Exploring Life & Business with Tobi Ashiru of Poché Design Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tobi Ashiru. 

Hi Tobi, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and lived there for 9 years before my family moved to South Africa for my dad’s job. I spent just over 12 years in Durban, South Africa through high school and undergrad where I received my first degree in architecture. I moved to Los Angeles for graduate school at the University of Southern California. While at USC I met my best friend and now business partner, Morgan Sumner, while we were both getting our masters of architecture degree. After graduation, I worked in architecture until I was laid off from my office job on valentine’s day of 2020. As the pandemic began my business partner and I decided to launch our business out into the world. Poché Design Studio is a creative space where we create visually impactful designs for purpose-driven clients and create lifestyle products that enhance your everyday rituals and routines. Since we launched our client services in 2020, we have been consistently booked and busy from word-of-mouth marketing and I have been blessed to be able to work for myself full-time for over a year now. Our company as grown from Morgan and I to a team of 7 talented black women moving the mission forward. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Lol, it definitely has not been but every challenge has been us stronger. Being a business owner I’m constantly thinking, it never ends, there always seems to be something! From bootstrapping to figuring out how to scale and not just maintain is a constant struggle. Having to constantly work against the imposter syndrome to learning to be a good business owner on the fly. Finding a balance between leading and creating the work, I just wanted to design and now I have 5 different positions I have to fill just by being a business owner. 

We’ve been impressed with Poché Design Studio, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Poché Design Studio is a creative space built by two black women, working at the intersection of architecture and design. Myself and Morgan saw the severe underrepresentation of black faces in the design space and decided to step in and take up space confidently. The word Poché is defined as the black parts of an architectural floor plan or section, this ties in directly with the ethos of the studio. Poché Design exists to occupy and amplify the black space in design through the work and initiatives we create. Our studio creates dope visually impactful designs that make a difference. 

We specialize in brand, experiential, graphic, product, and web design. On our services side, we help mission-driven brands change the world with graphics that stand out and command attention from donors to audiences. On our e-commerce side, we create intentional lifestyle products that elevate your daily rituals and routines. Simply, we create dope designs for dope people. 

It was never our intention to start a business, however, we could not allow our frustration to simply be that. As educated young women who have had to take proactive steps to get anywhere in life, we hope to model for other young women of color that they can, and should, fill the gap and take up space. 

In just over 2 years of existing we have scaled from a 2-person freelance duo to a 7-person design firm and generated over six- figures in revenue, and we are only just beginning. Poché Design Studio was destined, from our chance meeting to being two of the very few black faces in our graduate architecture program. We have gone from best friends to business partners, to non-blood sisters, our relationship is based in love, respect, and trust – it all comes through in our work and this is the secret to our sauce. 

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
So many people from my best friend Morgan Sumner who decided to take this journey into business ownership with me. To my personal cheerleader and boyfriend Willie Thomas, who referred me for graphic design jobs when I first got started and constantly shows up for me. To friends like Joshua Foster, who not only introduced us to our business mentor Bolanle Williams-Olley but also says our names in rooms with impact. Our amazing business mentor Bolanle Williams-Olley who is constantly teaching and showing us how to build Boldly. And also, our Poché team, the Pochéttes, I couldn’t ask for a better team to be building this company with. And my family who have always been there to pick me up when things fell apart, I literally wouldn’t be here without them. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bypoche.com
• Instagram: @o_tobi_a / @by_poche