She is not one of the London Babes who make noise about what they do. She is cool, calm and collected. That is the story of Ayo Laotan, the CEO of Emmas Ornaments. She is a big name in the beading business in the City of London. Recently, this pretty babe spoke to City People Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE, about her business.


Congrats on the anniversary of your brand, how has it been?
Thank you! It’s been good I bless God although it’s not easy to juggle the Homefront, work, and the business together (especially when the business is still in its early days) but i ascribe all glory to God for strength determination and consistency.

Tell us your success story?
Hmm my success story, where do I start from? I started Emmas ornaments in the year 2013 after taking a course in bag making, I started making african print fabric bags clutches and purses then I added fabric earrings, the business was a bit slow at the time because only a few people were interested in what I was doing, then I did a course in bead making pardon me to say the oyinbo way!

How did you get into making beads?
Born out of my passion for crafts I did some courses here in the uk for beginners (beading) but as we all know they do not wear multilayered necklaces, I tired a couple of times to try my hands on it but I was not getting the desired results then I consulted my cousin in lagos Moyo Sobitan (sugarplum) who then told me what I wasn’t doing right I followed her tutelage and here I am today.

Do London babes appreciate beads?
Oh yes they do! But we just have issues with pricing because they believe they can get it from Nigeria cheaper.

How did you coin d name of your company?
Emmas is the abbreviation of my children’s English names Emmanuel and Emmanuella.

How do you plan to celebrate it?
We plan to celebrate it In a special way by celebrating those who have supported the business and have consistently come back and colleagues in the industry.

Nice