Jumoke Oyeneyin: Gorgeous Touch Of Grace, Glamour

Her introduction is simply modest—Jumoke Oyeneyin, wife, mother and the CEO, Jummhy Exclusive Laces & Fabrics. She is modestly elegant too.

What just beats the imagination is how she has remained humble in the midst of affluence. Born and raised an Ijebu, she is affiliated to Ondo by marriage. Even her husband, Otunba Noah Oyeneyin cannot be ignored among captains of industry. A power dresser and a lover of exotic jewellery, everything about her speaks just one word—panache.

“Style is a totality of who you are—the clothes you wear, your shoes, your home, your office, your shop and more. A fashionable woman is one who loves fashion, someone who loves good clothes, jewellery and everything that has to do with you. Being a stylish person has to do with your wardrobe, home, your presentation. You have to cut across and blend things well. I don’t have to see you all dressed up before I can say you are fashionable,” she said. Also paying compliments to Nigerian women for being one of the most fashionable in the world, Oyeneyin, who just opened her Lekki shop to the public, opined that fashion is taking an upward trend in Nigeria. “It’s a good thing that we haven’t been left behind in the fashion world. Nigerian women are top-notch fashion icons. Even at parties, you get women looking so good and wearing good jewellery and clothes. We are rated high in the style department anywhere in the world,” she said. Quite fashionable too, she recalled her love for dressing up made her what she is today in the fashion world. “I’ve always wanted to dress up,” she began.

“I have always had a flair for looking good and as I grew, I loved to dress up. I love good jewellery even as a very young girl. For fabrics, I have always loved sourcing for fabrics and was doing it for personal use until I realised I had excess fabrics which I decided to dispose of. That pushed me into selling fabrics because what I was buying for myself was getting too much for me. But then, I was doing the business from home. That’s almost 20 years ago.” To think her father was a soldier! “Fortunately for me, I was not a naughty child and I didn’t receive beatings. But our parents were very strict. My mum was a teacher and our father, who is late, was a soldier and he was always getting transfers from one station to the other. I was born and raised in Ijebu Ode. We were a simple family of five. It was a humble beginning but we were in the boarding house. Childhood was fun because we were modest.” A mother of two, she wouldn’t suffer fools with any of her children who are currently studying abroad. To still think she monitors them closely. That’s quintessential Oyeneyin for you; she believes parenting is a life-time job. “My home—husband and kids—is my priority. They are top on my list. You can’t stop being a mum. No. Even with my business, I had to compromise at a point. Then, my kids were just growing up and were in nursery/primary school. I knew I had to do a business that wouldn’t take me far from home. At a time I was into gift items and I had a shop in Iponri, Lagos but I felt it was taking too much of my time and I had to steer clear of it—I needed time for my kids. So, I returned to jewellery and fabrics. Then, friends, family and my husband’s friends came around the house and bought. I’m comfortable doing it but a lot of people wondered why I did that. It worked for me but that doesn’t mean it would work for some other women. I would not tell a career woman to leave her job and face her kids. It has to do with what works for you, just learn how to prioritise everything. “

Admitting her outfit, Jummhy Exclusive Laces & Fabrics, has been a success, she erases being in competition with anyone as long as she is consistent with what she does. She said,”I’ve been in business for almost 20 years but I’m just coming out publicly to have a shop and build my brand. Competition? When you are consistent with what you do and you make sure you source for genuine fabrics, clients would come for your products. Also, there is the need for commitment to the business and a sense of focus. I don’t look at what someone else is doing; I do what is comfortable for me. In this business know what you want and set a target for yourself.” Is there a special way of starting a fabrics business? “Not at all,” came her reply. “To start the business, it’s a step at a time. You need not break a bank but rather you need to grow into it. You need to be focused to grow and move forward. You don’t need to buy all—buy what you can sell and what your clients would buy. If you want the high-end fabrics, why not? You start from somewhere and display what you have. I travel a lot. Sourcing for fabrics is second nature to me and that makes it easy plying my trade. Even when I’m not buying fabrics, I still have to travel.”

A graduate of the Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Oyeneyin who also attended Command Secondary School Ibadan, advises young women on how to succeed in life amidst distractions on social media. She said, “There are so many things involved in the making of any successful woman you see. Don’t se the finished products alone, see what is involved. First, know what you want. But what you want isn’t what you get, so be patient. Be humble, slow down and be reasonable. There’s no short cut to riches.” But many would assume she is talking like this because she is, married to a rich man. Oyeneyin disagreed. Being a successful woman isn’t about having a rich husband. To have a successful marriage, she opined, you must marry your friend. “Just ensure you are married to your friend. My husband has had a previous marriage and things didn’t work well for him. So, he understood what he wanted in a woman. A successful marriage has to do with understanding between the two of you. Agreeing on certain terms, disagreeing on some and creating ways to make it work. That’s arriving at a compromise that would augur well for you and the kids,” she said. A hands-on mum, she would make herself a friend to her kids.

“Raising kids now is challenging—social media, peer pressure etc you have to be there for them and monitor them. I’ve always been a hands-on mum. While they were young, I monitored them—homework, lesson etc. It’s a continuous process and even now that they are having their Masters degrees, we still communicate like friends. “My son is 25. My daughter is 23 I met my husband early but I didn’t get married until I was 24. He has always been my friend and we understand each other very well.” Quite sociable, she would tell you she has succeeded in balancing that aspect of her life and home. “Attending owambes and celebrating with friends, clients and family members is something that Ive been doing and I know where to draw the line. I know when to strike a balance. I know when to leave a party and head for home. It’s all about knowing your priorities. My first priority is my home-front. Everything isn’t money—my kids matter to me. My husband also matters and I need to strike a balance to be a good mum, a good wife, a successful businesswoman who still has time to socialise. I am a very private person and people don’t know much about me but I live each day as it comes.” Her beauty routine?

She revealed: “I take water; I walk two hours every morning. I exfoliate my skin and I eat in moderation but I eat everything.” Her fashion sense is top-notch. You cannot forget Jumoke’s mind-blowing headgear style in those days “Well, I can wear anything as long as it’s comfortable. And it sits well on me. I used to tie my gele in a particular style those days, but these days, make-up artist has mellowed the size of my gele. I still know how to tie my gele anyways,” she said laughing. Her new business situated at Esteek Plaza, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos is what she is having to work on currently. “Really, I want to build a brand name for my business. Jummhy Exclusive Laces & Fabrics. It has to do with quality; I want people seeing less of my face but more of what I do.”