The brand speaks to a particular person who desires to be seen for who she is.
AyoMi is for you.
]]>
Answering questions from PopUpShop customers:
1) Why did you start this business? The answer may surprise you. It is the core of who we are.
]]>For those with Africa in the DNA, connecting and staying connected to cultural roots is important.
]]>Are you sure they know who they are?
Is their heritage visible when they go to school?
Are they secure in their cultural identity at parties and events?
A concern parents share is the passing of their cultural identity to their children.
For those with Africa in the DNA, connecting and staying connected to cultural roots is important.
A person’s individual self is often tied to the group identity.
How a person views themselves can be tied to their mental health.
It is not the identity itself that matters. What is critical is that the person feels safe expressing that identity.
Each day a question is answered: In this office with colleagues who look nothing like me, am I safe to display my African-ness?
Then another questions creeps in immediately behind the first: On the playground and in the classroom where my children attend school, are they free to portray the culture they embody at home?
Safety is the first and most primal instinct. All humans seek safety and security. Studies show that the need for security motivates human behavior. If that foundation is shaky, the relational, professional and academic levels of growth will be poorly supported.
The impact to mental health for adults and children stems from feelings of insecurity. If unsafe to be myself alternate option is to inhabit another identity. People are indirectly pushed into hiding when they are shamed for displaying elements of their African culture. The subtle, and often not so subtle message is conform or else.
That is an unsafe place to be for adults. It is a scary place for children.
Children need their parents to feel safe being themselves. They need to know their parents are secure in their own identity. Knowing a parent boldly embraces their heritage increases a child’s own self confidence. Children emulate what they see. The little sponges hear and see everything.
There are many ways to present one’s identity. Language, hairstyle, music, art, and fashion are a few.
AyoMi desires to give each person a safe place to be themselves. Represent the whole you.
Follow us on Instagram to learn ways to connect with your African heritage.
Subscribe to see the latest fabrics and accessories.
]]>If my story resonates with you, great. AyoMi will help you showcase your authentic self.
If your story is like theirs, great. You inspired me. AyoMi will help showcase your newly discovered yet authentic self.
]]>My Nigerian ancestry goes back seven, ten, twenty generations. As far back as stories can be traced. There are records of marriages and births, lands and professions that root my family to Nigeria. I am as authentically 100% Nigerian as they come.
If my story resonates with you, great. AyoMi will help you showcase your authentic self.
My life crossed paths with many who desire that deep connection with Africa. Those who took an ancestry test to learn of there 32% West African genes. Their DNA may have clearly stated 56% Nigerian amongst other ethnic identities. Their connection to Africa was new and slowly forming.
If your story is like theirs, great. You inspired me. AyoMi will help showcase your newly discovered yet authentic self.
Our identity has many elements. The parts we didn't choose, our parents, genes, where we were born etc. Then we grow up and get to choose what parts of our identity we want to embrace. A beautiful part of our identity is culture, including the clothing and accessories we wear. There is a sense of belonging reflected in fabrics and colors and styles. Subtle, yet clear connections to one's heritage. Your fashion should fit your personality. Be subtle. Be bold.
Always be authentically you.
]]>]]>
This was another moment to be a proud Nigerian.
Nigerians are said to be a proud people. That's not false.
What should be emphasized in the same breath is "because they work hard to be the best."
Hard work, persistence, dedication to finishing a race, are great character traits found in all people groups. When you celebrate Tobi, you celebrate everyone who works hard to accomplish a goal. When that task is executed better than anyone else has ever done before ... you stand up in your living room and cheer.
Tobi Amusan of Ijebu Ode, Nigeria
]]>When a happy customer became unhappy with her fanny pack zipper. We fixed it. At no extra charge.
Now fanny pack and owner are reunited. Joy rekindled.
The Little Things
]]>