oréva started because I was the customer first. I wore waist beads before I ever made them. Then a strand of mine broke, and I went looking for someone to make me a new one. Everyone I found was far from me in Lagos: up North, out East, over in Ibadan. I wanted someone close. Someone who would size it to me, not to a chart.
So I made one for myself. Then I made another. And somewhere in there it stopped being about fixing my own broken strand and became something I could make for other women too. Sized to you. Strung by hand. One strand at a time.
That is still how every oréva piece is made. The name is drawn from Orevaoghene, the will of God. The é is mine. When you wear it, it becomes yours too.