From the moment Sara Baiocchi picked up a needle and thread at the age of eleven to make dresses to establishing her brand – Creative Kulture, Sara’s journey reflects a relentless pursuit of her fashion dreams characterised by determination, resilience, and unwavering faith.
The Italian-Nigerian’s passion for dress-making led her to take a course on fashion design in secondary school and university.
“Before and during secondary school, I made dresses for fun, eventually transitioning to charging for my creations, though it was not profitable,” Sara recalls.
“In 2019, after finishing secondary school, I had some spare time during a holiday job to create. I photographed the dresses on friends and posted them on Instagram, but received little response.
In that same year, Sara was admitted to the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) Milan, a famous design school in Italy while also a university student.
“During my university days, I stopped all kinds of work related to my fashion business. I woke up at 4 am every day and returned home around 11 pm from school. I did not have time to make dresses – nothing at all,” she says.
“For those three years, my passion stopped because I was so tired of school. I was required to submit so many designs that I did not have any time for passion until I graduated and started again.”
However, in 2020, during the pandemic, with online classes, she resumed showcasing her work on Instagram, but reception remained low. Despite these hurdles, Sara has gained diverse skills in illustration, pattern-making, graphic design, makeup, and hairstyling.
According to the entrepreneur, there is still a long road ahead. “It was not until January 2024 that I started consistently posting on Instagram, thanks to my job enabling me to afford equipment and a content creation space. Now, it is all about moving forward,” Sara says.
Sara reflects on the challenges that marked the early years of her fashion career, including the high equipment costs, gaining exposure, and attracting the right clients.
Read also: Kamal Ijale: A regal force shaping the future of fashion
“These hurdles persist, but I believe that I can overcome them by honing my skills and leveraging platforms like Instagram for exposure,” the young entrepreneur says.
Not having a suitable workspace posed a challenge, and the scarcity of time, along with balancing multiple jobs to finance her passion, left little room for her to pursue her dreams.
Though she has not fully navigated this challenge yet, she decided to leave a time-consuming job and dedicate a month solely to her business. However, starting a new job provided slightly more time but fewer funds.
Financing her fashion dreams in the early stages was another uphill battle for Sara. Working tirelessly from a young age, she took on various jobs, including waitressing, working at McDonald’s, sales, and even factory night shifts, demonstrating unwavering determination and resilience.
She also leverages social media, particularly Instagram, to promote her brand by studying what others in her industry do and adapting it to her style while investing in promotions.
Sara’s resilient and hardworking nature enabled her to excel in various fields, such as sewing, illustrating, and makeup.
She prioritizes tasks based on God’s guidance and focuses on learning and incorporating additional skills that align with her goals without distracting her from her main objectives.
Regarding her future plans for scaling and expanding her brand, Sara shares, “I have too many ideas, and the funniest part is that these ideas were given to me by God years ago, which I wrote down in a note, but I never knew how to start.”
Offering advice to aspiring entrepreneurs struggling to gain traction, Sara emphasizes the importance of dedicating time to their work, learning from different fields, and leveraging social media. She advocates for consistent posting, engaging with clientele, and even working for free to attract more attention to one’s work.
Sara stresses the value of organisation, balance, risk-taking, attention to detail, and seeking divine direction. She recalls a significant moment on January 5th, 2024, when she sought God’s guidance, received a clear action plan, and followed it religiously.
“It might sound foolish, but I still remember the date on the 5th of January 2024. When I sat down with a pen and paper, I asked God: I have gotten a place, and it is a new year; what do I do from now? I started writing what I wanted to achieve, and he gave me step-by-step on what I have to do and how to accomplish it, and that is what I am following right now,” Sara says.
