Princess Adebowale Odutola is a top celebrity lady who is stylish in her dressing. She is also a Lagos businesswoman who is doing well in her luxury business. She is the Cool Creative Brand Director of TPS Luxury Ltd.
The Potters Signature Limited (TPS LUXURY) came into existence on the 14th of July, 2013 with a vision to take Ethnic look to a more sophisticated height. “We are the Connoisseur of Elegance,” she says “In the light of this, we’ve been able to utilise locally sourced fabrics for all our products.
“It will interest our clients to know that our products are Bespoke, Handmade and well-crafted with attention to details, they range from Handbags, Tote Bags, Shoulder bags, duffle bags, Cross body Bags, Clothes, Hobo Bags, Work bags, laptop bags, Back packs, wallets, luggage’s on wheels, slippers for male & female, shoes mixed with leather & soft furnishings with raw materials locally sourced from Mushin Market and a production capacity of 400 Luxury products annually”
“In order to celebrate the Nigerian made products, our designs have been named after Nigerian women who have excelled in private/public practice.”
“Our staff strength cuts across African Countries and it consists of eight committed workers”
“April 17th 2017 topped the icing on the cake, when we won The Best Emerging fashion brand at the ACE Awards (Africa’s Creative Exhibition and Awards) organised by Bellafricana, an initiative with focus on made in Nigeria (African) Non-Oil products development”.
Shortly afterwards, on the 19th November, 2017 she was awarded the President’s Recognition Award by the Fashion Designer Association (FADAN) in recognition of her exemplary service to the association.
On the 22nd of October, 2018 she was awarded the Lead Grand Award for Excellence in fashion industry within a short period of time.
Princess Adebowale Odutola is a graduate of Political Science and Law. She has always been in private practice, hence the incorporation of Goldie Inv Coy Ltd and specialised in Real Estate.
A proactive and calculative lady, she envisaged the eventual downturn in the Real Estate market and diversified into manufacturing of Bespoke Hand crafted Products which was how TPS LUXURY came into existence in 2014, with a vision to celebrate Made in Nigeria Products all over the globe.
She has participated at various international Exhibitions, her products though locally made are internationally accepted.
A woman with so much passion for Excellence, Elegance and Perfection, she loves travelling, sketching and enjoys cooking when she’s not working.
A philanthropist per excellence, she was awarded the prestigious PAUL HARRIS FELLOW BY ROTARY INTERNATIONAL.
A few weeks back, she spoke to City People Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE about her TPS Luxury business.
Can you please tell me why you went into the luxury business?
Initially, I was into real estate and sometime in 2013 when the recession was really bad, the real estate industry nose dived, and I began to ask God for direction. What else should I venture into. Something that would make me happy, something that I have passion for, and then I got a present of a bag from somebody, and it turned my story all over again. That was how I went into bag making. Initially when you have a new business, you have your grey areas.
There were a lot of challenges. Is it with the style? Is it with the finishing? Is it with the staff? Over time I tackled all that. Within 12 months I was able to get my foot corretly and boom. Its almost going beyond me now.
Tell us the range of things you do?
Okay. We do handbags. And they are bespoke handbags, tailored to International Standards, we have different lines. We have 25 designs. And they have all been named after Nigeria women. So, per design, we have 15 per season. So, seasonally we have 15 of every bag. It will be one design, in 15 colours. Once that runs out, we would start our new season collection.
Apart from the bags, are there other things you also do?
Yes, apart from the bags, it is still around the same thing. We do luggages, bespoke luggages, for those who do not like the regular black luggages. We do ours with fabrics. And they are on rollers.
Then, we now do lifestyle. We do furnitures. We do soft furnishings. We do real furniture made out of real leather, sourced in Nigeria, from Kano. And of course with Ankara, which is our local fabrics.
What has kept you going all these years?
I think its the passion I have for it. It has kept me going. A lot of people have really encouraged me and those who have really encouraged me are the high society women who buy a lot of expensive bags, but have a lot of passion for made-in-Nigeria products.
They have been a source of inspiration for us.
How did you choose a name for this label?
At the time I was looking out for a name for this label, I was studying Jeremiah 17 it was talking of the portal. The Potter in the Bible is Jesus Christ who makes things with his hands. So, I said ok, let the portal sign on this. So it became the Potter Signature. That was in 2014, when we established it but because it sounded like an artwork thing, we eventually bought out the initials which is TPS, and are registered it as TPS Luxury.
