From passion to profit: My Brand came to be when I turned my hobby into a Business.... Creative Director Temi_Crochets

By Kemi Mobuse - Wednesday, December 13, 2017

When I found I was pregnant, I was excited when the Dr told me, it was a girl. Omo Mehn! I was practically walking on the moon😀😀😀. My husband couldn’t care less about which sex it was. He sha wanted a baby Lol!.It was around the same time, I discovered Instagram. While doing my usual gbeborun about and stalking celebrities, I happened across some awesomely cute crocheted girls dresses, which made me drool and I started screenshoting away, hoping to buy them all. I ended up with close to 100 screenshots when I mistakenly read the caption and saw the price….I let out a loud scream because one dress is 12k…hian!bet why evils????😖😒

As if that was not enough to deal with, the next day, was my 6 months scan, Dr sha kept clearing his throat, while moving the scanner around, after the third throat Clearing, I asked, Sir, are you ok?

He replied:” Em! Mrs Mobuse, it seems this your baby is a baby is a boy ohh….I stood up and glared at him, I said, what the heck are you talking about? After my trip to Eko and my Instagram shopping?

On remembering the Instagram shopping, Iyanmi!!!!😟 I silently breathe a sigh of relief, thinking…..not today Devil! I shall not go broke! Not today!!! That didn’t stop me from quietly wishing though and eyeballing pretty babies dressed in gorgeous crocheted dresses and accessories.

My love for Crochets is unwavering and I know God will answer a lil lady’s prayers…..someday…..Babies are the reason that Temi_crochets came into being and her love for the craft is second to none. Temilade decided to make something of her hobby and passion and hers is a story worth reading and sharing …read below:

Kemi Mobuse Blog: Can we meet you?

Temi Crochet: I'm Temilade Adefioye Aina. I tend to use Adefioye as quite a number of people still know me by that 😊. I love to read, crochet and solve data problems. Although, I can't tell which I currently love the most, but crochet has got my attention the most in recent times.

Kemi Mobuse Blog: How did you get your start?

Temi Crochet: I attended a Meet Your Authors program organized by Channels TV for their TV show-Channels book club.

During the event, one of the speakers Nimi Akinkugbe was asked how we can scale up our finances to augment our salary; she gave an example about using our hobbies to start a side business. At the time, my hobbies were reading and crocheting but, I didn't take the latter seriously. On getting home, I started thinking and praying about it. Co-incidentally, my sister was going to have a baby soon, so I made her a pair of baby booties which I learnt to make via YouTube. My mum, husband, sister and her husband saw it and liked it, I decided there and then that, this might just be the side business I need. I called up my sister and asked her for some starting out ideas (she has a business herself so talking to her about the Nigerian market was quite easy). Next I posted a photo on Instagram to see how people would engage with it as my sister and I were quite skeptical about two things: 1) Acceptance of handmade items in Nigeria

2) The value people would place on it, it's handmade not machine made that would make it more expensive as it would take more time and material. We were not sure if people would readily accept it.

Surprisingly, someone sent me another Instagram handle and told me the lady does that for a living, I discovered more after that and got encouraged that there might just be a market for it. So I told my mum about my idea, she went to the market, got wool for me and gave me a list of items to make for her arriving grand baby 😀. It was a wide range of items: baby bootie, beanie, sweater and trousers set and baby cocoon. For every item I made, she paid me and showed mothers around her the photos. My sister and her husband also requested more items for their baby. My husband requested for his cousin. Those items became my first collection which I started with. I posted the photos on Instagram and it went on from there.

Kemi Mobuse Blog: Who taught you how to crochet and how long ago was that?

Temi Crochet: I was taught by a childhood friend when I was 7 (last time I checked, she can't remember how to handle a hook 😀). After I learnt it, I never used it for anything until we had to do make a muffler for our Home Economics project in Junior Secondary that was about 6 years after and that ended it. Then I took it up again when I went for my Masters in the U.K., it was fun for me at the time. Whenever I visited a new town, I would just happen upon a yarn store/stall. I would buy supplies and make stuff for myself, mostly purses. My sister's baby was the real push that made me go to YouTube to learn more

Kemi Mobuse Blog: What was the first piece you created and how did it make you feel?

Temi Crochet: I had many firsts 😀. But my first commercial piece was a pair of Baby bootie.

It made me feel like I was 'arty'. Since I was a science student, I never believed I could create anything that was fashion or artistic in nature but crochet is art. I created that pair and I said to myself, 'I've got this 😀, I've got some art inside of me'

Kemi Mobuse Blog: Do you have any other special crochet memories?

Temi Crochet: Every item I make is a memory for me. When I look at any picture of items I've made, I remember the conversation I’ve had with the customer, from price negotiation to getting the delivery detail of the customer. So every item is special. Although I don't know if I'll remember as much detail about every item in the next 2-3 years but I'm delighted with each memory. Even if I've made the same item for more than one customer, it's a different memory each time.

Kemi Mobuse Blog: If social media didn’t exist, if there were no Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, do you think you’d be able to have had Temmy’s Crochet?

Temi Crochet: It would exist, but probably on a smaller scale and it might have not accelerated as it has since I started. Social media has made me meet more people and even learn more designs and patterns

Kemi Mobuse Blog: Where do you find inspiration?

Temi Crochet: Hmmm! I don't even know how to answer this. I'll say my customers. Those people are amazing. They have great ideas about how they want their little ones to look and they are able to project it to me. Other times they just believe I'm going to do something great and trust me to make decisions about design and or colours. So I'll say my customers

Kemi Mobuse Blog: What is your favourite knitting technique?

Temi Crochet: I crochet, I don't knit 😊. I'm just learning to knit. There are quite a number of basic stitches I love; double crochet makes your work fast 😀while single crochet makes your work sturdy.

Kemi Mobuse Blog: Do you look at other designers’ work or are you afraid that you will be influenced by their designs?

Temi Crochet: I look at other designs. Most of the designs I make are from patterns I get online both paid and unpaid. But sometimes, I've had to create some patterns for myself. I just sit down and visualize how I want something to look like, and then I begin working.

I'm not afraid my work will be influenced by other designs. I don't even think about that.

Kemi Mobuse Blog: How do you maintain your life/work balance?

Temi Crochet: That's quite a challenge for me now. Crochet is my hobby and I have deadlines, so sometimes, I just work and work. What I try to do is to limit my work hours to 9-5 daily during the week, then during the weekend; I don't put as much time into crochet as I have other things that tends to take up my time. But, when I'm going out during the weekend and it's going to be a long drive which doesn't involve me, I take my work along with me 😀

Kemi Mobuse Blog: What advice would you give someone who wants to pursue a career in crocheting?

Temi Crochet: I would say go for it. So long as you're interested. The market can never be saturated. People will keep having babies so there will always be a market for it. I'll also say; learn and learn, watch videos, join groups on social media, listen to your customers; they will push and amaze you with their ideas.

Kemi Mobuse Blog: lastly, how can you be contacted?

Temi Crochet: Call/WhatsApp-09026869272

Facebook-https://m.facebook.com/temicrochets/

Instagram-@temi_crochets

Email: apttemilade@gmail.com

Kemi Mobuse Blog: Thank you for your time.

Temi Crochet: Thank you so much for the opportunity.