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Showing posts with the label Kano Fashion School

Aims and Objective

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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

Fashion Apprentice

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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

Review the First Half of the Year

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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 to sew, make p

What Kind of Training do I give my Tailor?

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

My Thoughts: Confidence in your Work

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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 outside opinion, of a hand

Structures and Systems: Garment Production

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

Nigeria 2, Iceland 0

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

New Session: May 2018

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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

Let's together change Fashion Education in Northern Nigeria In 2018

We would sincerely like to appreciate you for choosing us in your pursuit for sewing and pattern drafting knowledge. We would love to inform you of some changes that would be effected in 2018. We have made changes to the curriculum we have been using, and are excited about this. Our course offering .has reduced to four courses, and they are: Starter: Sewing and Pattern Drafting Course – Skirts Sewing and Pattern Drafting Course – Bodice Jacket Making Course Trouser Making Course For details on the courses, please check the Course Page Tab Each course would run for four to eight (4 - 8) weeks, four times weekly. In order to maximize the available space, two courses would run almost concurrently, with one running between the hours of 9:00am and 1:30pm (Tuesdays to Fridays), while the other would run between the hours of 11:00am and 3:30pm (Mondays to Thursdays). In 2018, we would continue having evening and weekend classes to accommodate persons who love to maximize their

Something changed – Our Curriculum

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It is not unpopular to do reviews and re-strategize in order to get better results. We are so excited to tell you that we have once again revisited our curriculum, and we have made changes, which would help prospective student achieve their goals in an effective and efficient way. 

Can You Coin a Bespoke Fashion Design Career?

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          L-R Osamudiame (Chief Facilitator OOTI), Tunde, Juliet, Femi. Celebrting Femi's birthday BY: TUNDE SHOREMEKUN Hi beautiful people, let’s face it, to be a fashion designer is NO joke, from the never ending late nights, to the numerous pin pricks, to the sleepless nights because you have this idea for a beautiful garment and you are thinking of how to go about the construction, to the annoying little things that can go wrong with your sewing machine, it’s a love-hate thing, but all you need is a whole lot of perseverance, love for fashion and a little luck. Now, you are looking for the perfect place to learn about the (not so) glamorous world of fashion designing in a perfectly conducive environment, with a beginner’s friendly curriculum, then dear friend I have the proficient solution “ Osas Olumese Training Institute ” is the right fit for you. OOTI was introduced to me by a friend, on getting there, after being wowed by the property and equipment of the

My Biscuit Story: What Pattern Making got to do with it

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Happy Sunday people, It seems I am having fun typing away. I hope this continues, so I can load this blog with so much of my musings about FASHION of course. So today, I went to the market after service (please don't judge me)... guilty conscience . I then decided to get myself my current favorite biscuit... Igloo Coconut Cookies. As I pointed it to the biscuit to the seller, a lady I met there told me about this NEW biscuit, I should try... OK. I left what I had in mind to buy, and got myself this NEW biscuit. As soon as I  had the opportunity,  I opened the biscuit to enjoy it. It was nice, but to me, it did not measure up to Igloo Coconut Cookies... my opinion My point here is after getting the information from the lady, I decided to take a risk, and try. As the saying goes "The proof of the pudding is in the eating". Confidence can only be built when to you step out on your own. Look at a child learning to walk... He takes a step, falls down, stands, a

Kano Corper: Learn to Sew at OOTI During Your Service Year

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Are you a Corper serving in Kano state? Are you interested in acquiring Sewing and Pattern Making skill during your service year? Then this is for you. We are giving 50% discount to Corpers in both our Evening and Weekend class. ·          Learn in a conducive environment. ·          Join the Pattern makers. ·          Learn from scratch; Pattern Making and Sewing ·          Hone your skills and solidify best practices in the design discipline. ·      Meet and rub minds with our expert faculty, as they bring their professional industry experience to our classrooms, providing students with a unique hands-on environment to prepare for their fashion careers. This discount is only available to current serving Corpers, as your Identity card would be needed for the registration. Each course goes for a discounted price of up to 50%; you would need the   Sewing kit for your practical work. There is an extra N5,000 refundable caution fee which covers damages

What has Mathematics got to do with it: Converting from Inch to Centimeter and Vice-versa

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Hello... It has been on my mind to share with you some of the things we take our students through at OOTI, but the time to sit down and blog has to be planned, since I am not a full time blogger (for now). As we introduce our new students to the world of sewing and pattern making, we also introduce them to the basic mathematics of converting from centimeter to inch and vice versa. During the course of the week, as I taught new students on Calibration , I could read the expression on their faces ( Not again, I thought I was done with maths... LOL). The good news is that; it is more about the application of mathematics to what we do :) Now to the topic at hand: Why do we need to do this conversion in the first place? Generally, we at OOTI take measurement on the human body using inch, but we follow some pattern instructions ( Winifred Aldrich ) that  makes use of  centimeters, thus the need to know how to do the conversion.In between, if you must know, I think in inches. goo