Osas Olumese Training Institute

It is said that we work alot at Osas Olumese... when you have lovely women, as customers, what do you expect? But we do make out time for fun. The first fun thing we did at OOTI in 2018 was our valentine party ...cake sharing...LOL. We got this tasty chocolate cake, took pictures and shared the cake... I hope valentine did not sound boring.... looking at the picture, what do you think? Valentine Day's 2018

Get a sewing machine. Yes, you heard me right. I really don't understand why you want to learn how to sew... in a timely manner, but fail to get the necessary items that would facilitate your decision. Maximize your sewing education experience; get a sewing machine

We teach pattern drafting at Osas Olumese Training Institute. .. This is a winning formula for us, as our students do get consistent result, sometimes even better than professionals who have been in the field for years... Yes you heard me right. Most times, our student are amazed by their classwork result, and find it difficult to believe they made it happen. Student making a skirt pattern

Some time in October, I was informed that I would be amongst the panelist in a conversation at a women's conference. In November I got the topic, but I struggled with it as I had my reservations about the topic. I talked to people to give me ideas, but still yet, nothing , so I decided to play with the thoughts coming to my mind using words, and I was able to draft out the framework I used. I must commend the organizers of the event... it was their first and it was.... wow!!! They have set a standard for women event in Kano .. no infact Northern Nigeria... the team spirit was something beautiful... Kudos Ladies If you would love to see pictures, follow @strongwomen4u on instagram 

Have you ever sent out a clothe that you know was not completed to your taste? I cant remember ever asking anyone this question, but I do struggle with sending out clothes, as most times I feel there is still more to be done. Class in session

It was her Grandfather’s book launch, and the whole family would be wearing similar fabric. Her mother not wanting her then 6 months old daughter dressed otherwise, asked that I, her aunty make something for her…. my little niece. Even though I most times don’t enjoy making children’s clothing, I had to make an exception for Sophie. Sophie Olumese

We are giving out 100 garments So excited about this! We have talked about doing this for some years now, thank God for being vocal about it, and being bold to always tweak the idea for making it work. I am so excited about the persons we have chosen to manage the project this time around.

It seems a lot of Polytechnics in northern Nigeria now offer Fashion Design as a Course. I think this is a new development, as I have received a lot of people wanting to intern at Osas Olumese. It seems to me that most of these prospective interns did not choose Fashion Design as their course of study, but were given the slot by the school. Based on this assumption, the first thing I ask a prospective intern… is if they are really passionate about Fashion Design.

A while back, I wrote about processes, and structure.... Though I am still learning, I am always excited about seeing my thoughts in black and white, so that when I have gotten a hold of it, I would be able to look back and appreciate where I am coming from. It is popular story that tailors disappoint. This is so sad, as no one starts business with a mind set to disappoint; every one wants to be that tailor whose Monday, is Monday;  but as business grows (even with few customers, sef), scheduling work just becomes something else. Many be it doesn't become something else, but laziness to the task of scheduling sets in.

It is the last starter class for 2018!!! Yes, you heard me right ... It is the last for our weekday class. It starts on Monday, 22nd October 2018 Are you looking for a fashion school in Kano state that would give you value for your time? We are excited to have you join our programme which is so structured, so that every day you are present in class you must deliver.  You would be pressed to deliver, you would work hard, you will sweat, you would be confused, but must of all you would LEARN, and meet other creatives in the process,... making the journey worth while. Our curriculum has been designed to take you from a novice, to a knowledgeable person in sewing and pattern drafting. You don't need to go outside Kano to make your dream a reality, as we offer you a world class curriculum. Registration is ON , and it would be closed as soon as the slots available gets filled up. Your slot can ONLY be secured by you paying your fees. The exact...

Are you serving in Kano State, Nigeria? Are you a corper in Kano State, Nigeria? Are you doing your NYSC  in Kano State, Nigeria? Lol😊... asking the same question, using different word combination. Don't dull your self, you can make beautiful things happen for yourself in Kano, while serving? A new session specially designer with corpers in mind, starts on Monday, 15th October 2018. I just chatted with an ex-corper, who found out about our classes, and offering to corpers late last year, when he was about rounding up his service year. He was excited to take hold of our offer to corpers, and he also ensured he got some percentage discount, as he got two other corpers to register with us. The good news is that they all had a great time learning. And I was happy to have them with us, as they motivated other students by their creativity, and the speed at which they produced their deliverables. I must not forget to mention that this ex-corper was key in the photo s...

Hello... A new session for the Jacket Course starts on Tuesday, 11th September, 2018. We are so excited about this, as it is the first for this year. To be part of the class, you need to have some level of sewing and pattern drafting knowledge. You would need a close fitting bodice block - this is a deliverable from the Bodice Course. You would be of course needing your sewing and Pattern drafting kit. Alongside Jackets, we would learn about collars, and yes, pockets! For a comprehensive detail about the course, click here . Please pass on this information . Thanks.

Can I learn confidence in two(2) months? This should be the actual question asked. The truth is this, the principles of sewing and pattern drafting are simple, but they may not be properly communicated to the learner. As a result, the learner learns by self interpretation of what has been observed. Principles which have been communicated to a learner properly, needs  practice time to be mastered. But a of time long practice time does not necessarily mean mastery, as mastery time may be elongated by lack of confidence. I remember when I started pattern drafting, in following the instruction, I would read and re-read instructions, I would compute, and compute again to avoid mistakes, I would compare pattern instructions... not sure of which would work.... These I realized latter on, were time wasters... though  these actions made me more in touch with pattern drafting. I had to take the risk of being incorrect, making use of the pattern to cut the fabric (testing...

I would be having a youth meeting that evening, the dress code was jersey on jeans... and I was clueless on what I was going to wear😛. I must enjoy my day. I had a feeling that if I wasn't appropriately dressed, my President would fine me... I packed one of the jeans I had, and alongside a top (I can not go and kill myself). As it was almost time for me to leave the office, I kept saying how I did not have jersey to wear for the event. Some minutes latter, Sarah (One of my Mighty girls ) came in and presented me a customized jersey😍😃😁, and she said Happy Birthday ma..... Please somebody, give me words for this feeling. Instead of me saying thanks.., I was asking questions.. How do yo know I needed a jersey? ...You can call it was too much emotions, but it was the one of excitement. Although I should wear a jersey for the event, I was still loving my dress. I went to church in my birthday dress, and changed into the Jeans and Jersey before the start of the event...

Looking at the time, I realized it was 12:04 AM, 20th July, 2018. Yay!!! It is my Birthdaay. I said a quick prayer, and then it was time to sleep. I woke up excited, smiling to everyone at home, but they didn't even realize it was my day. Funny enough, my sister  had reminded me the day before about what happened Eleven (11) years ago. That day doubled as my birthday and my sister's convocation... so everybody forgot my side. Anyways, my childishness 11years ago, did not steal my excitement this year, although I didn't remind them, I went to the office as usual. I was the first person in, and I ensured I monopolized the music box with my choice of songs😊. As my colleagues came in, they wished me happy birthday...except one (Kelechi). How could they forget, as I had on numerous occasions reminded Sekina (one of my  Mighty girls ) that she would be making my birthday dress. Birthday Girl - moi Sekina Fast forward to about three(3) hours latter, th...

I was surprised today when she brought me a micro-mini version of the cut out fabric of what she had been taught in class, asking how it should be sewn. On a second thought, I was excited about the fact that she would be adding her creativity to the work...So I thought. I asked her, she further surprised me by saying, it is actually a macro-mini version, and she would be using it as house clothe😟😞😕 ....house clothe, ke? you mean you would take your time to sew a house clothe? My thoughts were these: she plans not to take the class work serious she would not put effort to ensure a beautiful result, by ironing or evening using interfacing. When I inquired, she then goes on to explain how she is better than those who made their class deliverable for some other person. Then I realized her issue, as I remembered a student who once said they were being thought how to sew vintage clothes. Consideration has been put into the curriculum we have come up with. We have had t...

When you have the idea for a blog post.... better blog away. Dont think it twice Anyways.... I have four apprentice and many students. Our students have a structured relationship with the business, but our apprentice do not. About four years ago, when my assistant came to ask me if I wanted an apprentice, my first answer was NO. I really did not want to be baby sitting anyone. She was still in Secondary School, and I did not have experience with teenage girls wahala. After many thoughts, I agreed, and as at today, I have four of them, the first is still with us and she is the youngest. The journey has had its ups and downs. They just know how to press my buttons. We even had breaks, where I told all of them I have had enough of them. Looking back I smile. I am a lot of times thinking of them as My Mighty Girls.... (you know how David had Mighty Men 2 Samuel 23:8-39 , right?) A lot of times I envy them, and I make them know this. I wish I knew what they now know when I ...

Gist time. So today, during office hours, my colleague asked me "Ma, must I test my block?" Okay, here is what transpired before this question came up. I allowed staff interested in learning pattern drafting, to join the evening class. And the first task was to make a block (template for a garment). The block is usually tested to ensure fit on the wearer. This lady had done her block, but maybe laziness, or i have tested a block before... or something else made her ask me the above question. I really did not know what to say to her. When the time for the evening class came, I spoke my mind to her.... and here it goes. You never really know, until you work it out... you can read all the books on pattern drafting, but until you try it out on paper, test for the fit in a sample fabric, you cant say you know.... I have been in this situation. Before I began actual pattern drafting, I had read through books. I enjoyed going through these books, and imagining the...

Happy New Month It is July, the first month in the second quater of the year.  It is also the birth month of our Chief Facilitator Osamudiame Olumese. Asides from all these exciting things, it is an opportunity to review the first half of the year. Have you grown in your skill? Did you even make an effort to grow? How was business in the first half? Did you hit your target, did you even have a target?  Today is the fsecond day of the new half,  and you can and should do a review. Set targets for the quarter. Write these targets down. We at Osas Olumese Training Institute, are excited about the many new things that would be taking place, through the vehicle of the Fashion School. We would be starting a new session for our Bodice Course (evening class) starts today, Monday 2nd July Starter Course: Skirt (evening class) Monday, 16th July Starter Course: Skirt (weekday class) Monday, 23rd July. If one of your goals for the year is to learn how ...

I worked my posting to Lagos. Yes, the very introverted Osamudiame worked her posting to Lagos. (It is not against the law). After graduating from University, reality smiled on me. It was a time of soul searching, and the question I posed to myself was: Do you want to practice Computer Engineering (My course of study)? Guess what? I couldn't answer this simple question. I had spent Five (5) years of my life studying and at the point where it should be my profession, I wasn't sure. I have always love the process of making a garment, and I thought why don't I make use of Service year for my first love, before fully deciding on what steps to take afterwards. In other to make the Service year really count for my first love, I knew that Lagos was the place to be, and so I worked my posting to Lagos. Service year for me was a mixture of emotions. I was posted to an IT firm (YAY!!! big money.... your right). I struggled through out my time there, so many thing did not...

I am increasingly looking forward to come home and write a blog post. This is a good thing, I think. This blog is gradually turning to my business journal, as the last three post have been about business. Anyways the point is to pass knowledge on, and this knowledge might be passed again to me.. Who knows. So the gist today is about training your tailors. I hope I did not hear you ask the question: "Do I need to train my tailors?" Yes, of course... even if the tailor sew the Queens cloths. Training of new employees (Tailors inclusive) is important in a business, so they can produce results consistent with the business product. Tailors come from a wide variety of background, and have been exposed to various form of training, before they landed your door step. Maybe you have what is already working for you. You don't want the new employees to change that for you overnight (though you should be open to better ways of doing things). The question now is what ki...

Man cannot discover new oceans  unless he has the courage to  lose sight of the shore .  - Andre Gide -  An essential part of creativity is not being afraid to fail. -Dr Edwin Land- This morning, I found time to do two posts on our Instagram handle @OOTIKano . As I turned on my data this evening I got a notification about a comment...  (who does not like a comment on ones post... call me vain, Nah you sabi) Student's Work: First garment deliverable Excited, I went to check out the comment, to my surprise, a handle I had sometime gone through and admired was the commenter...Yepa😃😄😄 Dont get me wrong, I know we take our time to impact knowledge here at Osas Olumese Training Institute, I know we ensure that the students follow the outlined steps to come up with their unique style, I know we have tweaked and tweaked the curriculum - to ensure that it reflects new trends and maximizes the times students spend with us; but yet an o...

I have been thinking about Structures and Systems lately, especially as relates Human Resource. Would you blame me? We are presently a small business seeking to break loose from smallness and scale up. As I write this blog post, I just took a break in drafting an offer letter. this is a first for me, and thanks to google, I am learning new things. I saw this statement online, I think it is profound, and decided to write a blog post around it. "An employee's job is to give his or her best at work every day.  A manager's job is to give that employee a reason to come back to work tomorrow." Source: Forbes.com When I decided to start a business around Sewing, a lot of people who I met always complained about the unreliable nature of tailors. I started business, and started employing... but I did not experience this unreliable nature.... Maybe it was because we did not have a big customer base, or we could afford to hold on a customers clothe for long ...

I listened to the Match between Nigeria and Iceland. This is a first for me, and I enjoyed every bit of it.  I cant remember ever watching a football match from beginning to end (don't judge me).  It was time for the match, and at that particular time, I was tired of listening to music on my memory card, and decided to switch over to a radio channel. Voila Wazobia FM Kano was prepping to start their commentary.  On hearing this Mercy (a team member at Osas Olumese) increased the volume. I was surprised she had interest in football, as I had on two different occasions exited football commentaries - I voiced out my surprise, as she commented... "it is Nigeria playing". I knew it was Nigeria playing but....Football is not my thing. Since I was bored listening to music, why not listen to the football commentary along sides other team members who I am sure were also interested. Team ... This has been in my mind for quite sometime, especially with regards to hav...

Guess what I just googled as relates what this platform is about.... obviously? Sewing playlist Yes...LOL The question is what don't I google? I have done a lot of learning in my sewing an pattern drafting journey, by leveraging on the search ability of google. So here I am thinking of introducing Something New , by way of music into our office work space, and I thought there might just be people who have created a sewing playlist, and have shared it online, so let me leverage on their idea. Talking about Something New ... since last week Saturday, I have been thinking about the Royal Wedding. Yes, you guess right HRH Megan...her wedding dress. We even discussed about it in class during the week.  Let me compose my thoughts into a blog post so we can share our opinion. Osamudiame

How time flies! We are already in the second quarter of 2018, and the question I would love to ask you is this: Are you working on your goals? Here is an opportunity to work on your goal of learning how to sew, in a timely manner. At Osas Olumese Training Institute (OOTI), we offer sewing and Pattern Making training in a timely manner, you would not believe what you would learn in a short time frame. Don't procrastinate again, as we have morning, evening and weekend classes to make the most of your available time. Learn in a fun environment with other creatives. For details about the courses we offer, click here . To talk with Osamudiame, the chief facilitator, call, or send a message to 0708 726 9825