Osas Olumese Training Institute

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 to sew, make p

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 outside opinion, of a hand

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