Olusola Onakanmi of Ahtsykel
Meet Olusola Onakanmi one of Sheffield's very creative women! Ahtsykel, pronounced hat cycle /hæt/ /ˈsaɪ kəl/, provides products and services and has evolved since conception.
The journey to provide a service and product that is desirable as well as ethical has involved a lot of research and time.
The planning of the business started in June 2008 after my Fashion course at Hillsborough College but I had the idea long before then. This was done alongside a part time job, which I knew I was going to have to give up to fully concentrate on acquiring all the skills required to make the business a success. This was a decision that although tough to make had to be done. The benefits of this decision cannot be over emphasised.
The idea to refurbish head-dresses started when I decided to attend a friend's wedding and was determined to spend very little.
I had the perfect outfit, which got me thinking of accessories to complement. I had never made a hat before but I was confident that I could accessorise successfully as I had a strong creative flair and at the time made jewellery.
I got a few trimmings, which included a piece of fabric, and some ribbon and I chose one of my tired looking sinamay (an open weave natural fibre) hats. The trimmed hat meant I received a few complements at the wedding and it was exciting to hear some say they would like to have a hat made for them.
This got me thinking about the viability of the idea and led me to enter it into a competition, The Environment Category of the British Female Innovators and Inventors Network (BFIIN) Award, which I was nominated for. This was a prestigious event held at the Department of Trade & Industry in London and finished off with an Awards Dinner Ceremony at the Café Royal in London.
I did not win my category but I got a lot out of the event, this included reassurances that it was a very good idea. At the ceremony, I met a lady who invited me to give a talk on TV about my work. This strengthened the decision to provide it to a wider audience but as I had very limited business skills I knew I still had a lot of work to do so I went on business skills training and became a "serial networker". I found networking very rewarding, as I was able to promote the idea as well as get feedback in a non-threatening way. In addition, I went on a millinery course to give me subject-specific skills and techniques as though my fashion course helped with the fundamentals of design it did not cover millinery skills and techniques.
Today, Ahtsykel has started trading; providing tailor-made head-dresses including Bridal head-dresses, Hat refurbishment - breathing new life to old and worn hats, Hat dressing and redesign including embellishing and Design consultation.
Its creative training services are designed to client's brief so as to meet expected outcomes. It involves using creativity to engage different audiences where they are encouraged to be more creative by learning how to make their own head-dresses.
The creative training services include head-dress making workshops encouraging individuals and groups to be more creative by learning to make their own head-dress. To join a workshop or have a session tailor-made for you, whether you're going to the races, weddings, themed parties, contact Olusola by email oonakanmi75@hotmail.com or ring on 07775753300 at Bank Street Arts, 32-40 Bank Street Sheffield S1 2DS.