Lagos big babe, Ehizogie Ogbebor-Bramoh sits atop a flourishing Interior decorating company, and Hotels called Sayaveth Interiors and Hotels in Lekki, Lagos. She was the rich babe who pulled a big one for her wedding a few months ago in Benin and guests couldn’t forget the superlative moments and all that went down at the stunning wedding.
Ehi surely needs a little introduction on the Island in Lagos because she is very popular. She is even more popular on Instagram due to what she does and her superlative lifestyle. But for those who do not know who she is, Ehi has carved a niche for herself within the Lekki axis having beautified and handled many big celebrities’ homes with her tastefully designed interior decors. The beautiful lady who has all going for her is one of the most popular faces at A.list parties in town. She has a clique of friends who also live big on the Island.
Ehi hails from Edo and she is a warm and natural person when you meet her and this is one of the many things working for her which makes all her friends stay glued to her. She used to be a big fish in the Insurance sector back in the days and was also made the face of her Insurance company years back. Her massive office and showroom are located at Fola Osibo in Lekki. She also has a hotel and presently working on a 2-floor lounge and club which will be completed in earnest. Ehi started her interior business 7 years ago and she has made it big in those years winning juicy contracts. She is an alumnus of Ekpoma University and grew up in Benin. The beautiful mother of 3 gave birth to her 3rd child a few months ago and she is presently enjoying motherhood.
City People Society Editor, TAYO FAJORIN OYEDIJI spent a lovely afternoon with her at her 3-floor showroom in Lekki. For the first time, this stunning beauty granted an exclusive interview where she spoke about her thriving interior décor business, what she went through in her first marriage and why she decided to remarry after 11years. Enjoy:
First, let me congratulate you on the birth of your new baby, how has it been with you?
It has been amazing, it is fantastic being a mum again after 11 years, it is a beautiful journey and I am grateful to God for this precious journey of mine.
Your brand, Sayaveth interiors is one of the biggest interior décor outfits we have out there, how have you been able to build this brand in just a few years?
Well, coupled with the grace of God, it has not been so easy but with a lot of determination, zeal, ideas, we have been able to go this far and much more because we carved a niche for ourselves. What we do is different, not the regular kind of interior designing. There is always a new twist or new touch of designs from us. We do finishing to furnishing. We take it from finishing, the tiles, the ceilings, paintwork, then we furnish. So I think with that, it kind of distinguishes us as a different interior designer
Why did you choose to be an interior designer?
Because I actually started off with furnishing, I was not really doing the core interior designing for a building. I started with finishing, tiles, walls, ceilings, wiring, plumbing and piping but my main hobby from time has been interior designing and I did not just have the capital then to start. So when I got enough money to start then I went full blown into both.
How were you able to source for funds to set up fully?
Yes, I was able to raise funds from finishing buildings that I was doing. With finishing, you don’t need much capital because you are buying the tiles, paints, pop cement and all but with furnishing, you have to have furnitures on ground. you have to travel, ship in a lot of huge products, have a big nice office or showroom. So that was where the funds came from and we start expanding from there.
There must have been something which triggered your passion for interior designing, what was that?
I have always wanted to do this. I like arranging things, putting things together, decorating a place up. I love beautiful setups, though, at a point, I worked at an insurance company and I did it for 4 years, I was at it and excelled at that department because I was winning awards there but I knew that was not what I wanted to do, I actually really wanted to do interior designing so I told myself that I was going to start from finishing, get into the business, raise funds and then go into interior décor fully. I actually started with a company called Padi Riola, we were about 3 of us, doing the finishing, that was our core focus. But one day in Warri I just told myself that , this place that I am, I was the one doing all the work and bringing all the clients so I changed my direction to start mine, because I remember the first job, a royal settee I tried to bring in, I didn’t know I had to air freight it and it scattered and I lost so much money and I said to myself, I won’t be discouraged so. I told them one day, I and my account officer and he said, you know what, you have to start your own because he kind of noticed there were so many withdrawals from the accounts and I am the one doing the work and I am not making withdrawals so he just suggested lets open yours and that was it. So the business is 7 year now.
Where did you start this business?
I started off in Lagos but I was not doing big jobs in Lagos, I got more big jobs from Delta but my first major breakthrough job was in Owerri. The day I made up my mind was in Warri after getting one big job there.
Which job is that job that you feel is the biggest so far?
I think it is the one I am working on right now, we are doing the entire building. There will always be bigger jobs, many of my jobs are always satisfying but I think the big one that I will be proud to even show my children is the one I am handling right now.
Any low moment on the job?
Yes, of course, we always do have low moments and our worst moments were when our clients are not satisfied. I mean there will be times when your idea of total package in terms of the entire furnishing is not the client’s idea. Most times we are lucky. Many times we got 95 percent on any job.
Are people really going for this expensive interior furnishing despite the upturn of economic situations?
People build houses every day, with or without any economic condition, it might just vary but people are so much in the business of building or rebranding their spaces or buildings. When they build, they will have to furnish even when they are not furnishing and they say just come and take the entire job, they will still buy furniture so it is a win-win situation for us. It is either we furnish, we finish or we supply furniture.
There are obviously not many young people who are doing big time interior designing, you are young and big at this job, how do you feel being a young lady that has gone this far?
I feel very happy with this but I actually feel lucky too because at times I always say to people that when God wants to bless you, he will open your eyes and he will allow you know that this is what is for you. You won’t need to be told, you will feel it and you will know. So for me when I knew this is what is good for me, I started it off immediately and it made a way for me. This was not how we started and I thank God where he has brought me.
How has the patronage been so far?
The patronage is amazing and really good because what we sell is high-end luxury goods and I can have 4 or 5 clients in a year and be smiling to the bank.so the patronage is amazing. We just don’t do interior designing, we do finishing, furnishing, and sales of the interior.
Apart from running an interior décor outfit, you are also into Hotels, why did you diversify into the hospitality business?
Diversifying into hotels happened as something I just wanted to do as a one-off because I realized that when my clients come in, they will say they want to stay in somewhere very quiet and I thought about it that why don’t I start something like that, that will not be far away from me because I get to receive clients from Kano, Kaduna and when they want to pay huge money for an item, they have to come to see it, and I will give them our hotel options which is a way of publicizing the business because when they see how well done it is, we don’t need to talk much ,we just get the job.so that was the major reason for our diversification and it has paid off in many ways.
You are also into the photoshoot business which has become an in-thing amongst celebs, can you share your take on this?
People want to look good, people want to be portrayed in a good way by looking nice and also people come to the showroom or the hotel to do photoshoots. It is also another way of making money. It is a trending business and we saw that we have the facilities, so we added it to what we do. We always have a huge patronage from the Hotel. For instance, apart from the photoshoots, we have shot over 50 Nigerian movies in the Hotel and we are still counting. We have had so many offers, in fact, there is actually no 2 days that I will not see the Hotel when I am watching Iroko Tv and it really makes me feel good, as I am talking to you now, filming is going on there.
Can you share with us your background and growing up?
I grew up in a family of a very loving father, a very good man, God bless his soul and my darling mum. I come from a family of 7 that is 4 girls 3 boys. I have an elder brother from my Dad but not my mum’s son, but he is an amazing older brother. We are very close, I have an elder sister, she is in the business too, I grew up in Benin. I went to Lydia Nursery School then Lydia Primary School and Lydia Secondary School for my junior secondary then for my Senior Secondary School, I went to Igbinedion Secondary School, I had to repeat a class because I was just new in the school and needed to start in a class preceding the one I am supposed to be, so I cried because I am like all my mates will be ahead of me class wise but it gave me an advantage because I now had 2 set of friends. I have the friends that are my mates and I have the ones that I made when I had to repeat the class. It was an amazing experience because I was in the boarding. I really felt like I was in a secondary school when I moved to Igbinedion Secondary School. That was when the whole experience of being in the secondary school really started. So from there, I moved to Ekpoma University, then I got married when I was writing my final exams, I had 2 kids, it was not working, it was a very abusive marriage. My son was just 10 months so I moved to Lagos and then 2 months after I got a job to work with Staco Insurance and like they say, the rest is history, so that is where we are now.
Why did you give marriage another shot?
Well, actually I have always been very scared of remarrying. Like my friends will say when they want to get married and I am always like, marriage? Marriage is hell because I have this very bad phobia about marriage and they will be like don’t worry, you will marry again. You know it took me 11 years to marry again so you can tell how scared I was. Why I gave it a second chance was because I fell in love, I fell in love with someone that I love and I have never felt that way before so I think LOVE was the major reason
How has it been so far in the last few months?
Well, it has been amazing.
