Upclose & Personal With Abari Sunshades.

On this edition of "Upclose & Personal", my team and I while exploring the stores in London looking for nice shades to buy found this young and enterprising young Nigerian, turned out he was the brain behind the Abari™ Sunshades. Being a very busy man, we fixed a date for an interview. 

Upclose & Personal.: Nice to have you here, first off, who is Abari?

Abari: Abari is my family name and I adopted it to be my brand name. My full name is Abari Abdulhamid Damilola...27 year old Nigerian from Lagos State.

Upclose & Personal.: Oh, wow, a Lagosian!

Abari: Yes Epetedo (Lagos island)

Upclose & Personal.: For some unknown reason, I thought you were from up North

Abari: We have links with the North...my heritage is from Kebbi

Upclose & Personal.: So my intuition was right, did you grow up in Lagos?

Abari: Lol.... well we're talking about before the name "Lagos" came to existence.

Abari: Yes all my life was in Lagos, only school took me out of Lagos. Secondary school was in Ogun state, University was in Edo state & Masters in the U.K.

Upclose & Personal.: Lovely. So what's your discipline?

Abari: Mechanical engineering first degree, Process Safety and Loss prevention for my masters

Upclose & Personal.: Nice, Now about "Abari™"... How did the idea come?

Abari™ Bamboo UV Shades
Abari: I wanted to buy Sunglasses here in UK and it was costing £100-200..to buy a RayBan and I couldn't afford it. So I had to look for alternatives and found bamboo

Upclose & Personal.: Then you went to your drawing board and came up with something ingenious- the bamboo style. What inspired using bamboo?

Abari: Bamboo because it's lighter and skin friendly, durability is higher than plastic Sunglasses and When you sweat or go swimming it doesn't fall off ur face if it does it won't sink like metal frames. It was cheaper and bamboo is very available

Upclose & Personal.: Really ingenious. So far, what challenges have you faced as regards production?

Abari: Thank you, I must point out that it's not made in Nigeria....the concept and brand is Nigeria. Production wise...I would say the exchange rate has been an issue, Although it's manageable because even though I spend Naira abroad I have been able to convince my partners in the factory and we have a good understanding.

You can order some for your family with their names.
Upclose & Personal.: And for sales, are you concentrating on a particular area or you hope to reach as far & wide as possible?

Abari: Sales on the other hand is moving, Slow but steady. Presently I sell in UK, Nigeria and Qatar, I have also had a couple of orders from US and Switzerland.
One challenge is convincing Nigerians of my price tag... A lot of people have accepted inferior product they see on the street as the real deal and very few know that what they are buying is fake.

Upclose & Personal.: Nigerians are a difficult people to deal with.

Abari™
Abari: The hazard of UV light is every where and if we keep buying fake lens Sunglasses it will backfire and destroy our sights.

Upclose & Personal.: But I believe with the right push and P.R. team, the products would hit home.

Abari: Yes it's just acceptance and education, once people realise the hazards of ultraviolet rays and the risk they are exposed to buy wearing fake Sunglasses with fake lens, maybe then they'll accept.

Upclose & Personal.: I remember rocking my own AbariTM Shades and using that picture to test, it felt like magic.

Abari: Lol! that's the UV test

Upclose & Personal.: Can the lens be used to detect fake currency? Please pardon my naivety here.

Abari: I have not tried it before never even thought about that... Lool!

Upclose & Personal.: Oh okay. AbariTM Shades aside, any plans to go into something else, like clothing?

Abari: Its a brand that I have started...my siblings are working on theirs they are into clothing and baking, so not me, but my sister.
Couples slaying, name inscription...
Upclose & Personal.: Oh, good. Any hobbies?

Abari: Playing football, reading and traveling.

Upclose & Personal.: Football... What role?

Abari: Anyway on the left, But mostly left back 3

Upclose & Personal.: And what football club do you support?

Abari: None I just watch good football, I used to have a soft spot for Arsenal, but no more.

Upclose & Personal.: Lol... Arsenal broke your heart way too many times

Abari: lol... thats the usual
Options of the mixed model (bamboo & plastic) or All bamboo.

Upclose & Personal.: We at Manchester United would gladly welcome you.

Abari: Naaa... I'm done with football

Upclose & Personal.: Lol, but perchance you decide to change your mind, we would welcome you with open arms.

Abari: Lol...when I was young and had the mind maybe but now I hardly watch just check scores "dazzall"

Upclose & Personal.: Okay oo.. No wahala... What motivates you?


Abari: Well God and when I see a problem I look for solutions.... Looking for solutions is what pushes me more.

Upclose & Personal.: That's nice. Do you cook? Can you cook?

Abari: Apart from Efo ...I can cook everything

Upclose & Personal.: I'm pretty sure your female fans have noted that...lol

Abari: Lol

Customize the name as you please...
Upclose & Personal.: What else is on your husband material qualities?

Abari: I might not be your regular prince charming but I've got the personality of one.

Upclose & Personal.: Smooth operator... Do you like music?

Abari: ... depends on my mood but I do naija music

Upclose & Personal.: Any favorite genres? Or you're eclectic?

Abari: Hiphop ...rap with a good chorus.

Upclose & Personal.: Quick one. Hollywood, Nollywood, Bollywood, Ghollywood. Pick one

Abari: Hollywood already I can't predict some of their movies till the end unlike the rest...

Upclose & Personal.: Any word of encouragement/advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Abari: Persistency is incompatible with failure... and always remember that customer is KING treat them as royalty they will remain loyal

Upclose & Personal.: Thank you for your time Mr. Abari.

Abari: Thanks too, Really appreciate the support

Upclose & Personal.: You're welcome, see you at the top Bro.

And there we have it, you've heard from the boss himself. Truth is you don't have to break the bank to get original UV shades that are durable & fashionable. I have gotten mine, I'm rocking them, you should do the needful. Don't let the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays affect your sight, don't buy fake UV lens.

P.S. you may contact Abari to yours via Twitter @Abaritm or email: abaritm@yahoo.com

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