Edinyanga Okopide and Itoro Okopide are two Nigerian sisters who source iconic and beauty pieces from around the world and sell them in Nigeria. Edinyanga manages the souvenir section in the store, while Itoro, her sister, manages the hair section. Having worked in the travel industry for some time, Edinyanga realised that many Nigerians travel to different countries without interacting with the culture of the place. This made her set up a travel brand centred on getting Nigerians immersed with the culture of the place that they travelled to. An offshoot of that was how she and her sister founded Eami’s Place, Souvenir store with several iconic pieces, giving Nigerians the experiences they would have felt if they travelled to the countries where the pieces are sold. In this interview with IFEOMA OKEKE-KORIEOCHA, both sisters speak on the journey to founding the Eami’s Place and their passion for sourcing pieces around the world.
Interview with Edinyanga Okopide
Take us through your journey of sourcing iconic pieces which led you to opening a souvenir store?
I have always been in the travel industry. That is where I started off my career. I first founded a brand that was centred on cultural travel because I realise that a lot of times when Nigerians travel and they go to different countries, they don’t interact with the culture of the place. They just want to go outside and shop. They go to the big malls and come back with designer pieces but there is no interaction with the culture of the place and even the food. You’ll see Nigerians travelling with Egusi. I first founded a travel brand that was centered on getting Nigerians immersed with the culture of the place that they travelled to. An offshoot of that was how we founded the Souvenir store. It was still under the travel brand. It was a souvenir online store which was selling pieces from around the world. So I do travel and I have travel groups and when I travel with the groups, it will be easy to stock the store as well. A lot of our partners do come in from these countries and we do business with them. So, it was also easy for them to also bring down the pieces for us to stock in the souvenir store. Occasionally, we will go out for fairs and still get those pieces. And there was a good reception for those pieces and people that could not afford travel. Some may not have been to a country but like a piece or more from that country.
In the store, you sell the souvenirs while your sister focuses on hair. Is there a relationship between these beauty products and the souvenirs?
Beauty goes very well with lifestyle because even the souvenir pieces are also part of lifestyle and hair and beauty products are also sourced from outside the country, so those pieces are brought in from different parts of these countries. Most of the hairpieces are from Asia. So, it is the same feeling that you are getting something also that is from a different country whether it is hair, bag or fabric or anything that we source from these countries is also part of the souvenirs. So you have people say ‘My hair is Brazilian,’ ‘My hair is Indian,’ ‘My hair is Vietnam’, etc. You will always hear those countries attached to the hair and where they are coming from. The hair is from different countries in Asia.
Why the focus on Asian countries for human hair?
They have really raw donor hair and their hair is really what works well especially with the humidity in Africa and Nigeria. The hair works well with the humidity here. So, they are able to donate their hair. They have a lot of hair and it is easy for them to cut off and package as well. The manpower and resources are there for them to put these hair in bundles and it just comes out easier for everybody as well. They are also very sustainable. The practices for getting and sourcing for the hairs are very ethical. We work with countries in Asia where they have ethical practice for getting the hairs and sending them to us.
Would you say that what you are doing is saving Nigeria some foreign exchange?
If you look at the cost of a return air ticket to a country like South Africa; it is over N2 million and you have these pieces coming from these countries. You can still have a piece of these countries even without going there. We hope that people travel; I love to travel but before you can get to these countries with the forex and exchange rate, you can still have a piece.
Are you also considering stocking Nigerian local iconic products as well?
Yes, we are looking at this as well. We know we do have a problem with manpower and the time it takes for them to produce these items. Most of these items are handmade. In Nigeria, I love pieces from the north. The leather from the north is also really good but I don’t know how to get to the north right now. There is still that sense of insecurity. But yes, in the near future, we will definitely stock pieces from Nigeria.
Interview with Itoro Okopide
Briefly can you tell us about Eami’s Place ?
We are celebrating the launch and opening of Eami’s Place. Eami’s Place is a souvenir store that stocks iconic pieces from around the world including Africa, Asia, Europe amongst others. We have been online before the launch of this physical store. Eami’s Place is divided into the beauty and the souvenir sections. The current foreign exchange scarcity is affecting everyone just as it is affecting us but the good thing about us is that we travel to these places. My sister and I are passionate about travel and my sister also had a travel company. When we travel, we get these pieces and we bring them back. These pieces are very limited. There are few handpicked pieces that are very unique that we stock.
Why did you choose to get a physical store?
We needed a place where people can come in and feel and see physically what the pieces look like. Maybe touch them and experience the space first-hand.
Are your products for specific people and how affordable are the products?
Our target is everybody that loves unique items. We have items that cut across all audiences, depending on what you like. We have gift boxes, we have wines from South Africa, vintage wines from 2017 and 2018 that make up our gift boxes. We have Arabic and European pieces and we have items from Asia as well.
What were they doing before this business?
Before this, I was doing a 9am to 5pm work in the Finance sector and simultaneously writing for travel. I studied English in university.
Why the passion for hair?
Hair is beauty and I have always loved ladies that look beautiful and my mum is somebody that always pushed me to look beautiful, feel beautiful and be beautiful and I believe that a woman’s hair is the first point of call in her beauty.
What differentiates you from other hair selling brands?
Our unique wigs which are expertly styled by our stylists. So, we sit down and create designs that suit women. We have different wig styles that are unconventional.
How has the patronage been since you started?
We have people that have shown interest from the digital promotions we have been running. This is our first time launching the hair and beauty section and we are hoping it is going to go well. It has been a gradual process and we have some people who patronise us online.
As a result of the economic downturn, some people may be less willing to spend on luxury items. So would you say this is going to be a problem?
We are making sales already. So, I wouldn’t say it is luxury. When people come in and they see something that they missed in a country they went to and they couldn’t get or they wished they could have it and they really need it. Another is that people who are collectors would definitely be interested.
