WB ‘Our attitude to made-inNigeria products, a challenge’
Mandy Rachael Okhueleigbe is a Zoology graduate who has become popular for her sneakers made from ankara wax fabrics. In this interview she speaks about surmounting the pressure of being bullied as a result of a bad limp to becoming one of Nigeria’s fast sporty shoes designer using locally made fabrics.
How did you come about making sporty fashion shoes with ankara?
I wanted to launch a new set of leather bags. A friend had asked if I could design a leather bag using ankara fabric with a matching pair of sneakers with the same fabric. Although I was already making slippers and flat shoes, I have never made sneakers before. I told her yes and went back to my workshop to try my hands at coupling a pair of sneakers. A lot of people saw it and loved it.
The response I got was overwhelming and that was how I keyed into making ankara sneakers. I went to the market and sourced lovely and durable fabrics and that was how I birthed the sneakers line.
What/who is your muse?
Blake Mycoskie, the founder of Toms Shoes inspires me a lot with the many wonders he does with Toms Shoes and his other socially conscious products. He inspired me to start up my socially responsible ethical fashion brand - Mandy Rachael Designs - which happens to be the first socially responsible fashion brand in Nigeria because with every product sold, we donate 50% profit into the educational support of less privileged kids.
Also, Zainab Ashadu of Zashadu and Femi Olayebi of My World of Bags inspire me. Their lovely finished designs and great attention to details plus their feat in the industry inspire me a lot.
Please could you share with us, what it was like when you initially started and how far you’ve come?
Like every other start up, starting was pretty difficult and I almost gave up at a time. The journey started in my final year at Obafemi Awolowo University. I was thinking about what I would want to do after school. Initially, the plan was to do a Masters and maybe get a PhD, and venture into lecturing. Due to my leg everyone thought lecturing would be easiest.
I wasn’t cool with the plan, because I wondered about my social work, my love for fashion and my enterprising traits. After much thought, I decided to start Novafrik designs where I produced handmade accessories with fabrics and also trained people. Then came NYSC which put a long break on Novafrik designs, along with some health issues.
When I recovered, I started street to class campaign and in order to keep cash coming in to support myself and my NGO, I launched a new fashion line and named it Mandy Rachael Designs. I converted my uncle’s garage into a workshop, got some machines and materials and I started my business on a whole new level of production. Getting people to buy initially was cumbersome. I had produced more than my usual without thinking about selling; I usually produced on order. I leveraged on social media, got my break and, as they say, the rest is history.
What are the challenges you encounter and how do you overcome them?
Sourcing materials to birth my imaginations and also getting skilled hands to assist with production to my taste is a problem. The number of people involved in professional bag and shoe making are very few in the country. I am looking at training interested young people in the field who would in turn join the movement and add value to our production. Another challenge is some people’s attitude towards made-in-Nigeria products.
I have had people tell me “Mandy your products are really nice but it’s not Louboutin how am I supposed to wear it,” and the convincing starts. Some even buy but are not proud to wear it. I want to grow my brand to that stage where you get the same feeling of wearing a Louboutin or a Chanel.
Do you name each product you create? And if you do, how do you come by the names?
I name my products, and the names come as a result of circumstances surrounding the birth of the designs or people who inspired the designs. My first bag is ‘Joy’, because of my encounter with a child hawker I met in the market who inspired me to start up my street to class campaign. I also named my sneakers ‘Grace’ because of the circumstances that surrounded the production of my first pair.
Who is the one person you look forward to wearing your product and why?
I have a lot of them. Taraji P. Henson, Toke Makinwa, Annie Idibia and Ali Baba. I just love their personalities, and it would give me so much joy to see them proudly wearing a Mandy Rachael Designs.
What projects working on? are you
At Mandy Rachael Designs we donate 50% of our profits into the educational support of less privileged kids by providing materials that would encourage them to keep going to school, like uniforms, books, etc. So far we have assisted over 100 kids and we are looking at assisting 1,000 kids this year, through the ‘Project 1000 Kids’.
Where do you see yourself by the end of 2017?
By the end of 2017 I see myself being rated among one of the best designers in Nigeria and would also love to achieve all we have planned for Project 1000 Kids.