Encomium
Mrs. Teni Aofiyebi, a veteran actress, businesswoman and socialite has ventured into another business. She has just opened a one-stop rental shop at Raufu Williams Crescent, Off Adelabu, Surulere, Lagos, where ultra modern items for parties are hired. The official opening of TKM Essentials was by Lagos first lady, Dame Emmanuella Abimbola Fashola.
ENCOMIUM Weekly was also there and had an exclusive interview with the ageless orator…
Congratulations on the opening of TKM Essentials.
Thank you very much.
How does it feel seeing your dream becoming a reality?
I feel happy.
What would you say informed the establishment of TRM Essentials?
Basically because I love good things. I love beautiful things around me, I am usually keen about thing I’m served with when I attend parties.
So, when I was planning my 60th birthday, I got exceedingly high bills from the event managers. I asked them, what is the matter? I am not buying these things, I am renting them just for a day. They (event managers) said they hired them. You rent them? Are they not yours? They said, no. We rent some. Is that so? I said me too I am going to buy my own. It was like a joke when I said it. Later, I began to think about it very seriously.
I started talking to people and got to realize that it is very viable because we have parties every day. Gone are the days when your birthday falls on a Monday and you waited till Saturday to have it. When your birthday falls on a Monday, these days you have it on Monday.
We have parties virtually every day of the week. And so, there is a market. I thought let me wow these parties by providing wow things that people will appreciate at such parties. Our primary clients are event planners and decorators. People hire and rent things from us.
Have they (event planners) already hiring thing from you?
Oh yes. Today someone has just made a larger order.
What we see here today are certainly more than wow and by this, they must be very expensive. Can you give us conservative estimate of what it costs you to get all these?
To bring them in?
Yes.
Millions, millions.
You rent these materials out to event managers, what assurance do you get from them that they will keep them as good as they are. I mean, they will not damage them?
We charge for replacement. We take a deposit. That is the beauty of it. For anything you hire, you pay a deposit and they are liable to pay for anything they lose. That is our insurance.
How affordable are they for rentage?
People who love good things will not find them expensive. You can only say things are expensive when you don’t have money. When you have money, they are not expensive. But because they are rentals, they are affordable. They are not expensive.
Where did you source these materials, because they are very different from those we have been seeing around?
I am sure I went to this same place other people go to. But emi mu oju lo soja ni (I went to the market with distinct eyes). But it is what I want. It’s what I searched for. It is not that others have not seen them, but because that is not what they want to buy. And that is because they take Nigerians for granted.
They will say, o ti won ju, won oni fe gba (it’s too expensive, they wouldn’t want to rent them).
We have Nigerians who appreciate good things. Some people saw them (materials) and said now this is luxury. People want luxury. Things that are not luxury are there. Bowo ti mo logun mo (your pocket determines your spending).
From where do you buy them?
From China and India.
Don’t you think the location of your shop is too enclosed?
Eni ti a nfe ohun ni ile e oki nji na (the house of someone you are in love with is usually not far) because we are not selling it. Even if we are selling, you can always locate us.
Where do you hope to see TKM few months or one year?
We want to see our things in all the big parties in Lagos. Our chairs and tables will be everywhere. Everything will be everywhere.
Where did you get the name, TKM from?
My name is Teni and I have a set of twins Taiwo and Kehinde and Idowu who is also named Mojola. The T stands for Teni and Taiwo, K, for Kehinde and M for Mojola.
On the other hand, the T stands for Teni, K for Korede, one of the twins, Mayokun, also one of the twins and Mojola Idowu.
– TOLANI ABATTI
