Sunday, July 29, 2007

TIGER TEM

Hey Everyone!!!
Thanks for all the birthday love!!!
I am old oooo! Gosh, the way age creeps up on you isn’t even funny.
So what has been going on in my life, well, work, work work.
Dear people, when you have a good job with a well-known multinational, where you can blog at work and gist endlessly on the phone, please don’t quit oooo
Don’t be like me, I used to whine so much about my old job, that it wasn’t challenging etc….
Wow, I am eating my words, my new job is challenging (serious understatement) and that’s for sure! Jesus take the wheel! I seriously think this might be my last 9-5 job, I will just go and start one ‘business’ lol….Y’all should give me some ideas.
What else has been happening? Hmmm, I have started exercising; I have been sooo with exercise over the last year so I have decided to get into shape….If you see my jogging around ur neighbourhood…make sure u hola.
So what is going on in blogsville?
I know I am guilty of being MIA but I hope blogsville is not dying, I went around some of my fave blogs today and the updates have been few. What’s going on?

Moving on, Temi Ogunsanya of Tiger Tem is one of my favourite fashion entrepreneurs.
She started her line, Tiger Tem years ago before being a ‘designer’ became the it-career.
Temi is a lawyer but left her law career for the world of fashion, she previously worked for Condé Nast (Home of Vogue, Glamour, W and all the other top mags) and has written for ThisDay Style and What’s New Magazine.
TigerTem has been featured in Vogue UK and has lots of hot, fun accessories and tees.
Check out my Q & A with Temi and take a look at some of her designs.

1. Fairy Godmother in Leo print (from the Cinderella Collection)
2. Princess Charming in Red Jasper (from the Cinderella Collection)
3. Belle in Amethyst (from the Cinderella Collection)
4. JetSet travel set in Lilac croc
5. The Boutique
6. The Goldfinger in Chocolate

What's Tiger Tem?
Tiger Tem, The Boutique and Tea Room. Its the ultimate accessory haven with a selection of bright, pretty and quirky bags, delightfully sparkly jewellery, fabulously glamorous belts...and our unique cute, cheeky tshirts (I only print one of each).

Tell us about the Tea Room?
The Tea Room is an oasis of peace and calm in the crazy city of Lagos. A chilled out place to hang with your people and sip on a nice cuppa, or a big glass of vino...and chow down on some brownies, apple crumble and lots of other mouthwatering treats!

Why did you choose the name?
I love Tigers, they’re one of my favourite animals. No two Tigers are the same and there’s something mysterious and intriguing about Tigers. You don’t see them so much but when you do, I certainly pay a lot more attention to them than the other Big Cats in the wild. And they have a strength and an elegance that I haven’t seen in any other animal. Wouldn’t try to tame one though!

When did you start designing?
I started designing handbags while I was working in PR around 2002/2003. And I made them ALL myself for the first 18 months of Tiger Tem’s existence.

Do you have any formal fashion training?
I did a course at St Martins in Handbag design which was a great way to learn the basic on handbag construction. That’s where I really learnt to use a sewing machine and when your skills are limited it actually forces you to be more creative. I still use the basic shapes of the first 2 bags I designed.

Your previous job prior to taking the plunge as a designer?
PR for a lifestyle PR company which looked after the Marco Pierre White Group and a number of top hotels, resorts and restaurants. It was fun. Lots and lots of perks to the job.

Your influences?
Anything and everything. I aim to create the ideal bags for all occasions the dinner, the bar, the club, the black tie event, a day in the office, a day out shopping…I aim to cover all bases. Tiger Tem bags are versatile enough to appeal to a wide range of women yet stand apart from everything else available today. Sophisticated, elegant, pretty bags.

Why did you decide to move back to Nigeria?
I felt as its still a developing country there was more scope to make a difference, make more of an impact, create something totally unique.

What are the challenges of running a fashion related business in Nigeria?
The ones you expect and then a whole heap of unexpected ones! Staff is a major issue as is the total absence of infrastructure. The lack of education means the basic level of understanding of the average worker is very low. But in adversity there’s opportunity so you learn to roll with the punches. Starting here has made me much more flexible than I would have been otherwise and its allowed me to fine tune my vision. And learn from my mistakes.

You were featured in UK Vogue. Describe the moment you saw Tiger Tem in the magazine.
I was rendered speechless. Couldn’t quite believe it had happened so quickly. I’ve never seen or heard of any place in Nigeria mentioned in UK Vogue so it was a pretty groundbreaking moment. Its one of those moments most retailers/designers would sell their grandmother for or pay a PR firm copious amounts of money for…and I just got lucky.

And what is the future/dream/vision for Tiger Tem?
Everybody needs a piece of Tiger Tem. And when I say everybody, I mean everybody who gets it, who likes it and who wants it. I know what I want Tiger Tem to be. Its about being a small giant, I’d rather have a great company than a big one.

That's it!!
I promise to blog more often.
Let us know what you think.
Take care
Ciao

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

am i first?

Anonymous said...

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!i made 1st on bella's page!ok noa bout tigertem...i guess she is doing well for her self...so she designs the bags!ehn?...they are nice sa nothin spectacular sa!i liked d lilac one tho!

Anonymous said...

good to have you back! was having serious withdrawal symptoms.

NigeriaPolitricks.com said...

Nice to see you're back. Go Bella!

Endurable Cutie! said...

wow cant bliv i made top five

LADYBRILLE.com said...

lol@eating ur words!

Anonymous said...

hey!!!! thank God for the nes post bella!!! iv been starvin here!!!!..tiger tems good...big ups to her......

Favoured Girl said...

Hey Bella, good to see an update! Glad to hear the new job is going well - busy and everything. Hope it won't take you away from blogging too often! Good luck with the excercise too!

Tiger Tem's designs are cool. Understated but pretty. I like.

Anonymous said...

so where's the Q&A now?
Does Tiger Tem have a website?

Ms. Catwalq said...

I think I had something to say but I am watching a bollywood film and so i have fotgotten what it was going to be.
anyways, have a lovely week

Anonymous said...

@ anonymous 2:23 its
http://www.tigertem.com/

Ms. Catwalq said...

A NEW SERIES LAUNCHED ON MY BLOG!!!
CATWALQ INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIE HAS ARRIVED.
CHECK IT OUT ON MY BLOG.

TMinx said...

Its great to see successful young entrprenuers...I have never been a bag/wallet person so none of them really excite me but Kudos to her.

Anonymous said...

Hey Bella Don't let them work U to d bone O, but then again Hard work never killed anyone, so Go 4 it, "U GO GIRL!!!". Well done for d update , it seems blogsville is on Summer Hols ??? Babes, I heard that Usher cancelled his wedding with "Maneka"... God is GOOD....ALL d time...:) That's why I'm here O..... Pls Pls help us find out. God bless x

Biodun said...

Love the clutches! Take it easy, hope things kinda bcome less stressful soon!

Uzo said...

Tiger tem is doing well for herself...More kudos for her....Have never been to her store so do you know what the prices r like?

Icy PR said...

Nice handbags.. I especially like the Belle in Amethyst (from the Cinderella Collection) totally my looks. It's so inspiring to see young entrepreneurs making their mark. Welcome back miss lady. Take it fun with work, enjoy your work outs and don't starve us too much from you MIA blogging. Hope you had a rawking birthday :)

Awoof said...

Hey...Happy birthday! If you start thinking about 'one business', do not hesitate to holler at me. I personally thing entrepreneurship is the way forward for our beloved Naija... That's why I like Tiger Tem's designs... Have they got an outlet at The Palms?

Anonymous said...

I like Temi's energy, you could slightly feel her drive radiating from her responses.

She gave the perfect response to the question "Why did you move back to Nigeria?"

All the best Temi.

I was expecting to read at least 3 posts since I've been MIA too....apparently you were right on the same boat with me.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful stuff! I miss ur blogs...hope ur bday weekend was fab! mis u!
x

STREETBRAND said...

Great blog once again…it’s still early days with the new job so you never know, things may calm down after a while. Anyhoo, regarding the business ideas, ermmm, when are you dropping the magazine? That’s like a guaranteed success with your ‘fame’ and all….

Aijay said...

Totally feeling you on going to start one business especially when one has a rather hectic job.
Anyway, nice post as usual. The lady's got nice purses. I like.

akin said...

bella,good job! if you need ideas..i have got couple of ideas for you.we can talk when am back home mid august.

Remi Fagbohun said...

Hello bella-
Great work as usual.
Happy to hear your new job is working out too!

Anonymous said...

As for business ideas. You need to turn what you have now bellanaija.com into your business. You like naija fashion and entertainment, you know naija fashion and entertainment. Use this to create a business

Magazine
T.V. show
Reporting
Writing

I dunno. But i think what you have here is great and you can turn it into something even bigger

BOBBY said...

Bella i think you should venture into PR...its what you do...(wink)

Meanwhile, Tiger Tem is on fire. I am loving her stuff.

Talk to you tonight.

Anonymous said...

Why did you decide to move back to Nigeria?
I felt as its still a developing country there was more scope to make a difference, make more of an impact, create something totally unique

COUGH COUGH TO THAT QUESTION..GIRLFRIEND TEMI IS DOING A GOOD JOB..BUT HER SHOP ONLY CATERS TO D CREME DE LA CREME(NOT THAT IT IS A BAD THING)BUT SHE ISNT REALLY MAKING IMPACT TO NIGERIA AT LARGE...MAYBE WITH TIME!WHO KNOWS!

Anonymous said...

She's been in Vogue????? WOW!

I'm a huge fan and she's creeping into the consciousness of nigerian slowly but surely. She did accessories for Idols and Big Brother and has a weekly column in ThisDay called Tiger Bites. Clever move. Her column is a bit 'Janded' for your average Nigerian but its great to see what's out there.

The girl has staying power. Almost every night I'm out, i see an 'It Boy' in one of her tshirts and there's always a few girls with her accessories.

TigerTem said...

Thanks for the support!

Its hard work but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way.

If there's anything else you'd like to see from Tiger tem, let me know. I'm open to all your ideas and suggestions.

And Bella, if you want to take ammee's advice and go into PR, I'll be your first client!!!!!
Temi
x

Unknown said...

I feel terrible
I have been here several times
I never left a comment for some reason... Oh well I guess i"m late
Happy Belated Bday
THe lord that guided and guarded you until this day will continue to be your guide and guard.


NIce post by the way

AbujaBabe said...

Luvin Tiger Tem Luvin Women in Business,

I do love the Clutch Bags.
I do believe the other bags do need more work.. ( not hating just a massive bag fanatic)

As for the Tea Rooms I absolutely love it so do My Mum and Aunts. It's a fabulous venue for small intimate events , like baby showers, ladies luncheons etc etc

Fabby!

Ciao..xx

Idemili said...

Wow, Bella. Great all round. So much fun in Lagos. *Sob, Sob* Why do I live here...

Wait. Museums, different classes, culture..Yeah. I still want to move though.

Anonymous said...

Looooooove the last bag posted. So tres chic!