Fusion: A Fashion and Beauty Event, Abuja

The second Fusion shopping event was held on Saturday at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja. The organiser, Dr Samiah, plans on organizing similar fairs every quarter of the year in Abuja (and even taking it to Lagos).

We though the venue was well suited to the occasion given the size of the fair, however parking was a little more difficult than expected. If the show becomes any more popular, as it almost definitely will!, that may be something they have to address.

The layout seemed well thought out given the space and we felt it was set up just right with the room being well lit but it could have done with being a bit better cooled especially with all the serious shopping going on!

After the first 5 minute foray through the displays it was obvious what the target clientele was as most of what was being offered (about 98.5% to be precise!) was aimed at young ladies.

The products and services on offer were

-Branded T-shirts (Naija style)

-Women's fashion & underwear

-Shoes

-Bed linen

-Jewellery

-Fabric (mostly ankara)

-Fashion accessories (for jazzing up ankara designs)

-Men's kaftans

-A Model agency

-Make-up/make-over stall.

Most of the entrepreneurs were young & hip (the organiser included!), so a lot of Abuja's young (mostly in their 20's) & trendy residents came out to support the event which was well publicized, proving yet again that word-of-mouth is a powerful advertising tool. More & more trooped in as the day went by, maintaining a very decent flow throughout the event which lasted from 12pm-7pm.

It took about 20-25mins for to wander through the entire fair. The atmosphere was chilled, nice and relaxed & inviting, a mood that prevailed throughout the event. The young men came through despite the products & services being predominantly targeted at a female clientele but I guess where there are a lot of young ladies, the men are bound to follow!

We’d say it was buzz worthy and definitely one to visit again.

U.N. & S.D.

Ituen Basi International Trunk Show, London.

Imagine our excitement when we realised we'd be able to get our hands on the hand-crafted, colour fest that is an Ituen Basi creation right here in London! (We were Very excited!!) We went along to her trunk show on Sunday, held at the suitably colourful shake bar, Shoki Shakes.
We were treated to a display of accessories with the effect akin to that of being in a candy shop. Some of it we expected such as her signature ankara covered beads (the designer is pictured with them styled as a bracelet) and bracelets as well as hair bows and brooches. 

Less familar but equally delightful accessories featured included alice bands, ankara covered hoop earrings in various sizes, thinner bangles that you can purchase in threes and braided lengths of ankara that can be styled as skinny belts or hair decorations. More unexpected were the articles aimed at the home such as the aprons, key chains, dolls and, my personal favourite, shaggy floor throws.





















Clothing was more low key and included some tshirts, bikini tops (which we imagined layered under white, loose fit, long line tanks) and dresses. More accessories included the obi style wide waist belts and fringed shawls. We also fell in love with the ankara totes in different styles ranging from a simple tote to a more intricate fringed bag (pictured above).

Everything is beautifully crafted, hand made and feels precious and would make a welcome addition to any home or wardrobe. 


We will definitely be savouring the pieces we picked up for a long time to come.

If you are lucky to live in Lagos you can buy Ituen Basi at several outlets (see their Facebook page for more details) otherwise some pieces can be purchased online at www.myasho.com.


You can see more pictures on our Facebook page at In The Know West Africa.

E.F. & S.D.

Coming soon...

The ITK team have a bunch of things planned that we are looking forward to sharing with you. We'll be attending the shopping events Le Petit Marche and Fusion and have the scoop on those. We are looking forward to a couple of exhibitions and the Ituen Basi Trunk show and we'll be sharing those too.


So the Men don't think we've forgotten them, we will be posting in the Men's Lifestyle category just for them! Look out for posts on grooming, sporting facilities, fashion and more.


As you may have noticed, so far the focus has been on two West African countries but we are definitely going to change that to include the rest of our West African community. Look out for posts as well as additions to our Blog Love and Like it Link it... lists (on the right sidebar).


Also coming soon, a weekly Travel Money post with current exchange rates and other relevant money news.


Thanks for reading and Bonne Journee.

New stuff...

We now have a cool way of showing you all our favourite videos featuring African artists and music with a handy YouTube gadget. Just scroll down the page, it is in the right sidebar. We'll be adding new videos all the time so keep a look out. Tell us your favourites and we'll get them on there too!


Also keep a look out on our events page to see what new things you could be adding to your social diary.


Enjoy!!

LWKMD!!

or in plain IM English LMAO!


I think any West African is at least familiar with and understands some pidgin or broken English, that is if not actually able to speak it, but have you come across the creative use of it in IM speak? Here's an excerpt of a list collated on NaijaIMSlangs below to show you what I mean:

Naija IM Slangs! Official List

1. LWKM - Laugh wan kill me
2. LWKMD - Laugh wan kill me die
3. MIDG - make I dey go
4. WGYL - we go yarn later
5. IGA - I gbadun am


Visit the link above for the rest. Good for a laugh and who knows, you might find one or two you just have to use! 

Bonne journeé!

Say Cheese!

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so what better way to capture (and celebrate) a family's history than to do the family portrait. over the Christmas holidays my family did just that at ... in the Accra Mall. It was fairly busy when we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, as the Mall is generally at the weekends, with the shop full of people with the same idea.


There was a relaxed but ordered queue (there is some seating) but after about a 15 minute wait we were up. The photographer was confident (if a little hands on) and happy to tell us get us into position. We wanted a very relaxed, not too posed look and that is exactly what we got. The photographer took several shots of varied positions making changes as we liked.


After our little photo shoot in the back room, we were shown to the computer where we could view and select our favourites and effects like black and white (my Mom likes those!), how many and what size. Prices start at GHc3 for a 5x7 and then go up in size and price. The studio also has a shop selling frames, albums and the like. The also offer transfer of pictures to canvas and other novelty treatments as well as basic services such as prints of your picture and wedding albums visit  and will print your digital pictures. Visit www.spendstre.com for more details.

We headed off to lunch afterwards and all in all it added to our enjoyment of the day and captured a happy moment for posterity. 


 Spends Tre Fotostore + Studio Accra Mall

A is for ...Ankara

 source 

Now, did you know the fabric we call Ankara is actually named for the capital of Turkey? We didn't! A little curiosity and some Google revealed all - also called Dutch Wax as it originally came almost exclusively from Holland, it was then christened  Ankara after Turkey began producing it cheaper than formerly available. Now it is made in as far flung places as China as well as locally by manufactures such as ATL. It's popularity has exploded due to it's modern and creative applications by brands and designers such as Woodin, Vlisco, Jewel By Lisa, Tiffany Amber, Ituen Basi and countless others. Now you can get almost anything you can imagine (or would dare wear!) bags, bracelets and other accessories as well as ready to wear and custom clothing. A personal favourtie of mine would have to be the Ituen Basi hair accessories - perfect for that pop of colour.

And the more colour, I say, the better!!! 


Pictures,  left from www.myasho.com, right Ituen Basi Facebook page

New pages

Check out our Upcoming Events page for exactly that! We'll have details of what (or who), when and where (and maybe why you should spend your precious time there!). Anything to look forward to will be posted on there and eventually, after we've been too, we'll tell you all about it on our home page.


Another new page is the Contact us page - pretty self-explanatory :)




Bonne journée !

Akwaaba, Nno, Welcome!

Any more ways to say 'welcome'? I am afraid English is the only language I can claim at the moment but hopefully that will change along the way! Feel free to chip in and school me and hopefully I can be just as helpful (as well as entertaining) with my posts on who, what, where and when (and sometimes why!) to find those things that make life all the more enjoyable in certain pockets of West Africa. Thanks for reading! xxx