FASCINO; A Classic Beautifying Empire

Honour Afinjuomo7 July 2022

3 3 3 minutes read

I love looking good and this cannot be done with the touch of entrepreneurs in our society. Today, we have an amazing person on board, her classic products will beautify you. Let’s get to meet her.

Welcome to honournaija_blog, can we meet you?

Thank you for having me. I am MARIAM AMOO, the creative director, FASCINO. I am a free spirited person, who loves to explore new opportunities and create a path. These qualities have made me acquire new skills, attend conferences, seminars and undergo training and retraining programs such as digital and management skills. These has also bagged me certifications from bodies such as Nigerian Institute of Management, Institute of Public Administration of Nigeria, Yali Network, Project Management essentials amongst others.

The desire to ensure healthy living and other sustainable development goals has made me volunteer for several innovations and outreaches. Notable among them are Feeding Without Boundaries, Santa in Ibadan, Teens Banquet, All Nigeria United Nations Students and youths Association (ANUNSA), Plogging Nigeria to name a few.

In a bid to carve a nitch for myself. I created and launched a brand, FASCINO, on first August, 2021. FASCINO is a Nigerian brand that specializes in hand crafted leather and Afrocentric bags such as asooke, adire, Ankara e.t.c. The brand caters for bag needs of all categories of people, male, female, old, young and a host of others. FASCINO not only creates beautiful handcrafted bags, it also runs training programs for individuals who are willing to acquire the skill of bag making.

This is in an attempt to reduce the daily increase of the Nigerian Unemployment rate, increase standard of living and ensure access to heathy living amongst other sustainable development goals. Another extension of the brand known as WEARS. FASCINO specializes in the sales of exquisite wristwatches, Eyewear (glasses and shades) and fabrics for both genders. At FASCINO, every one matters .A budding extension of the brand is FASCINATED BY FASCINO. This entails curating gift packages, boxes to special and loved ones.

Massive What inspired you to start this amazing business?

I would say PASSION. Personally, I love looking good. This made me go into the buying and selling of shoes and bags (imported) as an undergraduate student. However, after youth service, I considered making my own bags rather than selling someone else’s. Hence, the need to gather knowledge and START UP.

Great one. When did you start and for how long?

Unofficially, we started the business of bag making in 2019. However launched the brand FASCINO, first of August, 2021. That would be eleven (11) months ago.

Lovely. What has been the challenges so far as an entrepreneur?

Life itself is full of ups and downs, so challenges is one important business factor, it shapes you. However, major challenges are daily increase in cost of raw materials and cost of living generally.

Can you say your customers has derived maximum satisfaction thus far?

Our motto, YOU ARE THE BRAND, connotes we exist for and by our customers. Customer satisfaction is one of our major goals as a brand. Hence, we strive to give our customers the BEST.

Where do you see your business in the next 10years and what steps do you intend to take towards that vision?

Our long term vision is to be an international brand with proven standards. Having stores in U.S.A, U.K, CANADA and the likes would be a great ease on the brand and also customers in those regions. To actualize this, we are working on partnership and collaboration with other brands.

Exciting. What is/are your advice to young ones that would want to go into your kind of business?

Every business has its pros and cons. Identify why you want to go into the business before delving into it. Ask yourself, Are you PASSIONATE about it, or because people are doing it. This is because, when you face the challenges, it is PASSION that keeps you going.