Bags design and creative foot wears- Aruwa Mardiyaht

 

The ability or power to create or actualize, characterized by originality of thought or inventiveness. Your ability to receive and visualize an idea, and be able to bring one’s imagination to reality- Agbo Gabriel Endurance (Agefingerz).

On our “art and craft” segment today @vintagefingerz, where we help promote and celebrate original contents, arts, and music, we shall be having a discussion about shoe making and bags with a very skilled female entrepreneur and crafts person who is into shoe making and leather works.

So, if you are young or old, male or female, and you are interested in creative art or you have a skill then you should stick around because its going to be fun with our guest!

Creative art or creativity is not limited to Drawings, paintings, poetry, creative writing, and acting but it spans across other crafts such as carpentry, sewing, foot wears designs, leather works, bead making and bags designs as well as in various fields that we are in like the creative content creators, media house, chefs and marketers etc. @queenmardiyat is a female craftsman or craftswoman talented in what she does and I admire her creative ability.

Are you creative?

Perhaps you don’t know, here are some “Traits possessed by creative persons”.

• Creative people like challenges
• They are not afraid to experiment
• They have high standards
• They know how to accept and give constructive criticism
• When they discover something new, they do not understand, they go the extra mile to learn everything they can about how it works, how it benefits them and others.

 With the above foundation laid, let us meet with our guest!

Who is Aruwa Mardiyaht?

Aruwa Mardiyaht Hussaini popularly known as Queenmardiyat, is a final year student of the department of computer science from the renowned Nasarawa state University, keffi, Nigeria. She was born and brought up in kogi state, Idah to be precise and like I earlier stated, she is a female entrepreneur, a Muslim by birth and crafts person who is very skilled at shoe making and leather works.

Queenmardiyat has been in the crafts industry for a minimum of more than two years and she has been making waves with are brand across Kogi state, Abuja and Nasarawa state, here in Nigeria.

What inspired your craftsmanship?

Personally, I love fashion. Though as an hijabite lady (always on hijab) I still love fashion. I love to spice up (match-make) my outfit with available accessories . For instance, if I have a handbag, I would also love to match-up with a pair of shoes. I do spend much in buying these materials and accessories until a friend who was a professional contributed and dedicated her time to introduce and teach me the art of been a craftswoman, though it wasn’t for free because some amount of payment was involved.

 

Why shoes and bag? (how did you become interested in this field and industry)

That was what I had interest in and I had a good and experienced tutor. My intention at first was to be making it for myself and possibly mum and siblings but as time goes on....it became part of me and I decided to make it my means of earning.

Walk us through the cut, shape, fit, package, process materials, hand tools or machinery in shoe making and leather works?

Cutting of bags depends on how big or small you want it, in other words, it depends on the specifications. Young girls don't need big bags, they prefer to go with small cute bags which I call “bags for girls”, and bags for ladies needs to be at a moderate or small size whereas married women would prefer the big bags (Mama's bags) because of its durability and ability to contain a lot of useful package and yet not losing its fashion taste. Thus, the measurements in small bags is different from the measurements in big bags. We have two methods of making bags which are:

 The sewing method and

 The gumming method.

 For the sewing method you will need the material itself, and tools such as scissors, tape, sowing machine threads etc.

For the gumming method, you will need materials such as gum, brush for the gum, fiber, linen, 2MM etc.

Base on the specs, the length might be bigger than the width. E.g. L=20 and W=10. It should be noted that the shape can be any, it could be a love square shape.

 

What is the most challenging part of selecting materials for use based on strength, color, texture, size, weight, and other characteristics?

Seriously, there are lots of challenges in selecting materials especially when it comes to color selection but mostly, I love going for quality before colors. I love to make something that will last for my client and customers because that way, they will come back for more and more so recommend my brand to their friends.

Based on colors, my customers love to bring samples of their colors before I start making bags for them. Some of my customers even love to bring their fabrics to make bags (Ankara). When I am making my general stock products for sell, I love to deal with black, gold and gray with outstanding qualities because it goes along, fitting and blending in to all sort of Fabrics and clothing materials.

So, my challenges mostly come from selecting the best qualities for my clients because I have to be able to meet their needs, timing and yet produce quality products.

 

What is the most challenging part of budgeting for you?

The most challenging part of budgeting is finance. And this lockdown has not been of good help financially when it comes to budgeting for new fabrics, marketing and transportation but it has also helped me in searching for new ideas and trying new designs.

ALSO READ: LOCKDOWN

 

How often do you research craft trends and patterns?

Many times, as often as possible. Searching for new patterns and style is key in the shoe and bag industry.  As for me, my customers can't have different colors of bag with the same pattern, I tell you it’s won’t sell. It defeats the essence of fashion. Imagine yourself putting on one particular color of clothes every day, it will get to a point where people will just get bored of seeing you. For ladies out there, you would not want to be in such situation I bet.

 

What is your favorite thing about making your craft?

It brings out my creative self, strength, and helps to discover my niche and audience as well as providing a plethora of networking space. Making shoes and bags with different styles everyday gives me joy as I hate to be repeating same design all the time.

 

Would there be an opportunity to progress further down the line?

Of course, yes!

What are your expectations after the Lockdown?

My expectations are more than me but with God all things are possible. I want to continue with this even as a graduate, I want to be self-dependent. I want people to also learn from me and finally, I want to tell the world that education though important, is not the only means of survival.

How can intending customers reach out to you?

Customers can reach me on my social media handles via:

Facebook: @Queen Mardiyaht H. Aruwa

WhatsApp: 08117396747

Instagram: queenmardiyat