developing products that will be sold around the world.

Every single piece I design is a celebration of the person who will wear it. No woman is one thing, she is a myriad of colours defined by hopes, fears, strength, creativity, love and even pain.

To the person reading this, wherever you are in the world, whatever it is you do, please know that you can make anything happen! There is also a thirty something year old Nigerian woman somewhere who thinks you're the greatest thing even before sliced bread ;)

You won't feel like a queen everyday and it's ok but please know that your crown is very much intact.

Love and light always, Blessing