The Journey of Zashadu Handbags

Emily Blumenthal

Hi and welcome to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast with your host , emily Blumenthal , handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother , where we cover everything about handbags from making , marketing , designing and talking to handbag designers and industry experts about what it takes to make a successful handbag . Welcome to yet another episode , a fabulous episode of Handbag Designer 101 , the podcast . I'm here with one of my most favorite people from Nigeria . I mean , I do have other people in Nigeria , but I'd say I'll put you at the top just quietly Zeynep Ashadu of Zashadu . I'm so excited to have you . I take pride in being a personal celebrity in Nigeria although I haven't been , but it's purely by association , of knowing you . So thank you for being here . Thank you for coming on , and what time is it for you right now ? And what time is it for you right now ? It is 3 , 30 , 3 something , 3 , 40 . Maybe . Yeah , right , okay , fabulous , all right . So we have a micro time distance difference here . Yeah , so we've known each other more than 10 years . We've just established , because you were a finalist in the handbag awards in 2014 , it's 2024 .

Emily Blumenthal

It's been a minute like that is a very long time , especially in this day and age , to still be doing this . There have been platforms who have tried to amplify designers from africa . A lot of them have come and gone , a lot of them have had some issues , but yet you are still here . So let's get into that . Why are you still around doing this ? Is this because this is who you are at this point ? This is your brand , this is your life Like ? Is there any time where you're like I don't know why I'm still doing this , especially where I am in Africa , especially in Nigeria ?

Zainab Ashadu

Talk to me . Oh , thank you , emily . What an expansive question . No pressure . Why am I still doing this ?

Zainab Ashadu

I mean , it has been a journey and there have been times on the journey where I've had to ask myself questions and ask myself is this the right thing for me to still be doing ? Am I just being obtuse and just kind of like you know , forging ahead and blah , blah , blah ? And each time I ask myself that question , I think just having the luxury to have to ask the question and take time to answer it , like I have choices in life , you know we all and just being being with myself , in way , I kept finding that there was still more for me to do . There was more for me to do in terms of continue adding to the design landscape , for example , on the continent , in my country . There's more for me to do in terms of , like , raising standards and investing in artisanry . There's more for me to do in teaching . There's more for me to do in teaching . There's more for me to do in inspiring the young people that are coming behind me . There's more for me to do in building industry . So there's more for me to do .

Zainab Ashadu

And it's almost like of whom much is expected , much is given . I seem to have an incredible amount of strength . I have a lot of support . I'm blessed in that way . So I felt like , okay , what do I need to do to make sure that I can do this and still have a good life , be happy , be smiley , have time for family , have time for friends ? And I managed to find that . And I just keep kind of trudging along and here we are , 10 years later and I'm still here . So that's kind of the behind the scenes of that .

Emily Blumenthal

So were you always a designer ? Was this something you stumbled onto ? Were you one of the little girls who could sew , or sewed with your grandma ? Like , what's the story that brought you to this point ? Have you always lived in Nigeria ? Like , how ?

Emily Blumenthal

Because you know , I've spoken to enough designers over the years and there are , you know , there's ongoing parallels , like it was something someone taught them , it's been a passion , or they found something missing in the market , couldn't find it . And then it's so interesting because to start a brand , start a business , let alone in handbags , it almost seems like you are like not even risk averse , it's just organic . Like OK , this is what I'm going to do , and it sounds crazy if you explain it to anybody else . But no , I'm starting a handbag brand . Do you have experience ? No , no , I'm just going to do it . So and then you realize , like , looking back , like Jesus Christ , what was that Like ? If I would have heard someone say that to me when I went through it , I would have been like how dumb are you ? Like , I mean , why look at us now ?

Zainab Ashadu

Well , the story is okay . So I grew up in between Lagos and London . So I my time . Now I've spent more time in Lagos , but when I started zashandu I had just come fresh from london , like on a whim , completely on a whim . My entire family still lived in the uk for the time . I was in the uk for 15 years , I had only come to lagos once , wow , and so it was just like on a family vacation , on a family trip . Like on a family vacation . Most Nigerians come back every year , like you know .

Zainab Ashadu

So I hadn't done that , but it was a calling . I didn't know then that that's what it was , but it was just this sort of like strong pull to come and create here . So as a young girl I was very like in my own world . I love to read , I love to just do my thing . I never knew what I wanted to be , but I just knew that I wanted to do things that made me happy . That's the one thing you couldn't like . My logic is for like , I don't know emergencies or something . I cannot talk myself into doing something that I don't feel .

Zainab Ashadu

So university I did English and drama , what I like to do and then I bumped into a friend . I bumped into a friend who I had spent like a boyfriend an ex-boyfriend's cousin , who would spend a whole entire summer together , and a couple of years later I was walking in the streets of London and I bumped into her and she said to me , oh , how's the fashion going ? And I was like , what fashion , like , were you talking about ? Because then I think I was working . I don't remember where I was working . You went to university in London . I went to university in London , yeah , and then I finished and then I was working . I think I was working in an architect's studio doing some admin , right , and she said what you know , what about the fashion ? And I was like what fashion ? Right ? She said I thought you studied fashion . I said , no , I didn't . And then she said so , all of the clothes that you always used to put together and you always used to make . It was just like something you did . And I was like , yeah , and she gave me this look like either this girl is a genius or she's a dumbo .

Zainab Ashadu

And I went home and I thought to myself you used to make your clothes yourself . I used to just like , cut things up and , you know , pin them together and just whatever . I just used to write on them , draw them , whatever . And I thought to myself , maybe I should focus on this bag thing . That's been bogging me down for a while , because by this point I had collected maybe 200 bags , vintage bags that I just I mean , looking back , it's so obvious , but I just really love . And one day I realized I'm like , oh , I know what's missing in my collection it's my own handbag that's missing . Wow , that's enough , you know .

Zainab Ashadu

From there I decided to go back to school . So I went to London College of Fashion . I did a long course . I did a night night course . I was working in the daytime . I just wanted to make sure that I kind of knew what I was doing . And then , after that , I had this calling . I went to visit Lagos . And when I got to Lagos it was like come back . This was the second time . Second time exactly , and I was like one I have to come back here . So I went back home in 2009 . I told my parents I said mom , dad , my late dad , may he rest in peace . I said I'm going to move to Lagos and they were like um , okay , okay , I need to interrupt you .

Emily Blumenthal

Are you a middle child ? No , I'm a first child . You're the oldest .

Zainab Ashadu

I'm the oldest .

Emily Blumenthal

Of how many ? Of three , wow , so okay , so you're not only immigrant offspring , you're Nigerian immigrant offspring , and that is very off brand for a firstborn who does the right thing . Colors in the lines goes to uni studies , what they're supposed to . They probably lost it .

Zainab Ashadu

Yeah , I think they were really worried because I don't think , even though I had , I had a lot of passions and I don't think the handbag one really stood Like you couldn't really tell I was passionate about whatever I was passionate about , so you can really distinguish one from the other wasn't like , oh okay , yeah , it was just like , oh , my god , is this ? And I just left in two weeks . I left in two weeks with two weeks . I took a suitcase , I went , I stayed with a friend and my dad . Before I left , my dad said to me look , I don't have anything to give you . Like I can't help you in any way . You know , I don't know what you're gonna go and do , but the only thing I can do for you , which is what my father did for me , is I can pray for you . And so he asked me to kneel down and he put his hands over my head and prayed for me and did you cry ? Did you cry ?

Zainab Ashadu

I feel like crying now , but then I didn't necessarily kind of know the significance , because Because your mind was like yeah , because my dad wasn't very expressive as a man and he just prayed and he just opened my path and blessed my path and said that everything I touched would be you know all of that . And I was like okay , and I took my hand and I went . So that's the story of the beginnings of Zashadu . Were you living ?

Emily Blumenthal

at home , at this time . So it's not like you had a flat to worry about it's like you were just taking your , so it's not like the barriers were low because you had nothing to lose Exactly .

Zainab Ashadu

Yeah .

Emily Blumenthal

Wow . So you're going to Nigeria right Now . This is your third time going yes , and you're like . You show up at the airport . What did you do ? Because I think when people tell these origin stories , they neglect the details . Like you get there and you land and you're like what if I just died .

Zainab Ashadu

I knew I was coming . So I had a boyfriend who was Nigerian he's also late , may he still rest in peace and he was in the UK with me . So I said to him listen , I'm going to , I'm going to Lagos . And he was like what ? So he hooked me up with some friends , like okay , listen , I have this friend , you don't have any friends in Lagos . And then I had one old school friend , so I let her know I was coming .

Zainab Ashadu

I had some family in Lagos , but they weren't like . They were found by blood , it wasn't tier one exactly and I just didn't feel , you know that . So I went , I came to Lagos , someone picked me up from the airport , I went to a friend's house , I stayed with her for a couple of weeks and then I met another friend and then I stayed with her for a couple of weeks and I just just like that , I got a job quite quickly when I came , and then I was able to get accommodation with the job and then it just kind of like everything sort of just fell into place , you know , very really serendipitously , like just it was the right thing for me to do . So it just kind of , you know , the plan just unfolded and I just put another foot in and put another foot in front of each other can I ask you a stupid question ?

Emily Blumenthal

do you have two passports ? Did you always grow up ?

Zainab Ashadu

you do so you are .

Emily Blumenthal

So you , you showed up with , like I'm a Nigerian resident , so it's not like you had to deal with any issues , because even people going back to their native country , it really doesn't matter A lot of people you know as first generation . You know it's not like sometimes the parents didn't go through with getting everything . You know . So , yeah , yeah , so I was lucky that I had that . Yeah , wow , so that's wild . So you showed up and now you have a day job in Nigeria , which is something you're like were you seeing this as a means to an end so you can start this hair dye thing ?

Zainab Ashadu

Yes , I mean , I didn't even at that . Yes , okay , at that point I definitely needed the job I needed to be able to fend for myself , and it was . I got a job in art and so being around artists and seeing them believing in themselves and just continuing in like you know , not the richest people I just felt like man , if they can do it , I have no excuse , like I even . You know , I have a day job and I can save money and I can whatever . So I just was inspired by them , I was inspired by the artist mentality and I allow that to

Nigerian Artisan Handbag Production

Zainab Ashadu

yeah , to inspire me .

Emily Blumenthal

So you know , nigeria is not really a hub of handbags . Right , it's not what people think . I know a lot of people have gone to Nigeria and other countries in Africa for other kinds of resources , but handbags are never at the top of that list . But we do know that obviously there are artisans , there are a lotans , there are a lot . There's a strong native culture . Did you have to do the grassroots ? Let me find some women who sew , or let me see if there is a factory , because you know , I know how these countries well , I don't want to say I know everything , but I know how these countries work like there's always a small factory and then there's women who sew , and then you kind of have to piece them all together and go from there . Yeah , yeah .

Zainab Ashadu

So when I hit the ground , I knew already before I came to Lagos that Nigeria had a history in leather . I don't know if you , I saw something recently that's kind of making the rounds on social media about how Italian leather is actually Nigerian leather and this whole legal thing , whatever . So I already knew the history of nigerian leather and so I knew that there was leather and if there is the wrong material , there has to also be the artisan . Right , that logic . So I got there and I thought , right , I need to start asking questions . So I went to the local market where leather is sold and I started asking questions . Right , and I I actually this is a really amazing story because I bumped it into a guy's cousin- it's always a cousin .

Emily Blumenthal

It's always a cousin , it's always a cousin . Can I tell you how many street stories I have ? I'm like , oh , you're the cousin , okay , wow , yeah , it's always a cousin . If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and you didn't know where to start , this is for you . If you had dreams of becoming a handbag designer but aren't trained in design , this is for you . If you have a handbag brand and need strategy and direction , this is for you .

Emily Blumenthal

I'm Emily Blumenthal , handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother , and this is the handbag designer 101 masterclass . Over the next 10 classes , I will break down everything you need to know to make , manufacture and market a handbag brand . Broken down to ensure that you will not only skip steps in the handbag building process , but also to save money to avoid the learning curve of costly mistakes . For the past 20 years , I've been teaching at the top fashion universities in New York City , wrote the Handbag Designer Bible , founded the Handbag Awards and created the only Handbag Designer Podcast . I'm going to show you like I have countless brands to create in this in-depth course , from sketch to sample to sale .

Emily Blumenthal

Whether you're just starting out and don't even know where to start or begin , or if you had a brand and need some strategic direction . The Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass is just for you . So let's get started and you'll be the creator of the next it bag . Join me , emily Blumenthal , in the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass . So be sure to sign up at emilyblumenthalcom slash masterclass and type in the code PINECAST to get 10% off your masterclass today .

Zainab Ashadu

Guy that I met . When I told him , oh , I , I , you know to sign handbags , he's like , oh , my cousin does that . And he said I'm going to introduce you . And I thought okay , Cause I didn't think that that would you know .

Zainab Ashadu

But it turned out like she introduced me to this amazing woman , nene , and she had a brand called delune and she was so warm and welcoming to me . She took me in like she showed me everything , she showed me the suppliers , she showed me everything . She showed me where I could buy all the best skins , blah , blah , blah . And then also she had a little artisan who was working not a little . She had a little shop at the back of her store where an artisan was creating bags , and so she said look , I can create your bags for you .

Zainab Ashadu

I was like , okay , so she started the production of the initials , of shardu pieces and it literally was like the path was just sort of laid out for me and I just had to trust and follow . And so after that , a couple of I don't know , you know , the first couple of bags you make , you're working with somebody . Sometimes she was infusing her own design , because my design aesthetic was very strong , very kind of austere in a way as well , not very Nigerian or very flamboyant , and I think she thought , oh , she doesn't really know what she's doing . Let me add another bow here , for her .

Emily Blumenthal

Did that ? How did that work with your relationship with her ? That's not easy at all .

Zainab Ashadu

Yeah , you know what I was like okay , I need to find my own artisan , so I need to . This has to be under my control . And so that was when I started looking for artisans and scouring the whole of Lagos , like looking . And then , as God will have it , my mom had a property in Lagos and it was a little bit far away from the sort of from this , from the something . It's not far at all , it's kind of near the airport , but far away from where I was living . Right , I thought , well , if I can maybe my mom , I can convince her to allow me to have access to that property and then I can have my artisans there . And so I asked her and she said yes , and I was like yes , and so I was like , damn , okay , fine so you didn't think to even live in that property when you came there but it was .

Zainab Ashadu

It was far away from the hub of the city center , where everything happened and where I sort of needed to be , and far away as well means because traffic is monstrous here , so it didn't make any sense , but I could have that there and I started . That's how it led me to having my own mini factory , and we have that to this day and it's like kitted out and bigger and everything . Is it in your mom's space or you moved on from that ? It's in my mom's space , it's in my mom's land . We built like more spaces on it and yeah , and it's wild .

Emily Blumenthal

So , yeah , I mean , and it's so interesting that you went through this there , because , as you know well , maybe you don't because you didn't have to go through it but how expensive the sampling process is . Yeah , right , it is absolutely insane .

Emily Blumenthal

And you know , I know at least here in New York City there's only a handful of people left that do it and you will get charged . A minimum of seven is 7000 , right off the bat , and that is with . I know that's with no redos , no comments , and honestly I don't blame the sample makers , because most people who are coming in don't have the experience , don't know what they're doing , don't have orders against it . So it's the time value of money they have to put in right the learning curve . It's interesting that you had someone who was willing to put the time but wanted to put their opinions and point of view and aesthetic on yours . That must have been very difficult , especially with someone who was being so generous with you . How did you handle that situation ? Because you know it's like , don't bite the hand that feeds you , but it's like , honestly , I don't know if I need her to feed me , like . So how did you handle that ?

Zainab Ashadu

I think one of my gifts is that I quite I have high emotional intelligence , so I can decide what's going on . I understood that it came from a good place and also , in a way , I mean this woman had opened the doors for me , you know , and that was really unexpected , yeah , and I sort of like I just forgave it . I understood where it was coming from because I looked at her designs and I understood that she felt like , man , these girls bags aren't gonna sell because they right , there's nothing to do them . It's just like , really plain , let me help her out , you know . So I got that and I also , yes , I have my very strong ideas , but I'm also quite a fluid person and I also don't mind trying things out . Like I'm like , okay , you know I can , but I knew then , I knew that it would become a power struggle . I knew that it like I had outgrown the grace . It's like , yeah , say now , you've got a lot out here , now be a big girl and move on .

Zainab Ashadu

How did you break up with her ? Well , I just I don't remember what I said . I think I just stopped taking , or maybe I said to her that I wanted to get my own artisan . I think I said that I wanted to get my own . She was completely fine . Think I said that I wanted to get my own . She was completely fine , because I mean , we're all big girls , you know Well , and everybody is , but yeah , Well , maybe not , let's be honest , she was a business woman and she was focused and I guess she saw me as a client .

Zainab Ashadu

You know she was like , okay , I want my client to still be happy , and maybe she thought , well , if she doesn't find somebody , she'll come back to me . So let me just you know . So it wasn't too much of a problem and we're still friends to this day , that's good .

Emily Blumenthal

So I want to ask you , because when you started out and this is not a you thing , this is an everybody thing when every designer starts out , the retail price of their bags is extraordinary . It's really , really , really high and , especially being in Nigeria , there's not like you can create a fluid shipping cost reduced . It's not like you're going to find someone like here in the US , there's 100 different people contacting , constantly saying look , if you work with us , we can get you a flat rate so you can offer free shipping to your customers . So how did you work on your strategy ? Because this is 100% learning curve , right ? You can't know this until you deal with it yourself .

Emily Blumenthal

Yeah , like you can't offer free shipping , but if you do , that would be something you'd have to eat and that's a big thing to swallow . And you can't make your bags too expensive because then you know , even as beautiful as they are , even if they're made in Africa , even if they're made in Nigeria , it will become cost prohibitive for someone to want to invest . So how ? Because it's been 10 plus years at

International Shipping Challenges for Handbags

Emily Blumenthal

this point . How did you work around that ? Because we have a lot of listeners who are not in the US and do a lot of local production and so forth , and this is always something they grapple with Like , okay , the production might be less but I'm still paying for everything , everything and everything .

Zainab Ashadu

Yeah , so I guess your question is how did I navigate ?

Emily Blumenthal

how did you sure , whatever , however , you want to receive it how did you navigate the evolution of costing and shipping to make your brand sustain itself for this amount of time ? Because you know most designers , when they start out , don't pay themselves . And if they do , I'm always saying like maybe you shouldn't because you got to make sure the brand will live before .

Zainab Ashadu

Thank you for saying that , Because I mean you hear that a lot in business Make sure you pay yourself , and it's like , yeah , I mean of course .

Emily Blumenthal

But sometimes your expenses are paid for . Yeah , you know you're like no , you have to make sure everybody else gets paid . Exactly you know like I hear I've met designers saying well , I need my salary . I'm like honey bunny , from what with what ? Yeah , are you paying your people ? They need to get paid before you need to get paid , or else you're not gonna have anybody paying making your bags and you have a vision of where you're trying to get to .

Zainab Ashadu

You have to like there's something to just have to buy , okay , I so , yes , the higgledy-pickledy of shipping and costing . So I had to . So this is what happened . So I had a blog , because I was working in art and I was working in pr as well . So I had three , essentially three jobs and I was like man , I don't have time to . People are always asking me are you that girl that makes vans and also does this art stuff ? I was like yes , I am . So I decided to have a blog so I could write everything there and then put pictures of the bags . And so I did . And I didn't forget that a blog is worldwide , isn't it ? And so in a very short time , people started contacting me from Paris , from Russia , from America , and asking can I buy this bag ? And I'm like yes , okay , how do I pay ? You can pay into my UK account . And they were like okay , but it's coming from Nigeria . And they were like okay , and I thought to myself damn , zeyna , you have to like respect this , streamline this , make it easy for people , people , to they're willing to pay you in Nigeria , which is already sounding the way it sounds into your UK account .

Zainab Ashadu

So from there I had to start thinking about shipping internationally , and at that time the biggest shipping company was so extortionately priced . Yeah . So I thought to myself you myself , you know what I have to if I want Nigeria to be better . I can't be part of the chorus that says it's bad . I have to be a delusional person and say it's amazing .

Zainab Ashadu

And so I was like I wonder what the local post service is , I wonder if it's working . And I told people , and people laughed at me like oh my God , no one's ever going to get your bag . And I told people , and people laughed at me like oh my God , no one's ever going to get your bag . But I was like I have to believe in it . So I went there , met a lady , spoke to her and I said blah , blah , blah .

Zainab Ashadu

So we got talking and then I started using the local post thingy Nigerian Post to ship items outside of the country . It was very , very well priced , like you know , an eighth of like any other price , right , and with that I had to befriend customs officers . Yeah , I had to befriend airline staff , because that's how the , the package travels . Oh yeah , oh yeah , and that's the way I could then , you know , track the item and see where it was and then call someone up and then call the class . So that's what I did for a good I would say good almost three years it's like , oh wait , which pilots on that plane ?

Emily Blumenthal

okay , let me just check , let me check in with his cousin .

Zainab Ashadu

Make sure he's getting there or it's like oh , by the way , we're striking so your package is going to be held up for a little while , so so I'm like , okay , thank you , I can tell the customer . And I always offered the customer the option of it being shipped at a higher rate . You know , like you can have this shipping as well . Blah , blah , blah . So they could make their choice .

Zainab Ashadu

And then by that time , a couple of years into the game , one of the biggest shippers started having a I one of the biggest shippers started having a I don't know like a smaller sort of . If it's within a certain amount , then it's cheaper , like a very little bulk rate , thank you . And so they came to us and they started working with us . But then , funny enough , it's kind of come back again full circle , because now the current , there's political or it's not even political economic stuff happening . I mean , it's worldwide , so it's really affected the rate , the rate of the naira , and so the prices for shipping again have just like tripled . And so it's now a thing where we're thinking , oh , what are we gonna do ? How do we navigate this ? So it's an ever-evolving thing to be in , but going to night posts and finding ways to work with them was what saved us and allowed us to offer reasonable shipping .

Emily Blumenthal

Do you know what you need to do , since you know , I know the country's big , but you're already on the inside ? Is that you need to offer some sort of that you're a brand ambassador for them ? Hmm , Okay , yeah , hmm , okay , yeah , I like that .

Emily Blumenthal

Yeah , I mean honestly , and I've spoken to people about this , but you know , in other countries that are , I mean , look , nigeria is a big country , but you are somebody who , at this point , is well known enough that it's in their best interest to use you as a vehicle of a promotion and have you say what and talk about the journey and talk about why it's so good and why other brands and businesses and try to come up with a . You know , I like back and forth because this way it's in your best interest and it's in their best interest . And then this , this way , if there's a strike , you're going on strike with them . We're all striking together . We're all striking , but I'm going to make sure I know that pilot's cousin is going to take my bags because I have people who want them .

Emily Blumenthal

Yeah , no , I think , honestly , when you are , especially because you're British , a British citizen , and especially since you have two places you call home , I feel , since you're , you know , you have two places you call home I feel like you're crazy not to , because then you become the national handbag , essentially of the country . Yeah , you know , it's interesting opportunities that present themselves that I think , as business owners and especially as a handbag designer , it's not anything we would even consider , and not for nothing . It's so important and I tell people that to continue to network , to continue to talk to people and , even though you know you've been doing this for 10 years , there are new people coming up and much like that woman you know you're the kind of person , as I know , that would pay it forward . Let me see what I can do , because the more people , the more talent that comes from Nigeria , the better it is and the more people it raises a profile that's mutually beneficial for everybody .

Zainab Ashadu

Yes , exactly .

Emily Blumenthal

Has it ever dawned on you to move back ? You know it must be hard . You know you said your father passed and you're all the way over there and this is a country they left for you to have a better life and meanwhile you went back . That must have been tricky at some times .

Zainab Ashadu

Well , not really . I mean , I feel like Nigeria gives me just the right amount of I mean I can't even believe I'm saying this but just the right amount of rubbish and , you know , trash to deal with to keep me sharp and engaged . I think I really do feel like this is my calling , and the calling , of course , it is to design , but it's also I recently heard something which I've been calling myself . It's a creative industrialist . I am actually here to build industry , and that doesn't exist in this part of the , the what's the word in this part of the of the industry , I guess . So this sector , it doesn't exist . It needs to . It needs to , it opens up a lot . It can educate so many , it can alleviate so much poverty , you can train and teach and all of that .

Zainab Ashadu

So I needed something that was an irritant , to make me face it , and I think if I were in the UK that I just wouldn't have that . Every problem is sort of solved in that way . You know , and I also , maybe because I'm an immigrant . I also , as maybe you've heard a number of times , I didn't know I was black until I went to the UK . You know it's not the same . So it's , I didn't have that struggle , which could have been an easy struggle to sink your teeth into . So I feel like I mean , of course there are times when you're in Nigeria and you miss home , you miss the uk , but I went quite often and I go quite often and I like the life that I live here I do , yeah . So I think maybe my parents were actually a bit proud , like , oh okay , she's gone back to try and you know , she's taking her education and her what she's seen and what she's been exposed to and she's taking it back to try and get more people to see that . So I feel like they felt proud of that .

Emily Blumenthal

This has been so enlightening . I just think this has been really , really wonderful . How can people find , follow , purchase , share all that good stuff ?

Zainab Ashadu

You can find us on Instagram at the Shardu . We also have a website , of course , zasharducom , and I have an Instagram account at Zainab Ashardu , so you can find me there too .

Emily Blumenthal

I know because I've been writing you on every platform , zainab , it has been an absolute delight . I want to make sure we keep up with you and have you back on just to talk about what you're doing in the country and the culture and your handbags , because you are such a pivotal person within the Nigerian handbag sector and I think the country is very , very lucky to have you . So thank you so much for being part of this .

Zainab Ashadu

Thank , you , Emily . Thank you so much for being part of my story and for all that you do .

Emily Blumenthal

Thanks for listening . Don't forget to rate and review , and follow us on every single platform at Handbag Designer . Thanks so much . See you next time .