Townspeople, we were fortunate to interview Theresa Olloh, Founder of Hamalie - an e-commerce platform that celebrates contemporary African makers and brands. During our conversation, we got a glimpse of Theresa as an individual, explored the overarching vision of Hamalie as a brand, and concluded with a call to define and strengthen our community.
Particularly noteworthy is Theresa's remarkable ability to be honest and persistent as she allows us to meet her where she is on this journey.
What's an ideal day in your future life, Theresa?
Ideally, I would like to start my day at 7am. Get my adorable kids ready for school and have breakfast with them and my lovely husband. We love a wholesome family start. Once I drop them off, I come back home, hit the gym (in my house) with my PT then head to the Hamalie Head Office for the day's work.
Then, I catch up with my incredible team, attend meetings, develop amazing campaigns for our partner brands, connect with clients to discuss their needs, and possibly by then, work on our branded products. By afternoon, I head over to pick up my minis from school, possibly stop by their dad's office for a surprise visit, get some ice cream, and head home.
Thankfully, by the time we're back home, our chef would have made dinner and set the table in our garden because we're hosting a few friends. Meanwhile, my mum and aunt stop by (from down the street) to spend some time with their grandkids. Mr hubs comes home from work and gets to relax for some time before our guests begin to arrive with their kids too. We all catch up on life, school, work, family, and everything in between. The house is full of love, warmth, laughter and God's peace. There isn't any need for a "vacation" because somehow, I've managed to create a life I don't need a break from.
What inspired you to start Hamalie?
I moved to the UK for uni in 2012 and throughout my studies, I found that part of me was still interested in what was going on back home in Nigeria. Now during my time in uni, I would get my mum or friends to bring things over from brands I shopped while there but no longer had easy access to. This struggle inspired Hamalie. The need to discover cool African brands, conveniently shop a variety of them and have them delivered without DHL and customs coming for my neck. Paying for DHL and customs per brand was a headache and from a survey I ran before starting the brand, I knew I wasn't alone.
Another issue was not being able to find these African brands in major stores like Selfridges. This was another reason to push for a platform like this. I don't like asking for permission and I don’t think it’s cool to beg people to support you because of the colour of your skin. What I do believe is the ability to create a great platform, that works well, delivers great service and gives people the opportunity to conveniently buy into it because they love what it offers.. so, I created Hamalie to spotlight these brands.
The third thing was representation. A lot of people think of African fashion as Ankara (wax print) but so many more textiles and fabrics are handwoven by local artisans in different countries… I think it’s important to note that there isn't just one type of African consumer. I love Ankara, “don’t beat me yet” and I have a tonne but more African designers are creating unique pieces that I’m open to discovering and sharing.
There is a lot of intentionality that goes behind your vision for Hamalie. What impact do you want your business to have?
Without trying to sound too deep the fact is that life is short. I think it’s important to be intentional about things you work on but also have fun along the way. Enjoy the journey of creating.
Looking back at my experience I started out very ambitious, wanting to solve every world problem through Hamalie. That was a crazy starting point and I hit a major roadblock. I have a friend who would say, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”. I was forced to see the reality of how a lot of things worked in the world and this made me re-prioritize focusing on meaningful impact but staying true to why I started Hamalie in the first place.
The hope is that through Hamalie and the incredible brands we work with, our buyers enjoy the value of the product, the businesses keep growing and doing well and in turn we get to positively impact the lives of the artisans working on creating these products i.e. create more jobs and improve the standard of living.
We discovered the significant influence of Theresa’s friends, family, and faith. They not only motivated her to apply for the entrepreneurship visa - to give the idea of Hamalie a chance - but encouraged her participation in competitive programmes i.e. The Design Museum’s Entrepreneurship Program. In the following section, Theresa gets real with us by sharing the highs and lows of her entrepreneurial journey.
How has your journey been through entrepreneurship?
This journey has had its ups and downs. At the moment, I’m on a mini-break to pace myself. I'm grateful to our returning customers for telling their friends about us. Considering I'm on a break, it’s been nice seeing the sales flow in regardless. They’re the real MVPs. They make the journey worth it.
What are misconceptions about entrepreneurship?
Ouu, that it’s all easy breezy, stunning campaigns and nice pictures. First of all, there is a lot of paperwork involved in running a business. This had me shook starting out not gonna lie. Also, I’d say the idea of an overnight success but I guess that comes from social media. Sometimes you can become very successful off one repost from the right person sharing your workout which isn’t always guaranteed. Shoutout to social media for making it look so easy but I’ve learnt that it’s a marathon.
For context, the Idea to launch TTC.LDN was sparked at the Hamalie hangout in 2022. It was a beautiful pop-up type of event where people got to mingle, purchase beautiful items and eat good food. In this section, we further explore what community means to Theresa.
How would you describe the supporters and community of Hamalie?
Thank you for sharing this with me. Had no idea our event inspired The Town Crier! That’s nice to hear. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have a support system of family, friends and customers.
To be honest, I would describe myself as an introvert so when I started out, I created Hamalie to have an identity independent of me. But along the way especially in this line of business, I’ve realised people are sometimes interested in the person/personality behind it. I have found this a bit daunting considering that involves being slightly more open online. It’s honestly taking me a while but I’m working on it. I’m extremely thankful to and for my returning customers who connect with what I’m building. This year, I’m being more intentional about creating a community that really vibes with the brand on and offline and shows up to events.
What does TTC LDN mean to you?
I may be introverted but I’m social. I love a good event, I love connecting with people and having good conversations and that’s why I love TTC. Thankful that you guys take the time to curate a wide range of categories of events worth attending. If I'm ever looking for something to look forward to, I know TTC will come through. Shoutout to you guys and thank you for all that you do and for engaging with me :)
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Interview by: Melody Adebisi
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