How time flies! You just turned 40. Can you take us through each of four decades of your life? And if you were to divide it into three segments, what would it be?
I would like to divide it into the Childhood stage; the developmental stage and the stage of responsibility. The 1st stage would be the stage when you are nurtured by family and the first people you come in contact with, it is the stage of taking instruction and directive that you need for your proper development. The age would be from birth up until 18years for me. Then comes the developmental stage which would be from 18year up until I was 28 years. Within this period I had started to work and went up to high learning in the university and starting consciously to shape the kind of life I would like to have. Though still dependent on family, for the most part, I had developed the confidence to take full charge of my life. The last stage is where I am presently Completely responsible for my actions and inactions and also saddled with the burden of nurturing my children and others as it were and mentoring many others who may be looking up to you. At this point, I am not obligated to take directives or even advice from anyone, you take advice based on my volition and the relevance of that advice as I holistically perceive them.
What is turning 40 mean to you as there is this cliche that a fool at 40 is full for life. Obviously, you are not considering your achievements?
Frankly, for me, age is just a number but we have to be grateful and show gratitude for the gift of life. I don’t believe that upon attaining 40years it is all over for you in terms of development. History is awash with people who failed all their lives but later impacted the world even after 40 years of age.
In retrospect, which of the decades of your life do you consider most precious and why?
The last 10 years would be the most beautiful because, within those years, I had all my kids and watched them grow. It is such an amazing experience nurturing children. You grew up in London where you were born 40 years ago.
What was growing up like?
Growing up in London was a mixed grill but overall it was awesome while we were young. I had the privilege of growing up and making friends with multi-ethnic and multi-racial kids of all cadres. We were regular and very active kids who all freely interacted with each other without discrimination. I grew up in South London with a huge black population and very multi-racial.
What were your parents doing when you were born?
They were both Administrators in government departments. My Dad worked for the School Boards while my Mom worked at the education department in Westminster. They are both happily retired now. A privileged beginning, a lot of people believe that children of the elite are groomed to toe their father’s path, was that your story too? Having lived in Nigeria for almost 12 years now and looking back, I could frankly say that it was a great privilege to have been brought up in the environment we were brought up in. And generally, as children of immigrants from Nigeria, there is a huge and positive pressure on you by your parents to make something meaningful out of your life. The average immigrant Nigerian parent somehow knows how to help navigate their kids into making something out of their lives and for that I can’t thank my parents enough for the positive influence.
People believe that the children from influential families get favour as a result of their father’s affluence. How true is that assertion? In your case, how is the name GIWA-OSAGIE has opened doors?
My parents are not affluential in the sense that I presume you mean. They were regular hard-working folks with great dignity and contentment. For that, I am grateful for their influence. And for my maiden name, I honestly cannot remember the name opening any doors for me (certainly not while I was in London) or relying on it for any advantage or privilege. It is a great family (together with the larger Oloke family comprising Belo-Osagie, Edo-Osagie, etc) with some of the finest crops of professionals in just about all the major fields and I am proud of that heritage of excellence. I have been married for a little while and people in Nigeria hardly know me by that name.
What about schooling: Primary and secondary… Any outstanding achievements?
Like all parents tell their kids….I was always first in my class…(laughs)
You had the best education (making reference to her CV), what were your childhood dreams?
I have always desired to be an entrepreneur within the sales and service delivery side of the business and this was influenced by the places I worked while growing up. Like many people in London, I started working very early doubling with the school. I started at 17 from McDonald’s in college and then JJB Sports as a sales person and then to the prestigious Selfridges Luxury Mall where I worked for 5years from my days in London Metropolitan University. Then I worked at Vizeum Media Group following a Career in Marketing and Business IT which I majored in the University before moving to the Luxury Leather Brand SMYTHSON as a Marketing Executive overseeing Asia and the South Pacific.
At SMYTHSON I worked closely with some of the finest guys in the business including Mrs Cameron whose husband became Prime Minister (he was leader of the Conservative party at the time). She was our Creative Director. It was a close and concise but highly motivated team at SMYTHSON and we got rapid exposure to understanding leather products and how personal leather goods are with people. Our clientele were some of the important personalities across the globe including royal families. That experience together with my 5years at SELFRIDGES remains valuable to the ideals and standards of my outfit, THE GRAND COBBLER.
Now to your new-found business THE GRAND COBBLER, when did you open it?At what stage did you develop a passion for shoe cobbling and what influenced such a move?
THE GRAND COBBLER is actually over 7years old now. I actually become a cobbler by accident. The idea was conceived by my husband who felt inconvenienced that he had to always take his leather shoes to London to fix because the guys here were not tender enough and cared less about the value when they are fixing them. Being a typical Igbo man, despite being a very busy lawyer, he set up the business as a side hustle to fill the apparent void and was shopping for a good manager when his older brother Chief Victor Ikeji prompted him to speak to me about it and the rest is history. The dream was to have an outlet that knows the value of shoes and leather goods and how personal and special these items can be to their owners.
Because we were coming into a space of uncertainty, we had to upscale to the roof in terms of quality and customer experience deploying the top shoemaking technics, handling, machines, and materials, as practiced in the Shoe, Making districts of Fermo, Le Marche, or Florence in Italy. To fix an LV luggage, it has to be the same standard and when we freshen up the red sole under a Christian Louboutin shoe, even Christian should not be able to tell the difference.
Also when we help expand the edges of Gucci, Tods, or a Manolo Blanik shoes, we must handle with tact precision so that the detail of the edges is not lost to the customers’ desire to fit into a slightly smaller size. The goal is to fix leather items without comprising the spirit and detail of the design. There is a saying that good leather can last forever if you have a good cobbler.
What was your parents’ reaction to this newfound trade considering Nigerian parent’s mentality and white-collar job?
I am sure it wasn’t easy for them to relate with but I was already at the point of responsibility in my growth stage and could take charge of career decisions. Marriage brought me to Nigeria because my husband made it clear when whilst dating that we would live in Nigeria. It was somewhat my early days when we started The Grand Cobbler so my family in London still had concerns with how I was transiting and settling in Lagos. I had upon my relocation in 2009 to Lagos previously worked in a leading PR company, TQC as the pioneer Head of Digital PR. This was when it became clear that social media was the next big thing in the Media space and then on to the innovative taxi company called Metro Taxi as the COO. My parents didn’t have a problem relating with those because they were both similar to what I did back in London but the switch from corporate circle to being a cobbler must have been a little worrying for some because it sounded awkward on the surface until you have an experience of what our vision is about.
How would you describe your experience and life as a cobbler?
It has been a very rich experience and full of so many hurdles that we have to surmount on a daily to keep up our service standard. The transition from being a white-collar corporate executive to a semi-blue collar was challenging but overall, we think we are happy with the extent to which we have pushed the vision. As a cobbler, you see beyond the shoes and just imagine the pleasure you cause to the customer. It is like bringing back life and recreating or reinventing the soul and essence of an item. It is much more than work but a connection and without tenderness and a genuine desire to cause happiness, you cannot achieve a good repair.
What are your duties and how is it different from being the CEO?
Being a CEO is a huge responsibility. Much more than freedom is the responsibility part of it. You take glory for the success and the blame for failures. No half measures. To the outside world, it’s all your fault if it fails because the buck stops at your desk. If the business fails, the shame is on you. A big difference is that when I was working for the corporates, I had a closing time but now, you can’t afford to close. The job is 24hours! Just about anything and thanks to technology, it is even worse now. You have to be awake many days all night interacting with suppliers in different time zones and logistics people who want to make your life a living hell. Al because you have to keep up with standards and projections. Overall, it is fulfilling to be an employer of labour and groom tens of young people with quality service orientation and decent work ethics and culture.
Who are your clients?
Because shoes, bags, and luggage are very personalized items, our clientele cut across just about everyone. From that young female banker or tech company executive who lost her top heel at a party last weekend to the Judge or top business leader and even monarchs. We see them all. Many A-list actors and musicians and many other creatives of great note trust us strictly to mind their items and throughout the years we have operated, we have consciously tried to maintain the service standard and customer experience.
How has Covid-19 affected your business?
Covid has generally impacted the purchasing power of many people and it generally trickles down to the consumers’ ability to spend. Such that people have to prioritize between fixing shoes and having a decent meal. On the other hand, people also have to decide if they should freshen their old shoes and bags or even change the colour for a fresher feel than to buy new shoes. Which of course is to the benefit of our Busines. So in all, the Covid impact has been a mixed grill
What were some of the life lessons that shaped your life in or outside of your business?
My relocation to Nigeria. It taught me that in life you sometimes have to be bold and adventurous. That I could relocate and be happy here and itching to return to Lagos after 2 weeks outside the country is a miracle. My parents never believed I could live in Nigeria because I was very very western growing up.
For how long have you been married? How did you meet him?
I have been married for 12 years and we met in 1998 on my first visit to Nigeria as an adult. I was only 18years and he was in his early years at the University of Ife. We met at my uncle’s house in Festac. He was friends with my cousin and we took interest in each other that morning and it continued to develop, we continued with phone calls (very expensive then) and many letters and then I started to come back more often and he visited London later and we got married in 2009. I feel like I have known him forever.
With your busy schedule, how do you make time for family, juggling motherhood, career, and the home front?
It is just the grace of God to mix all motherhood, family, and work in a very demanding place like Nigeria, too many needless distractions from the core of your work like power, water and so much more you have to generate with the emergencies that come with them. In the end, scheduling and being disciple with your time and routine has proven to be helpful. ·
Life at 40, what is next?
I will continue to build on all successes and leave behind the failures and disappointments, taking only the lessons learned.
If you could change the hands of the clock what would you have done differently?
Frankly, I only have gratitude for all that life has thrown at me and would not change anything. It is the grace of God that I was able to make my choices and the outcomes that followed, good or bad. In all, I am very grateful for the grace of God.
