Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - January/February 2022

170 How were the initial products developed and what was the response? The ‘why’ behind my designs are very important. When designing, I tend to draw from my culture first, because it’s part of who I am, and I love sharing my story through design. Nigeria and Africa as a whole have so much to draw from but I’m also inspired by my travels and architecture. The idea was to create designs that communicate sophistication, so it’s a blend of understated, elegant designs with an effortless twist on timeless shoe styles. S’oke was created from the shape of double, ascending curved stairs going ‘Up’, so I called them exactly that, in Yoruba. The response to our brand has actually been pretty fantastic. We launched with a showroom presentation of ten styles, which had positive reviews and our second collection was picked up by Level Shoes as an exclusive UAE retailer, which has been going pretty great. It’s one thing to have a vision and another to bring it to life for people to experience and enjoy, so I feel immensely grateful to every customer that has bought a Titi Adesa pair so far! What challenges did you face and how were they overcome when starting the business? In the past year, the biggest change has been mastering the art of designing remotely, which has been beneficial in sharpening my creative skills. Initially though, the challenge was juggling a full-time Pharmacy career and creating the brand at the same time – that was definitely a big one. It took a lot of discipline to invest in myself to execute the vision. I think not coming from a footwear background as well, was a gift and a curse. I didn’t have any idea-limitations, which was a gift, however, executing those ideas in terms of technicality was difficult. I consistently pushed beyond limits and worked intensely with the factories on my days off to ensure that all my designs were as I

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