My tailoring firm based on childhood inspiration – Farida Ahmed

Farida Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Stitches By Farida (SBF), a fashion designer that specialises in both ready-to-wear and custom made bespoke pieces.

The 23-year-old Gombe based fashion designer ventured into tailoring immediately after she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Studies from the Gombe State University.

In this interview, she spoke on why she opted for entrepreneurship.

– What motivated you to venture into tailoring? –

As a child, I nurtured a sense of uniqueness in dressing and I appearance in general.

I have been a very detailed person and appreciate perfection and uniqueness in fashion.

My first step into this passionate profession of fashion design began at the tender age of 13.

Then, I always wanted to create something out of nothing,

I just wanted to create a design and see the effort made in the creation put nto a fabric and the outcome was always  good and mind blowing.

So I can say that I started it initially as a hobby, where I designed and made the clothes I wore, but I began fashion designing as a business when I was in my final year in university.

So nothing motivates me more than having the soothing feeling of doing what I like most and constantly improving on it.

Also, the feedback and reviews I get from my clients are a major push in my career.

I take every review or feedback as my scorecard and improve where necessary.

– What are your achievements so far? –

I personally don’t like counting my achievements.

I believe it is still dawn for the SBF brand.

But consistency itself is an achievement especially in the fashion industry.

I have been consistent with my dreams from the beginning of this journey and my focus is still intact.

– Do you have plans to expand the business? –

I have two plans in the pipeline, firstly to open an academy here in Gombe.

The SBF brand is certainly aiming at diversifying in the near future.

I foresee the brand delving into the female fashion world and also partnering with top Nigerian designers.

And within the next five years I expect the SBF brand to go international Insha Allah.

The second one is to mentor others in the business. For the industry to become progressive and lucrative for us all, the issue of mentorship needs to be emphasized.

The industry can only be sustained if and when young and upcoming fashion designers are groomed.

For instance, I was a student of the Fashion Academy Abuja, the academy was an eye opener for me by not only making me go through the rudiments of fashion but also helped in widening my network.

So I intend to mentor young people to be self-reliant rather than waiting for the non-available government jobs.

– What are the challenges you face? –

The major challenge is that I am still operating from home together with the two people that assist me in the shop.

For now the business is not lucrative enough to rent a big shop to employ and train more people.

Most of the patronage is during festivities and weddings.

– Who are your customers and how do you meet them? –

Some of them are family members and referrals from friends.

But I got about 60 per cent of my customers from my Instagram and Twitter, where I have active accounts; ‘Stitches By Farida.’

These social handles are a blessing to me as they linked me a lot of customers that still patronise with me and refer their friends to me.