Women of Rubies
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“MARRIAGE AND MOTHERHOOD HAS TAUGHT ME TO BE EXTREMELY PATIENT” – OMAWUMI

Nigerian singer, Omawumi, in a recent interview, opened up about life as a mother and marriage in general.

She said:

“Marriage and motherhood has taught me to be extremely patient; it has taught me to always understand that everybody has their side to a story. It has also taught me to be very understanding towards everybody.

To an extent, it still boils down to patience; you don’t put too much load on people or have too much expectation of people. Always be ready to receive people with love and forgiveness. I think the best way to explain it is that being a parent has made me understand my relationship with God”.

When asked if both has impacted her music career , she said:

“Yes of course. It has really helped and influenced or rather shaped my music and the way I put music out right now. Of course, one has to be extra careful; because you don’t want to pass the wrong message. Motherhood has been a blessing to my music; it has been a blessing to me. It has been a blessing to everything surrounding me”.

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PROFILE| MEET CHIEF FOLAKE SOLANKE, THE FIRST FEMALE SENIOR ADVOCATE OF NIGERIA

Chief Folake Solanke (born 29 March 1932), SAN, CON, is a Nigerian Lawyer, administrator, and social critic. She is the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the first Nigerian female lawyer to wear the silk gown as Senior Counsel. She is the first Commissioner of Western State, and is a former Chairperson of the Western Nigeria Television Broadcasting Corporation (WNTBC).

She was the 42nd and the first African International President of Zonta International, an international service organization that focus primarily on advancing the status of women. The 43rd International President was also African.

Upon her return to Nigeria in August 1962, Solanke began her law career at the chamber of late Honourable Justice Michael Adeyinka Odesanya (rtd), while teaching Latin and Mathematics at Yejide Girls Grammar School in Ibadan, Oyo State. Her father died in April 1963. In May 1963, after she was called to the Bar in absentia, she moved to the law office of Chief Frederick Rotimi Williams as junior counsel.

In 1972, Solanke was appointed the first Commissioner of Western State and chairperson of the Western Nigeria Television Broadcasting Corporation (WNTBC).

In 1981, Solanke became the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the first Nigerian female lawyer to wear the silk gown.

Solanke rose through the ranks of Zonta International, first serving as the District Governor for Africa and then as International Vice-President. In 1988, 1990, and 1994, Solanke ran for election to the International Presidency of the organization (she did not run in 1992). She lost the first two times, but won the third time, being elected in Hong Kong on July 21, 1994 as the 42nd International President, the first non–caucasian, African president of the organization since its establishment in 1919.

Solanke’s autobiography, Reaching for the stars was published in 2007. The book described her as a “Lady of many firsts” and how she rose to prominence in the legal profession.

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MEGHAN MARKLE’S HALF SISTER APOLOGIZES TO HER ON TV

Samatha Markle, half-sister of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, has publicly apologized to Meghan Markle after insulting her publicly for months.

Samantha, who had blamed Meghan for the death of their father (who is still alive), apologized during an appearance on “Jeremy Vine On 5.”

She wishes things could be different, she said, and things wouldn’t have played out the way they did had the family been involved in the wedding.

“So I thought in the beginning when we spoke publicly, I thought we were being open-hearted and even favorable and that fell on deaf ears and the media turned it into something it’s not,” she said.

“I was hoping maybe we would have the chance to speak—that she would know I was here. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.” If she were to get the chance to speak to the Duchess of Sussex, Samantha said she would tell her half-sibling it’s “water under the bridge” and recognize their issues spiraled “out of control.”

“I think everybody was hurt at not being included or invited to the wedding,” she said. “But I felt as though it could have all been nipped in the bud had everyone been included and we all agreed to move forward with positive resolve, and the hurt feelings wouldn’t have snowballed.” Addressing her sister directly, she said, “Believe it or not, it doesn’t mean we love you any less.”

Watch video below:

 

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SERENA WILLIAMS GOES TOPLESS TO SUPPORT BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Serena Williams is participating in an I Touch Myself Project, which was inspired by late singer Chrissy Amphlett, who passed away from breast cancer in 2013.

Serena Williams posted on Instagram:

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month I’ve recorded a version of The Divinyls global hit ‘I Touch Myself’ to remind women to self-check regularly. Yes, this put me out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to do it because it’s an issue that affects all women of all colors, all around the world. Early detection is key – it saves so many lives. I just hope this helps to remind women of that.

Watch below.

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“THERE ARE WOMEN DOING GREAT THINGS IN MALE DOMINATED SECTORS AND EVEN DOING BETTER” – ADERONKE ADESHINA

Ronke  is the Founder of “Shoefetish” a Made-In-Nigeria shoe brand  that is gradually getting recognition abroad, when she started  getting high demands for shoes, she decided to change her brand name  and be simply known as Ronke Adeshina “RA”, fully identifying with her Nigerian roots and making  a bold “Proudly Nigerian” statement as a brand.

The English Language and Literature graduate from the University of Lagos started working at a financial institution right after her NYSC and this greatly influenced her journey into the business of shoe and bag making industry.

According to her;

“I realised that most of the shoes my colleagues and I really loved and needed to get were too expensive and felt I could do better. In 2010, I started making shoes for myself, few friends and colleagues”

She draws a lot of inspiration from Richard Branson’s signature quote; “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later” …and she adds: “especially if it’s in your area of interest or business”.

Ronke is  ambitious, imaginative and adventurous  and  she put all these  in the pieces she creates. The young entrepreneur who sees Oprah Winfrey and the Queen of England wearing her brand one day shares her inspiring story with me in this interview

Growing up

I drew a lot as a little girl and that helped my ability to sketch; making designs a reality now. I enjoyed working with my hands. I once made a purse and skirt by hand; including the stitching.

While at the university, I did a little graffiti on one of my jeans while receiving a lecture and people loved it. I guess I have always been creative.

My love for shoes also started as a child. The first pair of stilettos I bought was when I was in my third year at the university. It cost me a lot (especially my allowance for the week) but I didn’t care…those shoes were beautiful.

 

Meet Ronke!

I am the only girl amongst three boys. I attended the University of Lagos where I studied English Language and Literature.   I have garnered a lot on-the-job experience; I am also self-taught especially in the art of creating embellishments, bejeweled pieces like bead art, bead embroidery, embellishing fabrics with crystals and more. Creating shoes, bags, embellishments and other leather items is something I really love doing especially wedding (traditional and white wedding) pieces for brides and grooms. I get to meet people with different personalities and styles and this I try to incorporate into their products.

 

The “Ronke Adeshina” brand journey

I started posting pictures of my works on Facebook, then I started getting messages from people asking how they could get a pair or two of shoes. I have garnered a lot of on-the-job experience and I am also self taught especially in the art of creating embellishments, bejewelled pieces, bead art, bead embroidery and working with crystals and more.

 

Balancing my 9-5 job  with family and my side hustle

It isn’t easy running a business and family. You can’t do it all. A lot is expected from women: she is expected to perform many roles with apparently superhuman efficiency. I have learnt to delegate duties both at home and work. I have a team of amazing people that makes things easier for me. It’s important to delegate duties /task to people in their area of expertise so as to get the best from them.

 

Work Challenges

Initially, getting capable people to work with was quite difficult. People want money but not ready to go through the process of getting it. Because I am passionate about empowering youths especially the girl child, there was a period I was ready to teach for free but no one came. But over time I have been able to build a team of hardworking staff.  When I just started there were few ladies in the business, so it was quite tasking. But I guess growing up with boys helped a lot.

Getting quality materials to work with here in Nigeria are quite expensive and this tends to affect the cost of products.

other project and activities

I was recently contacted by an NGO. We are working on going to secondary schools (especially girls only schools) to talk to them about the importance of being independent and acquiring one or more skills. We are also going to teach them handwork and I would be teaching them bead art works, embellishments and embellishing fabrics.  Asides this, I do personal charitable works which I intend to keep private.

 

Customer satisfaction is my reward

The excitement and thank you I get when clients receive their purchase(s) makes me happy. The mother of one of the brides I worked with once called to appreciate the pieces her daughter got from us. She couldn’t believe it was handmade; and she prayed and also encouraged me. Most of my clients are referrals from family, friends and clients that have patronized us; I also have customers turn friends. All these and more makes me feel like I am doing something right.

 

Nigerians and patronage of “Made in Nigeria” products

There is still this misconception that made in Nigeria isn’t authentic enough. Well, I cannot blame them because they might have purchased item(s) which did not serve them well. But there are still brands like us and others that produce quality products using original leathers and other materials needed for production.

Another problem is most Nigerians like to be associated with foreign brands that are well known. But what they fail to realize is that these brands have been in existence since the 1950s, some as far back as 1830s. They did not grow to become international brands on their own; they did with the support of their own people. If Nigerians can do the same for their own made in Nigeria products, that would help brands grow and become global too. This will also help generate more jobs for our people and grow our economy. They are trying but more needs to be done.

 

Giving up

The road to building a brand is not easy. I have felt like giving up several times and still do but the love for what I do keeps me motivated. I have learnt a lot while growing the brand: what to do and what not to do. Some experiences shake you but it only makes you better. Running a business is a continuous process. It is just like the popular cliché about marriage being an institution you never graduate from. I am still learning

My Inspiration

Inspirations are everywhere – you just need to open your eyes and breathe in. I am inspired by things I face and work through in my daily life. I get inspired by patterns and colours in nature and love to translate that to products in a new way. I am inspired by the people I meet every day; most especially the ones I get to work with: lifestyle and personality differs with every individual and that is unique. This I tend to put into pieces we create. I am inspired by stories of brands that started as far back as 1803. Most importantly, God is the major source of my inspirations.

Being a woman of Rubies

My life is a story. The ups and downs I have experienced especially while growing my brand is my story. I am still learning because life and business is a continuous phase/process. Every woman is a woman of Rubies: from the road side seller to the CEO; our day to day activities are tales – we all have stories to tell. I hope my story and that of other women, inspires and transforms lives; that is the greatest achievement.

Advice to women going into my line of business

One of my mantras is “You never know what you can do until you try”. No business is off limit for you. There are women doing great things in male dominated businesses and even doing better. You are even at an advantage because it gets you noticed.

At the early stage of my business, people especially men were surprised to see a lady in the shoe and bag making industry. They wanted to see me and always wanted me to give them their orders not my staff. Keep learning new things, do not be intimidated by others and do not be distracted. Mistakes are inevitable but when that happens, do not give up: you just learnt a valuable lesson(s) which is how not to do things; try another method. Put God first and other things follow.

My view of the fashion industry in Nigeria and it’s impact on women

The fashion industry in Nigeria is growing. It is actually much better than years back and more women are getting involved.Women are doing incredible works and since the advent of #wcw (women crush Wednesday) and #womensupportingwomen (women supporting women), we have seen women trying to encourage and support one another. Women in the fashion industry need to collaborate more with other women – it is amazing what we can accomplish when we are in it together.

Women of Rubies is also doing a great job by recognising women doing well in whatever field they are in either big or small.

 

 

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CHISOM WINIFRED: WHY YOU SHOULD ENDURE THAT STRESSFUL JOB

I remember, two years ago, finishing school and itching for something to do. I kept disturbing a friend of mine to find me a job so I could keep busy.

My wish finally came through and he linked me up with someone who ran a media company. I joined the team as a content creator and writer. The ‘team’ comprised of myself and the three co-owners of the company. Being the only and most junior staff, I did everything.

They had a blog which I singlehandedly managed. I had to, on my own, come up with content for seven different columns the blog ran. In addition to this, I managed their social media accounts, manned the email, wrote and sent proposals, attended business meetings, and should we get a new client, come up with marketable content and also add the client’s accounts to the accounts I was managing already.

My salary was peanuts. Literally. Subtracting my transport fare at the end of each month, I was left with next to nothing. Did I mention I also attended events during the weekends? I had to blog about those too. I hated my life then. I was miserable. I remember I’d come home late at night, tired, hungry, exhausted. I’ll wail in my mother’s room and tell her I’m quitting. She’d always force me to eat and let me sleep. The next day, she’d wake me up for work. Her mantra was ‘Winners don’t quit.’ I hated work and the mantra.

I kept the job for a year and six months. I didn’t gain any monetary value working there. Instead, I rapidly depleted my savings trying to keep up but I gained two things: experience and social cash. I learned how to effectively multi-task and be productive. I mastered blogging and content creation. Then also I built strategic relationships (social cash).

Our generation is pressure filled both in the good and bad way. Timelines are constantly filled with people’s success stories. How they achieved one great feat. The number of mobile phone users in the world is expected to pass the five billion mark by 2019. On average, we spend not less than six hours a day on our mobile phones, thus making social media a huge part of our lives. The good part of this pressure is that it pushes you to want yours. You want your own success, thus you work hard. The negative part is you don’t see how these people got to where they are and so there’s no procedure to follow. Take for instance if you want to be a medical doctor, there’s med school; to be a lawyer, law school; but to be a success? There’s no institution.

A point of pivotal notice is that this has made us money driven. We want the results and we want it now. No one is interested in building a relationship or working to learn. We want to work to earn immediately. This creates the doubt and mistrust when someone says “let’s have a partnership”, “be my intern,” “work and learn,” “I can’t pay you now.” The next thought usually is, ‘they want to use me,’ ‘they want me to work for free’ and working for free is definitely not our definition of success.We just want to end up at the top, no room for little steps. While money is important, money doesn’t equate success. The word success has nothing to do with money. Success is the accomplishment of a worthy goal. When you set goals and accomplish them, you’re said to be successful.

Of course, human beings are unpredictable, and the good book rightly says, the heart of man is desperately wicked. You can toil and slave for someone who won’t appreciate you now and even in the future, but we won’t get very far with that mindset. If you intend to pay for everything in life with money, you’ll be paying bills for a long time to come. There are things relationships can get you that money can’t.

I learned one key principle over the weekend from Adebola Williams. On his Instagram page, while speaking on the celebrity wedding between Lala Akindoju and Chef Fregz, he wrote, paraphrased: We managed to set them up for many priceless moments on this journey of love, many of their good friends did their best to make them have the day they truly deserved because are both so full of gifts and they give till empty tank. When you see everyone going above and beyond for this couple, it’s because these ones have sown directly or indirectly and by God they are deserving, reaping in gratitude.

Did you know, statistically speaking, you’re four people away from the person you want to meet? The easiest way to succeed is to invest in relationships. This investment may not pay off now, but it definitely will in the future. Don’t think you’ll knock once and the door will open. Never be embarrassed to invest in quality relationships. Choose your friends; you’ve probably heard, your network is your net worth. Most importantly, sit down and learn, embrace the work. So many times, when great things are about to be dropped into our lives, they may appear in another form, sometimes, very discouraging.

God may decide to encourage you through a little text message from your friend and not from that mentor you admire and hope to connect with. I know it’s not easy, when it seems like everyone around us is having it good, living the life and looking happy. But remember, social media is an illusion, things are not always what they seem.

I dare you to swear, ‘I won’t let a stranger on social media make me feel bad about myself.’

About Chisom Winifred
Chisom Winifred is a creative writer with a flair for freelance articles. She’s currently a content creator for Blueafric Media where she also heads campaigns that focuses on brand introduction, positioning and promotion of its clients.
A red carpet and TV host, she was the red

carpet host for Blueafric media at the just concluded 2017 AFRIFF. Reach out to Winifred on Chisomwinnifred.cw@gmail.com or her blog http://blueprintafric.com/

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JANET JACKSON, LOLA OGUNNAIKE, NAOMI CAMPELL ATTEND THE 2018 GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVAL

The 2018 Global Citizen Festival held on Saturday night (September 29) at the Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City.

The event was attended by Bonang Matheba, Lola Ogunnaike, Pearl Thusi, Naomi Campbell, Maps Maponaye, Al Sharpton, Nomzamo Mbatha, Ava DuVernay, Cynthia Erivo, Danai Gurira, Katie Holmes, Robert De Niro, and more.

Performers included John Legend, Shawn Mendes, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae, Chris Martin, Cardi B, The Weeknd and more.

Global Citizen Co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans was also in attendance.

See the photos below:

Source: Bellanaija

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#MONDAYMOTIVATION: FOUR THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE CHOOSING A MENTOR

Mentoring is a two-way street. I actually do quite a bit of work in the mentoring field–I am a mentor, I have a mentor, and I help train people to be good mentors. Your career is part of your life, and great mentoring changes you deeply, not just the way you work. Here are four tips for mentors and mentees alike:

Look for clues of success
Successful people are successful for a reason. People who have achieved greatness in an area of their lives are typically using great strategies. And these people tend to make excellent mentors. So when looking for a mentor, look for the clues of success. Think about what is important to you and the things you want to achieve personally and professionally. Do you want to be a better businessperson, mother, leader, yogi, speaker, writer, etc.? Start to look for people around you who exemplify the skills you want to acquire.

Mentoring goes both ways
To be sustainable and healthy, mentoring must be a two-way street. Both parties need to give 110% to the relationship. This ensures that the mentor and mentee continually learn from each other. Give as much to your mentor (or mentee) as he or she gives to you. And if you are looking for a mentor, actively seek out ways to add value to their life as well. Understand what matters most to them and find ways to contribute.

There is no one-size-fits-all
No one can (or should) guide you in all facets of your life. I actively seek out different mentors in a variety of areas in my life such as fitness, finance, public speaking, etc. For example, I’m expecting a baby girl, so I reached out to mothers and daughters and asked them to share their wisdom with me. Identify growth opportunities in your life and think outside the box.

Change your definition
A mentor is someone whose life or work you value and admire, and whom you think might be a good guide. These days, a mentor can be any age, in any field, so stop thinking of a mentor in traditional terms. Too often we limit our mentors to those “above us.” Don’t let a persons age, title, or experience pigeonhole your thinking.

 -Camille Preston

source: Fortune Insiders

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HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS, MERYL STREEP APPLAUDS JOURNALISTS ALL OVER THE WORLD IN AN OPEN LETTER

Award-winning Hollywood actress, Meryl Streep in an open letter on journalism, praised journalists across the world for their bravery, while calling on everyone to protect, defend and thank them.

“I applaud and revere our female journalists,” she noted in the letter commissioned by PORTER Magazine for its winter issue.

She mentioned Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was killed by a bomb planted in a car for reporting on the Panama Papers.

She also praised Mexican journalist Patricia Mayorga and CNN correspondent Arwa Damon.

The letter read in part:

We need to protect, defend and thank the current crop of journalists around the world because they, their scruples and their principles are the front-line defense of free and informed people.

Journalists today, investigative journalists, and especially female journalists, are vulnerable and come under a special scrutiny online.

They must vouch for their stories, put their names on them, and as a result they attract the cowardly, the bullies, the brotherhood of bots and their easily aroused armies of haters.

We need the brave ones out front picking through the field ahead of us for land mines so we don’t step on one, or elect one.

Bravery is terrifying and actual, bravado is a parade. We see enough examples of Braggadocio and Bravado strutting around on the public stage…but true bravery is Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, blown up in her car for reporting on the Panama Papers….I applaud and revere our female journalists – I love them, and their equally undaunted brothers. We need them now more than ever….

The full letter will be available in PORTER’s next issue which can be gotten HERE.

Photo Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

 

 

Credit: Bella Naija

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