Nigerians are, for the most part, very expressive people. Our speech, dance and adornments are vibrant, even in the most mundane of occassions. The
jewelry we wear bears this out too: our ornaments of choice are typically the large, glistening bits and bulks that catch the eyes at first glance.
Given this reality, it was always going to take a while for minimalist jewelry to catch on here. While much of the world has taken to these smaller, thinner and less conspicuous jewelry forms, Nigerians have largely stuck to their big bold bling.
Little is more
One business pushing for a change of taste in this regard is
Lara’s Luxury Shop. Leveraging the
wide reach and display space afforded by Instagram, this enterprise is putting minimalist jewelry on the list of ornament options for fashion conscious Nigerians. They’re offering buyers simple, sleek and geometric rings, necklaces and bracelets for a change.
There’s a good reason for selling small slender jewelry to a public which presumably values exhuberance and loud energy. At least, that’s what Oluwatumilara Afolabi thinks. As founder of Lara’s Luxury Shop, she’s had to do a fair bit of ‘campaigning’ for the cause of minimalist jewelry. But it does seem that Nigerians are open to wearing simple pendants and earrings, if they’re elegant and complements their clothing style.
“The main goal of this type of jewelry is to accentuate the beauty of the wearer and not to overpower it,” Lara explains. “We’re trying to bear out the beauty of the wearer in a subtle way”.
Selling elegant simplicity
Lara, who brands herself “the go to girl for minimalist jewelry”, is in fact a graduate of pharmacology. She currently divides time between service at a hospital in Akure, Ondo State (under
the NYSC program), and her burgeoning business. She became interested in trading minimalist jewellery in 2017, and thought it a good idea to bring it to a maximalist culture. Several months later, she’s building herself a brand with a slightly daring mission.
Lara’s Luxury Shop sells rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. There are plans to add chokers, cuffs, body jewellery and similar pieces to its collection. Orders are taken via email and phone (available on the shop’s Instagram page); deliveries made nationwide.
Doing business on instagram
Lara says that startups may not find the going easy on
Instagram early on. In her case, the challenge has been with customers who have expressed a fear of being duped- a concern which seems to be magnified in many Nigerians’ perception of doing business online.
The challenge of selling products to people who aren’t really familiar with them also remains.
“The fact that my brand is selling something that Nigerians are not used to is still a challenge,” she admits. But then she says she’s grateful for how far she’s come thus far.
“I’m learning everyday,” she says, with a hint of calm expectation of better things to come.
Click here to visit Lara’s Luxury Shop’s Instagram page.
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This article was first published on 31st May 2018
ikenna-nwachukwu
Ikenna Nwachukwu holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He loves to look at the world through multiple lenses- economic, political, religious and philosophical- and to write about what he observes in a witty, yet reflective style.
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