A FASHION DESIGNER’S WORKERS’ DAY REFLECTION: ONE WOMAN, MANY ROLES

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It's your favorite girl @debbie-ese 😍
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Shout out to all the amazing men and women out there that keep hustling day and night to make ends meet for themselves and their loved ones. As we commemorate Workers' Day, I look back to do a deep reflection on the daily life routine of running a fashion business ALONE. To be a fashion designer is of course more than just sitting on the sewing machine and creating amazing designs for clients - it is about taking up multiple roles.

When you run a fashion business in Nigeria or any part of the world, it may sound fascinating to some, but the reality is that when you run it all by yourself it is a different ball game. The story is different when you don't have an apprentice or a co-worker that you share the tasks together. Owning a work space does not mean that you kick off the day by sitting on the machine once you get to your place of work in the morning. There are some little activities that you would start doing that may take some time before you conclude it and most especially your strength too.

I have said it here a few times that my shop is just beside my house so I don't go through the stress of commuting to the shop and back to the house on a daily basis. My day usually kicks off around 9.00 am when I have finished sorting my son out by getting him ready for school. The first thing I do when I get to the shop is to pray and open both the doors and windows to let some fresh air in. Then I proceed to sweep the floor (usually I sweep in the evening but in some days when I'm too tired I wait till the next morning). When the sweeping is put in place then I move the mannequin outside with some dresses on the hanger to display for passerbys to see the amazing works we produce.

This is when I now begin the major work of a fashion designer - cutting of fabrics, ironing, sewing and attending to walk-in customers or the ones who come around for fittings. It is been over two months that I have been running the affairs of my business alone since my apprentices graduated. About two weeks ago, someone stopped by to make enquiries if I'm open to taking new apprentices but I refused to accept her because she's married. It is quite tricky having a married apprentice because you have to consider her duties and obligations to her family which would not give her full concentration at work. I have had some unbelievable experiences with one or two in the past, so I wouldn't want to repeat the same mistake.

I'm seriously hoping to find a dedicated and trustworthy apprentice as soon as possible, because taking up all the responsibilities in the business is taking a toll on my body especially my back and legs. I tend to close for the day with severe body pain and all. But I have to keep the business running until I get new hands.

Moving on about how I spend my typical day at work, my day begin to slowly come to a close at around 1:30 pm when I leave to pick my son from school. I really don't do anything serious in the shop once he's back from school until he takes a nap (which is not always certain) because I have to prepare his lunch, bath him, help him relax and attend to all his other needs. He needs all the attention he can get and I don't deprive him of that for any reason.

To sum it all up, this is my typical routine on a normal day at work apart from the days I have to quickly dash out to the market to buy some sewing materials when I run out of them or when I have other needs to attend to like visiting the bank, supermarket etc. It is quite physically and mentally demanding to run a business like a fashion business especially when you do it alone. I hope to get helping hands soon so that I can pay more attention to putting my creativity into action.

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