Personality we admire: Be Adorned By Yettie

When you imagine creativity on a level that’s amazing, this lady is just too good. Stumbled on her instagram page sometime last year and I met her in December. She’s so funny, free spirited  and a lovely person. Meet Yetunde Salimon Sarufat, a graduate of Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Yetunde Salimon is the CEO and founder of BeAdorned! Nation. A firm that creates customised handcrafted fashion items which include mostly jewelry and accompanied by African-inspired t-shirts.

Yetunde didn’t learn accessories making from anybody. It was fashion designing/tailoring she learnt during ASUU strike in 2013 and from there, her passion for jewelry making came alive, with the large collection of the pieces of beautiful Ankara materials that she picked from her boss’ shop and couldn’t stand trashing them so ideas of making jewelry pieces with them was born. It all started from there. Also, with some assistance from the internet.

Asides that, creating things is just an inborn passion and talent which she has been showcasing since childhood. She creates and make lots of incredible things when she was young. Like making slippers out of empty cartons of newly bought electronics items that were meant to be disposed of, making doll houses, paper crafts and the likes.

Her inspirations are Africa as a whole, the ethnicity and tribalism of Africa, the African culture, African fashion and African jewelry. Also the internet because she get lots of inspirations there which she recreate or revamp by infusing her own effect.

In the next 5 years, although man proposes and God disposes, she really see herself as the CEO of an expanded BeAdorned! firm which would be creating three major fashion items that humans can’t do without- clothes, shoes and of course, jewelry :mrgreen:. All bespoke and handcrafted with special twists and which will suit buyers’ preferences.

Her opinion about Africans is that they are immensely blessed and roots embracers. The rate at which the switch to western culture trends has altered the African norms and values is alarming. The  western culture is good on its own but it has been greatly abused and caused lots of harm because of the extremity that people have attached to it, she says.

Her favorite material to work with is fabric. She just love fabrics. Stretchy ones and African prints.

Her parents are the least icons in her designing journey, she’s sure her dad has never made a thing before and her mum always says that she can never draw a circle well without erasing!

Her other hobbies are reading (especially African novels), writing stories, drawing, taking pictures, sightseeing, listening to Nigerian/African music etc.

Accessories she can’t do without are her necklaces and bracelets. Something must be hung on her neck and around her wrist.

Follow her on Instagram @beadorned_

Thank you! 🙂