Naomi Ediru - Marketing Entrepreneur

In Episode three of the Inclusive Arts Podcast UK, Elaine Foster-Gandey & Cassie Beckley interview Naomi Ediru, a conscientious & dynamic intrapreneur with over 5 years of marketing experience in the non-profit organisation management industry and Retail sector and a participant on the Hope project.

Naomi recommends “Papa ou’ T’es” by Stromae

[00:00:00] My name is Elaine Foster-Gandey. And in 2016, I enrolled on a master's at the university of Brighton studying inclusive arts. This course helped underpin my work as an arts practitioner coming from a long line of makers and having a career in the fashion industry for over three decades, working as a fashion stylist editor.

PR and setting up designer sales UK that ran for three decades. I was always interested in supporting young people, especially women, whether it was promoting marginalized fashion designers or setting up the real people catwalk show, where we gave voice to people of size, age, ethnicity, gender, and physical ability.

My work has always been about bringing visibility to individuals and groups who are not seen. What I want this podcast to do is to shine a light on projects and individuals who inspire with their work. I hope you enjoy them. And please do leave us a comment at the [00:01:00] end as this helps others to find us.

So, hello, welcome to the inclusive arts podcast and I'm Elaine foster Gandhi and I'm Cassie from Sunday Brun on, based on radio. Hi Cassie, and worked together on Cassie's Sunday Brun show. So, uh, it's really great to be here with Cassie. We're here with Naomi. Naomi is a conscientious and dynamic entrepreneur.

Can't wait to find out more about that with over five years of marketing experience in the nonprofit organization management industry and retail sector, and came on the hope project as a participant and a team member. How you doing Naomi? I'm good. Thank you. That was a. That was a nice intro. I feel I'm feeling special.

So thank you for that. Do you want, tell us a bit about your work? Okay. Well, I'm just pretty much a simple lady that's currently living in Mastone. I originally am Nigerian born and raised in south [00:02:00] London. My family and I moved to Maidstone around four years. Just to enjoy some more peace and greenery.

And during that period of me moving from London to Mastone, I was actually going through a, a phase of, I'd say, self development and introspection. So, um, I took some time away to just. Personally develop myself. And I realized like away from all of the labels that people have put on me away from all of my insecurities, I'm actually really good at connecting and liaising with people.

And, um, just bringing awareness to things because I love, you know, creating content. I love being that person that's out there. I love being resourceful. So on that note, I love. To do a lot of volunteering with non-profit organizations, even small businesses and a lot of organizations that I strongly believe in, or like I'm really like interested in like what they do and what their passion is.

What I would love to do is just basically shine a light them and, um, tell people that I know, tell [00:03:00] people that I know that would benefit from them, their resources on whatever they, they, they're serving to people that, look, this is what people are doing. I think this would benefit you. I think you should connect with these people and that's how.

Basically started in my marketing career. So I've been doing that for over five years now. And I have a lot of experience in regards to digital marketing, social media, you know, it is the new thing. It is the thing that's current right now. So yes, I'm, I'd say I'm pretty prevalent on social media. I wanna learn more, but my main premise, the main thing that I do is basically bring awareness and shine, a light on organizations.

I believe, and I, I deem as awesome. Wonderful. That's really nice talking about social media and stuff. How, how are you, um, making sure you don't get lost in it because there's so much isn't there. Oh, Cassie . Oh, Cassie. Yeah. I've, I've gone past the phase of being lost in it. Like now I'm actually going for a phase of, I want piece.

So what I've done, I can tell you a tactic that I've done. I haven't actually got TikTok. I'm actually the [00:04:00] type of person that should quotation marks havet TikTok. But I said, no, cause I would lost in the internet. So I think discipline myself on that note, I mainly tried to focus on LinkedIn and Instagram due to like me just loving pictures.

Um, and I feel like LinkedIn is just. It seems a bit more reserved you don't need to put too much on, on that app. So I feel like those are the, the few things that I do keeps it kind of professional linked in as well. Doesn't it? That's right. There's a certain amount you can just try and be like down with the kids in TikTok and stuff.

Like you don't know how long that's gonna be around. honestly, honestly, I, I really wanna, um, improve my professionalism, maintain professionalism, cause the type of persona and character that I have, it can also be misconstrued. Serious, but I, that's what I try my hardest to like market myself and focus on things that I feel like are relevant.

I E LinkedIn I don't wanna do too much. I was just gonna say, because [00:05:00] Naomi came on the hope project, you know, I, I got a sense of you, you were talking about all your kind of social media and stuff, and. Naomi wrote a blog for us on the hope project, and also did Instagram takeovers for the hope project when we went to popular works, which was really great to have your, that was fun.

Cassie, wasn't there. Tell us about it. What, what did you get from it? Oh my gosh. So I, I really, really loved that day, but more importantly, when I, when I was working alongside Elaine, I loved the fact that you gave autonomy for me to like literally be in my element to do what I'm great. And be able to portray it.

So, yeah. Um, we basically, we did our project and there was an awesome exhibition. In east London, if I'm correct. So we went there and I basically, I, some friends documented the day on social media did the right hashtags, just basically walked everyone through the day of what we're doing, how everyone's feeling, the atmosphere got a lot of shots.[00:06:00]

We interviewed a few people that attended and just basically had a good time. I just wanted to document the day and really show like the whole ethos of that project. And it was really, it was awesome. We'll obviously delve into it a bit more, but yeah, great day, great day. It was such good fun. And also because Naomi, not only, so you came on as a participant and you then became part of the team, you know, you were employed in the project and also you became a performer as well.

It would be interesting to hear from you Naomi with all those different hats on, I suppose, in a way how it was. I feel like the whole premise of the hope project. Yeah. Really gave me the chance to show all of my creative aspects from doing the actual art, doing the Zomi. So yes, I'm, I'm quite the creative.

So the whole, the whole hope project. I love the fact that I was able to just immerse myself and literal. Just express myself in [00:07:00] every single way from creating videos from, um, assisting on actually making the iconic dress from the techniques of getting the colors from the plant from actually going out from actually having conversations with the people that were helping out.

On the dress making and just helping out in the projects in general, just connecting with different people from different walks of life. Like I felt like I was genuinely in my element and I'm so glad that Elaine saw that this is something that is a great way to connect people, but not only did you see that this would be a, a great way to connect people, but, and also a great way for people to, to show like what they're great.

And I felt like this was an opportunity for me to do so. And as much as like there's so much, you know, so much things going on on the internet, so many jobs or like internships, or like just volunteering that one can do, but I hope project name is significant in itself. So like, I just definitely had to be a [00:08:00] part of it.

Like when you hear the word, hope, it brings you hope. And I wanna be a part of a movement that brings hope to people. So it wasn't a brainer for me to be honest. Being part of the hope project. It was. It sounds like Elaine's like really fortunate to have found you. Like, you're like a formidable asset. I can picture you like really putting it all out there and getting a good response as well.

Yes. You, you seem like one of those people who can make those connections with people, you were saying people who have similar interests, that kind of thing. Mm. Did you get a good response from your social mediaing or on absolutely. Absolutely Cassie. And like, even your understanding of like, What I do right now is literally articulated well.

Like that is what I do. I, I love connecting with like anyone and everyone, and that allows me to be somewhat polarizing. So the hope projects, of course, people are gonna see it on my page. Like I love taking photos. I love creating content, but I also love [00:09:00] doing it with a purpose. And cause I was doing something purposeful, which is what I feel like my brand and my niche is online.

People were really interested. People were given love hearts. People were, the response was great. I, um, connected with so online as well. It was really good light on Elaine.

It's just good to bring out the words. Good things. Bring out the word of good things. Yeah. Like just if there's anything good people need to hear about it. It's not every day that there has to be bad negativity or like crazy random stories that are going on online. Like let there be something that. Is substantial that lots of substance.

And I'm, I'm just so happy to be able to share that on my social media and part, I think particularly important at, at the time it was going on with the COVID and, and everybody being isolated and everything. Social media is a real, a really good tool for people to stay in contact the amount of people who were on zoom every week [00:10:00] on that YouTube pop quiz.

My God. . Yeah. It's so lovely to hear you talk. The project Naomi, so lovely to hear you, your personality came through without a doubt. And, and we did this amazing performance and you were part of that, you know, and you cause of your big personality, you made people feel really comfortable. Yeah, it was, it was great.

It was a great performance. So I was just thinking about the takeaways from the project in terms of what you are doing now, you know, mm-hmm , was there anything that kind of is woven into your life now? Uh, what you're doing. Yes, yes, yes. Actually, I feel like that project, especially the performance. Now I know we haven't really spoken much about the performance, but I feel like the performance is actually.

One of the key things that I've actually stayed with me from the product, because as I've previously explained, I'm such a creative and I would love to express myself in so many ways and performing has actually been one of them, but I [00:11:00] felt during a period of me trying to do self development, I need to get myself in order before I start doing antics, like performances, I need to get myself, you know, correct.

Have my life settled before I start trying to entertain people. But this performance wasn't an wasn't. It wasn't an entertainment piece. It was significant. It was symbolic. It was, it was powerful. And, um, it was very abstract. We all came out in a single file. We had masks that we each individually created with our perspective of what hope is.

And of course art is art. Like everything's subjective, like on my mosque, I. Words of hope. I did cute little eyelashes to make my mask look pretty, to give my touch did eye,

if you

wouldn't necessarily say that figuratively, like it meant like the Mo of [00:12:00] hope. Like it's just something that you put on, but it's definitely something. Regardless of like your life situation or whatever you're going through. This is something that you can always show, like you can have hope, like there is hope and regardless of everyone's internal turmoils and situations, like, I feel like the Mo signified the fact that there were five to six different people, different walks of life, but we all had a mask of hope.

I, I loved. Now, taking that performance away, it made me more confident to know, like, do you know what, when it comes to performances, I can do it. When it comes to being a part of something, I could do it. My voice matters. My perspective matters. My creativity matters and I should be confident and bold to express it.

So I have, I feel, I feel like this is the first time I've actually explained this to Elaine. Cause this is [00:13:00] like, Yeah, this is a really, really in depth part of me thinking about the project, but in honesty, that performance really gave me a boost to know that like, I can do anything. I don't need to be shy.

I mean, it's, it's one thing being human, everyone gets shy, but when you have your mindset, you can do it. So thank you for giving me the chance delay actually. Wow. It's lovely to hear you. It's lovely to hear you articulate all of that. Naomi. It's just, uh, absolutely amazing and made up funny. What we wanna ask you, someone that you could recommend to our listeners on the inclusive arts podcast, an artist who's inspired you or someone you would like to recommend to our listeners.

Oh, do you know what one artist came to my mind, but I know I'm gonna invite myself when I come off this cool. You Elaine, I'm gonna bite myself. Gonna be like, oh, I shoulda said someone else, but the person that's come to my mind right now. He's actually a French artist [00:14:00] and his name is S T R O M a E. So I traveled to Paris for the first time, like years ago, and I heard this French artist and he was singing in French.

I did not understand what all of the French. What it meant. I went on Google, downloaded the lyrics as well, and the song was so beautiful and the video was very, very, somewhat abstract. But, um, I love him because of the song UTA now, Papa UTA, and French means dad, where are you? And I actually genuinely didn't even know that was the name of the song.

I, my mom is a single mother. She was a strong, independent woman that raised me and, um, no shade to my father, but my mom has been my work. So when I translated the lyrics of that song, the song was basically saying, dad, where are you, dad? Where are you? I counted a thousand times and you did not come. And my heart just literally bled.

From [00:15:00] it because I'm there dancing along to a French song on holiday. Like this song is groovy. This song is awesome. But then when I translated the lyrics, it, it meant so much more to me. So. I would love to recommend STR and the song I would love everyone to start with is Papa U T U. You know how French people spell it?

O U O U and then O U and then T apostrophe E S. Yes. It's lovely. How that, that sort of transcended language for you. Like you liked it even before you knew what it was about. Maybe it just spoke to you on that level. Yep. It definitely did. And I would definitely recommend him. Thank you so much, Naomi, for coming on this podcast.

Um, this is a whole new series and I'm just really honored to have you and to hear your, your journey and just to enthusiasm. So great. Lovely to meet you

too, Cassy. Lovely to meet you as well. Um, kind of wish I've been involved earlier now. [00:16:00] not, don't worry. More things will come with elaine's brain.