The lady behind OYATO

She calls it absolutely, unequivocally different, we called it Oyato!

Odunayo

The name is Odunayo and I am a clothing designer for my own design company OYATO.

14 years? I see us opening up a couple of boutiques domestically and internationally

Seeing someone wear something you made is all worth it especially when they have a smile from ear to ear to go with it! :)

Never regret anything in life, just keep in mind never to make the same mistake again!

Learning to speak Chinese...it's been a great help so far!

No...but that may change soon! :)

Not at all!!

That there is nothing glamorous about being a designer

*I have a candy stash in my studio

*I wish I were taller

*I want to be in a Broadway play

*Michelle Obama will be a client of mine (by God's grace)

*sing

*dance

*lay down

*kick back with my siblings and cousins

*talk to him

*sew

*sketch

*God

*encouraging words

*my phone

Going out with the ones I love!

Lauryn Hill? Please!

Um....bread. Not good I know! :-/

YES!

Tonight's looking like an order in night

Any parting words?

Deuces!

http://www.oyatoonline.com

http://twitter.com/oyato

http://oyato.blogspot.com/

Istanbul in 5 days

hmmm so i dont even know where to begin.. as i have been whoring myself out to the highest bidder i found myself making a trip to turkey the land of damars, tea, kebabs and original fakes

My trip was initially scheduled for 8 days but i pulled a superman and got out on my 5th day.. maybe one day over tea i can share with yall the story but my friend this is as impulsive as u may ever see me.

5 days 3 hotels countless teas enough cab rides enough second hand smoke n more than enough language barriers.

overall a solid trip and istanbul is def rich in culture and tradition.

Blue Mosque in the European section of istanbul( well not sure anymore but i think its the blue mosque sha)

First hotel. funny thing is pretty much every 4th building was a hotel in this area real old city like. this is the view from the dining area on the terrace. spent 1 night here and then moved to the asian section

this is where all the magic happens. :). ok not so much magic but breakfast. kinda romantic tho( sucker for romance)

second hotel. I just had to take this picture. I have never been to china but i cant imagine it worse than turkey. english seemed to be a major problem. i mean i have traveled just a bit. and i have never felt so lost. atleast in the area we were english was almost extinct
(how much will it cost for the hotel to do spell check?)

the other thing i noticed is everything was smaller here and we walked around a lot. no way can u get fat here. plus my first hotel the bed was decent. the second and the 3rd u might as well put me in prison. i couldnt even turn on the bed without the reality of fallin off the bed.

MASSIVE MALL. i felt lost in here but sadly i walked around and wasnt too impressed with the selection of stores. i guess i am used to the american way.. but def a massive shopping experience and in the words of nobody zara is homo.. i went in thinking i need to get jeans..but their jeans runs small as in in small i even thot about buyin a size up and it still didnt fit. :(

we ate chinese buffet. :( well i pretty much will eat anything but i think panda express will give it a run for its money. and panda express is not too far from wack.. i guess its turkey and its mall food. but the kebabs were on point. i easily ate it every day i was there twice some days.

They had some exhibition there. i wont say much but war sucks and i understand the military is needed but u never really see the other side. they had kids flyin helicopter simulation but i will bet it with u the simulation definitely didnt have a "crash option" might scar the kids for life

window shopping. well i havent been to a pet store before but was interesting to see pets like this on display

no clue whats this is called but i ate it and would have loved it more but i probably had already eaten 2 kebabs before this

no matter where you go u will find a nigerian kitchen

i dream in colors........

they love tea n sugar. the standard servin was 2 cubes of sugar for that small baby cup
saluteee

Thats all folks... now its all in their hands.. so lets keep fingers crossed and keep it OG ( this will make sense later)

Much love n we will always love u more......

moment of weakness

love defined or define love.

Define love

Love in 1463 words will be simplified as love
So indeed I loved…. Like I always dooooo
This time love showed me love
And she came not as a thief in the night
But an assassin in the day
She wagered for my heart
N threatened my life
If I didn’t dedicate my breath to her…….
She’d curse me for 1463 centuries…..
So I opened my sony comp…
Played clair de lune by Debussy.. or was in moonlight sonata by beethoven
And almost started cryin…
But ur nigga was og.. indeed og I tell u

Then I told her…
My dear
If she wanted my heart.. it was hers for the taking
For once when i loved ..
For when I once luvvvvvved…

Deep sigh hmmm

It took all I had
so now I am as empty as 1463 promises.
Cant even claim a servant of amore
More like the apprentice of a con man..
Oh !!!!how I yearned for the moments of my past
Then a loyal servant I was..
N dedicated all in the name of love
Now OG in my ways..
Lost in the paper chase
Lost in las gidi…


She understood…
Saw the sorrows in this mans eyes..
So she began to sing
Songs to the moon by rusulka
I almost quote
‘ yes u once loved.. and yes …..ur heart was broken.. but remember
U lived like there wasn’t a tomorrow…
and when tomorrow came
U praised the gods for giving u yet another chance to love..
to love recklessly
To love unfettered..
To love like never before
yes she broke u in 1463 places…
but u became more whole than u ever were…
so why linger in such sorrow… u were more alive then than u r now
To love is to suffer.. for its and abyss one falls into and the more u struggle the slower u fall
But surely the deeper u fall.. and the more alone u become….
But remember
She brought u into the hands of ur master.. and he breathe life into u.
Said my child.. fight this love not… ur heart desires will one day be granted

I became moved…
Turned into the bitch (lol) I thot I wasn’t
So I cried .. for she knew deep inside
This man was lost..
His soul Trapped in body n his soul begging to fly
begging to preach what his heart desires.
beggin to kiss the sky like kanye
Fly beyond the sky
To the 1463 chamber of the heavens…
Yes tis for the god of love he was once a servant
A loving master..
took him under his arms and showed him the ways of love.
Fuck that I said.. love never got me nothing..The pieces of my heart still lye in that painting I almost drew, the poem i almost wrote..
And she appeared once again… dressed in white robe
Wit ass for days….
I quote..
Vide cor meum (hannibal/dante)
She took my heart in her hands
And took a bite out of it.
Tasted like chicken
And this is where I stop before I ..............



most of u wont get the references i made in this piece... not sure if i should give u the story behind it...

the few that know me.. may understand where its coming from....

ns is still Gangsta... and my mushiness or occasional bitchassness i guaranteee u doesnt affect the quality of work we put out.. ns loves u more

and remember to keep it a solid OG

Fest Africa 2010

in 1463 words

well forgive me for this small rant.. but it isnt than ns is fresh to death tis more important that we remain the truth.. we are independent.. well grounded and aint about the fame.. the money the status the opportunities... we out there for the glory... as long as we are in the fashion industry. we have a role to play and being true to ourselves and what inspires.

ns changing attitudes

now with that said....

lets keep it OG and we will hold the title down for the peoples champion for the next 1463 yrs

no competition

NS Propaganda Collection promo

Zeus for a day

asides making ns the uniform of the new world.. i'd wage war with delta airlines and send all the management staff to hard time in the streets of naija preferably in the delta region where they can be ..... let me stop before i get banned or put on a no fly list..


so why this issue with delta airlines.. well this story is too long and tooo tasking to try and get into it.. will try as much to explain but pls read btw the lines

1. they were the cheapest airfare.. to naija

2. not a big fan of direct flights but for the dollars saved i am game.. what can i say the ijebu in me


3. when other airlines charge 50 bucks for ur allowed checked in luggage up to 70pounds, delta charges a cool 150. their fada lol.. i obviously had to pay for xs


4 flight leaves bmore on time but storm apparently shuts down atl airport where the connecting flight was to originate. so we are chillin i guess flyin in circles for a bit then pilot says we need to go to tennessee to refuel.. i am thinking hmm thats interesting.


5 land in tennessee refueled atl still shot down so we are camped in the plane for about an hour and change. thank god they left the AC on..


6) now this whole time delta havent really done much wrong but their reputation is about to be tested.


7) connecting flight to naija was to take off 11.40pm we landed in atl like 11.30 so there was no way to make the flight now last time my mom missed her flight similar issue.. they put her in a hotel gave her crappy coupons and her flight wasnt till the next day same time.. retarded if u ask me but story.


8)land in atl to my relief flight delayed till 1.30 am .. not bad.. about 2 hours delay in arrival time in naija.


9) this is whenn things starts getting very suspect.


10) we board plane about 1.15. we seated all that ready for the long journey.. then pilot says some SHIT about reserve crew.. it must have not registered in ppls minds cuz we were already to go.. most of us on the planes had already experienced long delays and all by this time...


11) pilot announces again that crew had to be changed cuz of some technicality and reserve crew have been called.. now when i heard crew i was thinking ground crew to direct plane to runway.. noooooooo my ppl dude meant the airplane crew pilot and cabin crew.. what kinda rocket science is this.. they must be pullin a fast one us


12) pilot announces while we r waiting we can leave the plane walk around the airport but stay close so when crew comes we will be good to go..


13) 20 mins into waiting.. dude says we all have to leave the plane.. reserve crew isnt coming till like 4.30 am.. now we are at around 2 am mind u....


14) oh yes they did. they kicked us all out and we had to carry our hand luggage out. and if u know anything about nigerians on planes going home.. u will be lucky to find space to put ur hand luggage period


15) bear in mind the airport is pretty much shut down.. no food just vendin machines...


ACE in the pocket::: a few things delta did to cover their asses.


a) by putting us on the plane and by not officially rescheduling flight they are savin a ton on hotel accomodation


b) by havin us board the plane and then kickin us off they save a potential disaster . new rule u cant have ppl sit on a plane for up to 3 hrs waiting.. so they saved themselves a major lawsuit


16) at airport they keep announcing now they are waiting on just 2 cabin crew.. a few mins later 1 cabin crew comes another.. ait so we complete abi..


17) another announcement now they are waiting on pilots.. hold up didnt they just say they have everyone hmmm i smell bs in the air.. mean while the boardin time is slowly creaping from 4.30 am to 5.30am .. now this is putting us in dangerous territory meaning we will be gettng to naija close to midnight and u all know how that is. plus we are about 6 hrs delayed now so imagine ppl at the airport waitin for ur plane to arrive.


18) we signed a petition being passed around for a class action law suit


19) we get a spokes person to talk to delta staff .. we uniting to have a common weak voice.. cuz u know damn well this can only happen on african flights


20) some guy apparently said motherbleeper.. now this was said after we deplaned and we were pretty much at the gate .. not sure how he said it or if he directed it at anyone ... but a delta employee heard and next thing u know 2 cops were there talking to the guy.. i am thinkin no biggy.. then i dont mind my business and go and listen to what they are saying..


21) the guy gets kicked off the flight .. money refunded and banned from flyin delta.. now not tryin to justify anything but cut dude some slack.. frustration gets the best of most ppl. plus it wasnt on the plane.. whats their problem...


22) we watch them escort dude out of the airport. i am sure they would have processed him and now his name is in the system.. hope his future isnt affected. but one can imagine it is.

23) 6.15 am flight takes off

24) we land about 11.40pm out of the airport in lagos and did OG status/ ghost rider gunned it to home..

25) get home past midnite.. home sweet home

26) delta sucks.. like real bad

27) sucks more my return ticket is with them...

lights camera action

so shirts are out of the oven .. now we need models.. models models..

i look at bassey... i look at bayo they look at me..

i frown at bassey.. i frown at bayo they both look away..


i say hmm well this ball was def dropped.. but how can we pick it up... lets say i was kobe game 7 bayo was artest and bassey was artest's Psychiatrist. ( if u didnt watch the nba finals this joke will def go past u)

anyway in the end they both came thru and they did ok redeemed themselves. so A- for them.. guys lets get out shit together way earlier.... still love u guys tho

anyway so we got a phat location... we got Adriana/ Eric and Courtney the comeback chick.. she was the veteran on the floor.. she has graced our site for i believe 3 collections now.. look forward to the next ones with her.


so pls enjoy the pics

courtney, Adriana and Eric

NOICENESS

count down begins.

Babs the photographer always brings his A game

BABs getting it in and xbox bayo doing some work

sitting in a phantom.. and milo the energetic dog

really like this pic.. somehow we all ended up wearing our Pharaohs

OG STATUS

ok not so OG STATUS but them chicks dig it....

Courtney doing some styling herself noice

baby Milo

Respect my Gangsta

can u guess whats going to happen next

Adriana being a trooper

GQ inspired

speechless..

noice !! no homo (lol another cultural reference u may or may not get)

thats all folks.. hopefully a few days from today we will launch officially online

pls dont call it a come back

well well well.. dont call this a come back cuz i am sure i will probably slack on u in the very near future...

so today is the 3rd of July, back in lagos was gone for close to 2 months.. should have gotten back earlier but such is life.. so the whole trip from beginning to end i only thougth about blogging like 3 times.. the first was at the airport in london on my way their.. second was after we did ns photoshoot and 3rd was airport in atlanta on way back...

so i will try as much to capture the emotions i had for both 2nd and 3rd i actually saved a draft for the london experience so just a little bit of tweaking and we are good to go..


much love always.

Africas Curse

"i mean what can one really say about this"

CNN) -- A government spokesman said Saturday 204 people were killed and at least 190 were injured when an oil tanker flipped over and exploded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a government spokesman said Saturday.
Five of the dead were United Nations peacekeepers, said Mende Omalanga, the country's minister of communications.
The tanker flipped over while attempting to overtake a bus on a national road in South Kivu province, on the country's eastern border, he said.
When oil began to spill from the overturned tanker, local residents attempted to collect the oil. One was smoking a cigarette, causing the tanker to explode, Omalanga said.
He said the number of dead was expected to rise.
Some of the injured were being treated locally in surrounding villages, but most were sent to the nearby town of Uvira, he said.

while in limbo

well let me first of all get a few things of my chest..


when i have money 2 things will happen.. one u cant tell me shit... and 2 i will never fly economy... : ) so i am in Terminal 5 neither here nor there but on my way to there..


so my trip starts off crazy barely packed flight rescheduled twice.. goods getting in late... way too much long stories but anyway i am finally at the airport in lagos. checked in but shortly before that I BB FBB and ask him to check me in online dude gives me 2 seat options.. i needed window seat so i pick the one further away from the back of the plane.

FastForward i walk into the plane and i see an old woman seating by the aisle first thing on my mind is drama.. and she is like 70 plus if not older. i am thinking in all my yrs of traveling i have been fortunate enough not to seat next to anyone that old.. let me preface this by saying nothing against old ppl. but you might as well have a baby next to you cuz somehow somehow your flight will be a lot more interactive and at the point she told me she was goin to go wewe..( piss) i am thinking great....


i said i will beat bayo up when i get to the states.. that boy set me up maybe all the jayz jabs at him this is his own way of getting back ... now the plane is a 3 4 3 plane set up .. 3 seats by the window.. 4 in the center.. so what would have happened was i was at the window the granny to grandkids my age will be in the middle then some dude by the aisle. first thing that happens is the man bounces i am thinking he probably wasnt tryin to have it especially when the granny was sitting on his aisle seat as suppose to her middle seat.


so i am thinking ok. well atleast we have a seat btw us.. then i try reclinig my seat to make sure i can have my OG rest.. the shit didnt go back.. i am thinkin hmmm not sure i can do this oh..i try switchin the screen on and also no go... now i am thinkin there is no way i am going to seat on this flight next to an old woman that probably shouldnt be traveling and the frequent whif of urine like a kid that pees in bed, plus no reclining chair...AINT HAPPENING. so i tell the air hostess.. my seat aint going back.. my tv screen aint working .. how far...

fortunately for me all window seats were taking so i got upgraded to world class plus... sadly as i walked into the cabin i gave up my OG status by having a smirk or maybe a big smile on my face for the first 1463 secs... i am like hmmm this aint bad.. got noice seats... leg rest e.t.c i am thinkin this aint bad.. now its far from the first class or business class but damn it this is a bentley if economy is 504..


anyway so thats pretty much that on that level..

so now let me get to the main reason y i decided to blog this morning the 11th of May 2010.

ns has been my baby /mistress/lover/boss sometimes a friend employer/bully well ns has been a lot of things to me and the few times i think back at where we were. where we are now, n where we are going .. its almost surreal.. what i can say and u can quote me on this asides to the true fact that ns loves u more and without u there wont be NS1463, I DID IT MY WAY AND I CONTINUE TO DO IT OUR WAY.


ns has remained independent free from any constraints pressure or influences.. ns revolves around its customers never customers revolving around ns which in my mind means big, small, rich, broke, ugly, handsome to us we are one big family and we are as excited that the broke college kid is rocking our tees as we are that the mohits crew continue to show us love.




i hope u r getting my point.. so pls the very few times that we have taking time to reflect on where we are today.. pls allow me to pull together a lil something something that says to us we will live forever...



much love..

10.45pm May 7 2010

well i'd rather not state the obvious... been gone for a minute.. just making sure everything outside the matrix is in order u feel me...

so how do i feel right about now.. well for one my baby had her grad today Mba n i wasnt able to make it.. sucked but she OG and she understands that i am only serving her better by keepin the grind active much love babe n congrats.... n u know no more school excuses :)

so asides personal life pls ask me how i am feeling... go ahead... yeap its OG Status/theComeUp/ we about to start kissing the sky..ns is growing ... u know getting our bounce right bobbing n weaving. shitting on the competition.. loving the haters and marryin the lovers.. we are here to stay and let me quote my brother's boyfriend " we r here cuz we earned this shit" and no my brother isnt gay but he gets the joke.. he loves Jay Z.. and he is probably a big groupie and probably has a jay z tattoo somewhere on his body..( n i know my dad reads this... hey dad love u 2 .. was kidding about bayo being a groupie.. but we should check for a jay z tattoo sha.. :)

things are looking up... ns is moving.. ns is loved.. ns is hard.. and most importantly and u can pls take this to the bank NS is the TRUTH.. whichever way u choose to lie about it but we are here only cuz u allow us to be here.. we are the truth only cuz u continue to believe in us.. and u love the movement u love the message and we make dope tees..... and for these we love u more... and will always do..



I keep saying. without u this wont be fun.. infact it will just be like giving a dog the keys to the brand new sports bikes..


dont worry i may make better sense tomorrow. but from the bottom of our heart.. NS LOVES u more...

greater things to come.. and we cant be stopped..

NS propaganda coming soon

hope we dont get into too much trouble...

true story

today has actually been a tryin day for me.. i might be having migranes or maybe just stress headache and to top it off some moron hit my car and had the balls to curse me out..

the grill commissioned by the chef in me.. me woman aint feelin it tho.. i promise u babes will get u a top notch stove in the next 1463 days

the highlight of my day

i am at this restaurant (if u can call it that.) n was asking for a diet drink coke or pepsi., dude is like they have coke, i say is it diet coke he says no but he can put lemon inside...