We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ade Ogbomo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ade, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
In 2015, GabeJade Accessories was just a thought. In 2017, it became a reality.
One day as I was wearing my native African skirt and blouse, my 7-year-old nephew came running into my room shouting, “I want a bow tie that looks like your African dress with all the beautiful colors”. He’s my baby, so I immediately got online and googled “African Bow Ties” and “Bow Ties made with African fabric”, but what I found was blah. None of them seemed good enough for the little prince. So what did I do? Grabbed one of my dresses, my box of needle and thread, and scissors and started to make him one because……..uhhh…he wanted a nice bow tie so he HAD to have it. (My boy gets whatever he wants.)
At first, I just wanted to make custom bow ties for the little man, but soon after he began wearing them to church, people began to ask where we bought them, complimenting the uniqueness of his bowtie. After many, “Oh wow, I’ve never seen an African bow tie like that before” and “where can I get this?” I decided I should perfect my design, develop a name and begin selling them. After all, what better way to brighten the world than to share these beautiful, authentic, colorful bow ties with everyone else? Now, two years later I’m sharing my designs with everyone.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I hand-sew accessories such as ties, bowties, headwraps, pocket squares and dog bandanas, from authentic and imported African print fabrics (Ankara.)
I make people look fashionable, while sharing my culture with them. I am Nigerian, it brings me joy when ask about Ankara prints and I get to tell them all about my culture.
All of GabeJade accessories are handmade and made to order. I am very proud of how far myself and my business have come. Having a business is not easy, especially in the first few years. Although we still have a lot of growing to do, we have grown so much over the years.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Social media! Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest are great sources of new clients. Pinterest is definitely one of my favorites and more business owners should look into getting a Pinterest business account and tapping into the audience there.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I built my audience on Instagram when I first started, by posting pictures that I felt were relevant to the type of people I wanted to attract to my business. Engagement is very important to getting people to your page. Like posts, give genuine comments and compliments, follow people. Essentially, build a community of people that are drawn to your products.
Another thing to help grow a following: use as many social media features as possible- Facebook and Instagram reels, IGTV, Live, and stories.
Do not get lazy or discouraged, sometimes you might not get as much engagement as you expect, but keep posting authentic content and you will definitely come out on top! Be as consistent as possible, commit to posting daily!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gabejade.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/gabe.jade
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabejadeaccessories/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabejade_gj
- Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gabejade1/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gabejade
Image Credits
Ade Ogbomo