Ladybrille Woman of the Month, Damilola Amolegbe
Known as “Dammie,” Damilola Amolegbe is our Ladybrille Woman of the Month. September 2007, Dammie had an official launch party for Haute Magazine, a quarterly 100 + glossy fashion magazine aimed towards the Nigerian fashionista/fashion forward. In 2008, she decided to broaden her reach by expanding the publication to include all Africans. As of ending of February 2008, she launched a complimentary fashion portal, FashionAfrica.com, for all things related to and about African fashions. She hopes to make her company Dammmie & Pearls Inc., publishers of Haute and FashionAfrica.com, the premier publishing and production company in Africa. When she is not working hard on her publishing aspirations, she freelances for other publications including GIANT and True Love SA. Enjoy our chat and random questions with Dammie conducted via IM.
LADYBRILLE.com: CONGRATULATIONS Ms. Amolegbe on being the Ladybrille Woman of the Month!
Dammie: Thank you so much. [I] am very humbled [Smiles].
LADYBRILLE.com:I have never met you before but have got a chance ot observe you via cyberspace. Tell our audience your age.
Dammie: Hope you’ve gotten nothing but good energy via cyberspace. I am 1011 [laughs].
LADYBRILLE.com: [laughs] [For the non-slang oriented among us] how old is that? Dammie: [laughs] 21. I just watched a movie where a lady said she was 2010, meaning 30… I thought it was brilliant, you know how most ladies get about their age.
LADYBRILLE.com:I know! [laughs]
LADYBRILLE.com: Okay so you are 21 and the CEO and Editor of Haute Magazine [and] now FashionAfrica.com. Tell us a bit about that?
Dammie: FashionAfrica.com [c]ompliments HauTe Magazine. We noticed our readers are very internet and blog savvy, and decided to find a way to cater to them, and give them their HauTe desires.
LADYBRILLE.com:Now you started off with Haute catering exclusively to Nigerian fashionistas. Why the need to transition to a broader audience and FashionAfrica.com, especially since Nigerians are global and have strong spending power, at least as to all things fashionable? Dammie:After launching [Haute]/Fashion Nigeria in 2007, it was apparent, that it wasn’t just Nigerians that came to the launch. Africans and even Black Americans expressed how much they loved the magazine, and why it wasn’t so global. After much thought, I realised the same effort I used in making a magazine just for Nigerians, is the same effort I will put to make a magazine [that includes] other Africans, who also suffer the same lack of publicity in the fashion world.
LADYBRILLE.com:How did Dammie & Pearls INC, [t]he parent company, come about? Dammie: I share a love for magazines and happen to have close friends who have the same passion for magazines & film and we decided to get together and start a publishing & production company that will represent Africa in the best light, globally, and set a standard that will keep us as a top publishing/production company in Africa.
LADYBRILLE.com: Where can our readers find Haute magazine?
Dammie: They can subscribe to the magazine via Haute website, no matter what part of the world they are in, and have it delivered to them. In Nigeria, you could find it at the Nu Metro Stores.
LADYBRILLE.com: So you are selling mostly via the [internet]?
Dammie: Yes!
LADYBRILLE.com: Now [I] have to ask the challenges of shipping an order let’s say to Asia if a reader is there, [especially with a limited quantity ordered by the subscriber?] Dammie: There’s nothing Fed Ex can’t do… We do have an extra $10 fee for international orders, to cover all those expenses. If they can order all the way from Asia, then we must ship it to them…
Random Questions With Dammie!
LADYBRILLE.com: What is a must have for you in your purse?
Dammie:My Kajal [traditional eyeliner]. It defines my eyes very well! LADYBRILLE.com: You are based in New York, who are your favorite New York designers?Dammie: Lola Faturoti and Luca Luca! [Smiles]
LADYBRILLE.com: Are you single?
Dammie: I plead the 5th. [laughs] Just kidding. I am as single as single can get. [smiles]
LADYBRILLE.com:What would be your perfect date for the men looking to date a brilliant woman like yourself?
Dammie: Peace & quiet and a lovely meal. I love food!
LADYBRILLE.com:Alright Dammie before we go, tell our readers what to expect when they visit FashionAfrica.com plus what a typical day is like for you.
Dammie: Hmm, when you visit FashionAfrica.com you should expect to be ready to feel a certain pride as an African, and how beautiful our culture, and the people are. A day in my life… really boring, all I do is write, write, write, and read…but it definitely livens my spirits to see lovely inspirtational things that are African. I love it!
~by Uduak Oduok
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Dami!
She should win an award somewhere someday and should be soon as being the youngest VERY FOCUSED girl out there! (I dont use the word ‘girl; in derogatorily, but to emphasize that Dami is very young indeed for all what she is doing!!) And am proud of her! How many 21 year old females think and do like her?
Keep it Up dear! And, anotehr brill interview from Ladybrille!
Dammie IS FAB, LOVE THE INTERVIEW SHE DESERVES TO BE THE WOMAN OF THE MONTH, SHE IS YOUNG AND INSPIRING. LOVE HAUTE MAG TOO