With every edition of the Lagos Leather Fair, one of our overarching goals is to ensure that the Fair provides a truly holistic experience. In addition to the thrill of discovering new designers, and indulging in the excitement of shopping and runway presentations, Conversations and Workshops will create an opportunity for learning. These sessions equip designers, and other entrepreneurs across the creative industries with new ideas, new approaches, and best practices for navigating the complexities of their unique business environments. This year, there are a dynamic and thrilling series of talks scheduled.   On Saturday, September 7:
  1. Creativity and the Law: How to Protect your Design and your Brand
It’s one thing to put in the work that is required to produce high-quality work that helps you to create a memorable brand; it’s quite another to ensure that you retain ownership of it. In this conversation, Chinyere Okorocha (Partner, Jackson, Etti & Edu) and Annie Oti (Founder, Africa Fashion Law) discuss the importance of copyright and its application.  
  1. Talking Money: Understanding your Numbers to Access Capital
The importance of finance for achieving business goals and expanding one’s platform cannot be underestimated. More important than identifying the most effective potential sources of funding, is the approach — what you need, and how it will get you to where you need to be. Adenike Adeyemi (Executive Director, FATE Foundation) and Olutosin Oni (Principal: Investments and Portfolio Managements, EchoVC Partners) discuss.  
  1. Business Lessons: A Conversation with Mark Stephenson
Mark Stephenson is the Managing Director of Sandstorm Kenya — a Nairobi-based bag design, production and retail company which has been in existence for over 20 years. In this conversation, he discusses his journey, his story and the most critical lessons he’s learnt with Omoyemi Akerele (Convener, Lagos Fashion Week).  
  1. Leveraging Technology to Build a Better Brand
As the 4th Industrial Revolution beckons, understanding the confluence between technology and the work we produce is becoming increasingly critical to enabling brands to differentiate themselves from their contemporaries. Co-founder of Nigeria’s first Industrial Design school, Azuka Ijekeye, will lead this Workshop. On Sunday, September 8:
  1. The Art of Retail: Getting your Product to Market
Gaining brand visibility begins with understanding the consumer and how to reach them; this requires tailoring channel strategy approaches not only to the consumer, but also to the brand image you seek to create. In this conversation, Tara Fela-Durotoye (Founder, House of Tara International) and Diana Opoti (Founder, Designing Africa Collective, Kenya) discuss.  
  1. The Designer and their Brand: The Power of Storytelling
There is no way more beautiful to convey a story than through one’s art. In this discussion, four diverse, leading creatives — Femi Olayebi (Founder, FemiHandbags and convener of the Lagos Leather Fair); Thebe Ikalafeng (Founder and CEO, Brand Leadership Africa); Shem Paronelli (Designer and Creative Director); and Kola Oshalusi (Creative Executive, Insigna Media Production) gather to discuss.  
  1. Leather-Crafting: An Insider’s Guide
This workshop session will lay out the finer details of creating quality leather products, in order to equip budding designers with a foundational understanding of the tools, skills, and best practices for charting a course in the leather manufacturing space. Obiora Ononye (Founder, Obi Leather) leads this workshop. This year’s carefully-created selection of conversations and workshops promises to be enlightening and far too engaging to miss out.