One friend here invited me one morning to go over to someone's h
ouse. She said they were having kind of a bazaar there and people were selling "stuff." "What kind of stuff?" I asked. "Oh, just a variety of stuff." She then explained to me that the Yoruba people who are from this area in Nigeria are traders and she said that when people move here, they tend to acquire this tendency to buy and sell. The people selling at this home sale were expatriates from a variety of countries. They were selling jewelry or baked goods that they made and interesting or practical things that they buy in their home countries and bring to sell to other expatriates. There was everything from useful stuff from IKEA to beautiful beaded purses from Israel. I managed to escape that buying opportunity with purse intact, but I haven't done the same at other times. It seems like every gathering I've been to -- from a PTA meeting at the school (I went for the speaker), to American Women's Club meeting -- has people selling stuff. One guy that has lightened my purse of naira is Ola. He comes from Ibadan, which is an area of Nigeria known fo
r its fabric, about a 3 hours journey. He makes and sells batik-dyed tablecloths, which are quite nice. He comes regularly to my friend's house, and she invites anyone interested to come and see what Ola has to sell. This friend has quite a tablecloth collection -- enough for a lifetime, but she always sees something different to add to it. If you have a tablecloth of a particular color or size in mind, Ola will take your order and make it for you and when he returns in a week or two, he'll bring it to you. There are floral and geometric prints and African kind of picture prints and he even makes a fun "Happy Birthday" tablecloth and you can purchase a personalized "Happy Birthday" banner with the child's name to hang on the wall or door. So anyway, I've got the beginnings of a great tablecloth collection and if you would like to begin your own batik tablecloth collection, email me privately and I'll take your order -- I won't even charge a commission. Though if I'm really going to get into the spirit of a Yoruba trader, I may have to rethink that....
ouse. She said they were having kind of a bazaar there and people were selling "stuff." "What kind of stuff?" I asked. "Oh, just a variety of stuff." She then explained to me that the Yoruba people who are from this area in Nigeria are traders and she said that when people move here, they tend to acquire this tendency to buy and sell. The people selling at this home sale were expatriates from a variety of countries. They were selling jewelry or baked goods that they made and interesting or practical things that they buy in their home countries and bring to sell to other expatriates. There was everything from useful stuff from IKEA to beautiful beaded purses from Israel. I managed to escape that buying opportunity with purse intact, but I haven't done the same at other times. It seems like every gathering I've been to -- from a PTA meeting at the school (I went for the speaker), to American Women's Club meeting -- has people selling stuff. One guy that has lightened my purse of naira is Ola. He comes from Ibadan, which is an area of Nigeria known fo
r its fabric, about a 3 hours journey. He makes and sells batik-dyed tablecloths, which are quite nice. He comes regularly to my friend's house, and she invites anyone interested to come and see what Ola has to sell. This friend has quite a tablecloth collection -- enough for a lifetime, but she always sees something different to add to it. If you have a tablecloth of a particular color or size in mind, Ola will take your order and make it for you and when he returns in a week or two, he'll bring it to you. There are floral and geometric prints and African kind of picture prints and he even makes a fun "Happy Birthday" tablecloth and you can purchase a personalized "Happy Birthday" banner with the child's name to hang on the wall or door. So anyway, I've got the beginnings of a great tablecloth collection and if you would like to begin your own batik tablecloth collection, email me privately and I'll take your order -- I won't even charge a commission. Though if I'm really going to get into the spirit of a Yoruba trader, I may have to rethink that....
2 comments:
hi carolee, I agree that there are a lot of good things in Lagos. :) I have an aunt who works there also. I've been looking for batiks, how much would those cost in africa? thanks!
Jingling, there is a great range of prices depending on the quality of the work. Tablecloths can be from about the equivalent of $15 and up, depending on the quality of work and size of fabric. Just reading this post again after so long reminds me that Ola has passed away, even though he was quite young. He looked very sickly when I saw him last, shortly before I moved away. I learned not long after that that he had untreated diabetes and died from it. Health care is NOT one of the good things in Lagos!
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