Young and In Charge: Sophie Alozie

Sharing the stories of young people doing what they love has to be one of the greatest things I have done and with time I have grown to love it more and more. Today we bring you the story of a young lady who over time, has evolved from a tomboy that would not be caught dead in a dress into a beautiful young lady that now makes a living out of making these same dresses. Did I add that she is also an engineer and a 3D designer.

Tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Sophie Alozie, I am from Imo state, love being busy but also can’t do without my lay-in weekends. Ex-cheerleader (Go Kingston Knights) and a sports lover (love to play not always to watch), I am a Civil Engineer, 3D designer, Fashion Designer and Dress Maker. 

What was growing up like?

I must say growing up was fun; my early childhood was in Jos before we moved to Abuja. I had the most awesome parents and even with their busy schedule they always had family time in their schedule. My mum had exceptional culinary skills so my siblings and I were always in the kitchen trying to re-create her masterpieces (unsuccessfully I must say). My elder siblings were always in boarding school so I spent most of my growing up time with my immediate senior brother, everyone called us twins because we were like two peas in a pod, we did everything together from playing basket ball to power rangers (I was the pink ranger I guess that was a sign). I was a tom-boy growing up (hard to believe when you see me now) so I never wore the dresses and skirts my mum bought for me, I thought to myself how could I possibly play football in a dress??? With all that said I loved my childhood I did and had it all.

Tell us a little about your educational background?

My early years are a long list of schools which I wouldn’t bore you with but my junior secondary started in Model Secondary School, Abuja and transferred to Nigerian Turkish International College Abuja where I started and ended my senior secondary school education. I earned my degree in Civil Engineering at Kingston University, London.

You are a civil engineer, 3D designer and a fashion designer. Can u tell us about these?

·        Well Civil Engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with buildings and roads like I always put it ‘a civil engineer makes the dreams of an architect and his client come true’ (well if it is possible).

·       A 3d designer turns 2d drawings into 3d drawings which are more realistic and help clients to visualize aesthetically what their building will look like when it is finished by the use of software’s such as Revit Architecture, 3D Max e.t.c.

·       Fashion designer creates and sets trends in the clothing industry through ideas, inspiration or sheer talent on paper mostly and a Dress maker brings all these ideas to life through tailoring materials that fit.

You studied Civil engineering; 3D designing is sort of related to this. So how did your fashion-designer part come about?

Well when you think about it fashion and engineering are also fairly related because in fashion you have to deal with your imagination, proportions, shapes and sizes while in dress making you have a great deal to do with calculations, so technically I think they are all not so far apart. Fashion and

 dress making I would say came about by chance. I always came up with the weirdest fashion & hairstyles in college but never have thought of pursuing it as a career not to talk of dress making. As i grew older my fashion ideas evolved with me and when I got back to Nigeria in 2009 I wanted to make my own designs in African print because I love them and I am big on bold colours. It was a bit disappointing I must say because I could not find a reasonably priced or reliable tailor/dress maker that could replicate my thoughts or drawings with materials and then frustration set in (LOL). That was when I said to my mom I want to learn how to make my own clothes and designs myself and my mum, (Bless her) had the same thoughts and ideas as I did. The rest was history J

What is your typical day like?

Every day brings its own ups and downs so no day is typical. Am up early usually and since I have always been my mum’s personal stylist I have to get her ready for work and out the door before am settled to do anything else (unless am on a serious deadline then she shows me her outfit and I say yes or no way). I start out with drawings so you can say that takes priority over my fashion and dress making at the moment. Cutting and sewing usually starts later in the day when I am satisfied with my progress on the drawing. You find me on the floor in my room or on the dining table calculating and cutting. I have a crazy habit of wanting to finish whatever I start no matter how long it takes, food is at very low priority and I know that is bad but I tend to forget when I am so engrossed in my work, but when I get down to eating I EAT.  Some days I do not sleep at all and that would be because I am trying to meet a deadline and I had several hiccups along the way which is normal (software and machinery have minds of their own and decide to malfunction sometimes) and some days after my morning ritual I sleep till noon (HAHA). I have a lot to juggle, so discipline is a must (which I am still mastering) and I believe working for yourself can be the best gift you can give yourself in this life if you can.

In these three spheres, what are  your best works ever?

This is a trick question right? (LOL).

·       In civil engineering I would say it’s the first building I designed with my colleagues at university of a sports centre, I worked my butt off but in the end I was over the moon with the final product.

·       In 3d design it was the first project I was given to work on my own I struggled a little with it had to consult a couple of other professionals (no one is an island) but in the end my client was so happy and satisfied with my work and to me there is no greater feeling.

In Fashion well it was my first designs I made of the top of my head I wasn’t an artist so I never drew them on paper but thanks to personal continual development I learnt how to draw out my designs (Thank God). In dress making it was the first 6-piece skirt i made it wasn’t perfect but just the fact that i made something i could wear out and didn’t have thread sticking out everywhere or a messed up zipper was liberating.

What are the difficulties involved in these three fields?

In civil engineering, the lack of available internships and training for recent graduates, it is very difficult to acquire and it is terribly needed so our graduates both home and away can grow professionally.

Again training in 3d design is in short supply but there aren’t a lot of difficulties just keep up with the evolving softwares, never stop learning you can never know it all. You stop learning you fall off the wagon, you do not always need to wait for someone to teach you, go online and google a tutorial or two on the software you need instead of facebook or twitter (HEHE don’t mind me am a culprit).

Lastly, in fashion and dress making there are so many difficulties that can cripple your dream; it is a business that needs a tough skin. Going out to source materials, working over-time to meet deadlines, finding reliable help/man power, your machine acting up on that very day you need to be done with a customer’s outfit, customers not giving you the reaction you need to say to yourself ‘yes she/he loves it, I can breathe now’. I can write a  ten page list. It can get a little frustrating and mind draining but if you love what you do, then all those difficulties become challenges that you overcome to improve yourself in the end.

How do you juggle being an engineer, a 3D designer and a fashion designer?

You make it sound like so much; ok maybe it is and believe it or not that is not the end of the list (LOL). I give time to all my dreams maybe not equally but as needed. They are my dreams if I don’t make them happen who is going to do it for me? Yes I don’t do every little thing by myself and that is something you learn after killing yourself trying to do it all because you think no one else can do it the way you will, no one is an island and yes there are people out there just as good as you or even better you just had the idea or means first (CHEERS TO YOU, BUT HUNT THEM DOWN). At the end of the day it is the genuine joy and gratitude on the customer, family or friend's face because of my service that makes it all worth it.

Which of them do you find most challenging?

I would say fashion because it is constantly changing (trends and seasons); there are so many challenges and sometimes everything goes wrong at the same time. I am still an evolving designer/dress maker constantly making mistakes but learning from them, improving myself in anyway I can.

Which of the three is topmost on your list of priorities? Which do you love most?

It is hard to say they are all my topmost priorities just at different times. I have love for all of them, I know I sound weird but they all bring a different kind of joy to my life so it’s hard to pick one.

Have you ever felt like giving up on any?

Yes and am sure it’s obvious which that is (Fashion), but I love it so much. For me it is like that one guy you will miss forever if you do not take that giant leap.

Who or what inspires you?

My lovely parents who have proven to me that with hard work and knowing your onions (emphasis on the onions) the sky is just the beginning. The happiness and smiles on my clients face is also a big inspiration to me, makes me want to do more and be better at what I do.

Asides work, what do you do for fun?

Playing video games with my brothers whenever I have the chance has to be number one on the list, hanging out with friends, watching random movies at the cinema e.t.c.

Youths out there would be curious to know your age. Would you tell?
LOL well I am not one to hide my age or weight so here it is I am.................25yrs old (wow I am old).

Advice to youths that wish to follow in your footsteps.

I can give you a whole speech about me but I think you already have enough of that. I am still figuring alot of things as I go along, I have made so many mistakes that I can write a best-seller on them but they all turned out to be huge blessings in disguise. So no don’t follow in my footsteps set your own trend just be inspired to do something new and different. By all means work hard, be lazy when you have achieved your goal but that is where the real work starts. I am not sure you’ll have time to be lazy, live your dreams but also be smart and realistic with your dreams. Don’t say I want to own a farm and say ‘no I can’t get the machines so that dream is not feasible yet’ DUDE START WITH A HOE. Start dreaming early, don’t wait till you think you are ready or you’ll never be ready and you will never get yesterday again. Stop second guessing yourself there is only one you and no one can do you better than you, like I said if you know your onions you cannot go wrong so please take that giant leap and PRAY LIKE HELL THAT THERE IS A SPRING BED WAITING FOR YOU. Be good (no scratch that), be brilliant in whatever field you choose to go into make a believer out of everyone, be humble and not arrogant no one likes a wise ass. God is always there for you, all you have to do is ask, without him I would not be here today, I give thanks to whom its due (THANK YOU LORD).

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

If only I could see the future hmmmm.....well I hope and pray that five years from now I’ll be ten times more brilliant at what I do than what I am today. I would love to have my own construction firm and a fashion line (GOD help me). I have so many more dreams but for now I’ll stick to these you can’t do it all and you can only spread yourself so far.

To the part you have all been waiting for, PICTURES!!!

Sophie can be reached on:

Twitter- https://twitter.com/Pinky_ray

Email- sophiealozie@yahoo.com

Facebook- Sophie Raymond