Stories by Mary Nnah
A design and lifestyle-driven company, Agatha’s Interior Design Limited (AIDL), last weekend, marked its 30th anniversary in a spectacular display of pomp and pageantry.
Since its inception in 1994, Agatha’s Interior, whose primary mission is to be the foremost residential, project and hospitality furniture and accessories leader in Nigeria, has been committed to excellence, innovation, and customer satisfaction, and this milestone celebration marks the company’s momentous journey of growth and success.
Over the years, Agatha’s Interior has grown from a modest startup to a prominent player in the interior design sector.
Through unwavering dedication and a relentless pursuit of excellence, the company has successfully executed several residential and office furnishing projects for prominent private and corporate clients satisfactorily.
Speaking during a press conference to announce its 30th anniversary, the Chief Executive Officer\Founder, Agatha Eric-Udorie, said that to celebrate this significant milestone in its existence, the company was also being rebranded.
“Today is the 30th year celebration of Agatha’s Interior Design Limited and also the re-branding of the Agatha logo. If you know us very well, we were blue and yellow but now we have rebranded to soft pink, brown Russian red, burgundy and green – moving from the old to the new”, she noted.
Buttressing on the inspiration behind the rebrand, she said, “I have a young daughter who just graduated from the University of the Arts, London and she read Interior Design while I have done 30 years and she is coming on board, she wants to have her colours. And then, change is constant and I am also happy to rebrand. I am almost 60 years old and I am trying to be young. So, the colours that are associated with youngsters are the colours I have accepted. We are all trying to look fresh and those colours are fresh.”
Eric-Udorie was quick to add that hard work, determination and tenacity have kept her standing in the last three decades, adding, “What is standing for us continuously is that I have an eye for detail. I know what to choose. I can go to the Mushin market and choose a fabric. If I were to pay for that fabric in the UK, I would probably be paying for it at 60 pounds per metre but I get it for N6,000 here. So, you must have an eye for details, be consistent and you must love what you do. I eat, sleep and wake up design.”
Inspired by the likes of Ms Phil Makenzie, a half-English and half-Urhobo, who ran a furniture firm in the ‘90s and the Late Mr Franco Gassani, an Italian who used to deal in marble products for furniture, Eric-Udorie, a young professionally trained Nurse turned professional interior designer, who exudes a rare mix of deep passion and intuitive knowledge, through what could be described as a fascinating twist in fate, found herself being tutored in the workshop of the aforementioned mentors, which eventually led to the birth of the success story called Agatha’s Interior Design Limited, being told today.
