Today we’d like to introduce you to Onochie and Emeka Chukwurah.
Emeka, Onochie – please share your story with us.
Onochie is the founder & owner of Rhythms of The Village. His store is located in Altadena CA. Rhythms of The Village is a cultural boutique. Many of the products in the Village are handmade and authentic African goods. We import from many countries in Africa. Whether it is music, dance, storytelling, or art, Onochie Chukwurah brings his own perspective to culture and his dynamic enthusiasm to his students. Coming to the United States from his native country Nigeria in 1969 playing bass with Fela Kuti in a touring musical troupe, Onochie has since become a prominent figure in Southern California’s arts community. In 1979, Onochie formed a dance theater company that performed extensively in schools, community workshops and major venues throughout California and other parts of the United States. This production shared his culture through the art of storytelling, drama, songs, dance, drumming and arts and crafts.
Onochie resides with his wife, Marilyn, and son in Pasadena, California. He is still teaching and sharing the culture. Recently, Onochie’s son Emeka, has been taking the reigns of the family business. Emeka grew up watching his parents use their talents and skills to advance as entrepreneurs. As a child Emeka remembers his parents always teaching arts & crafts and hosting cultural workshops. He uses African textiles to sew both traditional and modern designs.
Over the years Emeka has been fine tuning his craft and enhancing the business. In the village, we have workshops and host events, book signings, cultural festival, drum circles. Our next festival is Sunday, August 20th 2017 10am-5pm.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Before we opened the shop, my father and mother opened up a charter high school funded by Bill and Melinda Gates. However, we met our match and we were not able to compete with the political machine Pasadena Unified School District had in place. The district opposed our every move and aided in the demise of the school. After the school, closed we went home and got back into our cultural crafts. Once inventory was made, we began to travel to different flea markets and events. We had days we did well and days we didn’t even break even. The key thing for us was perseverance. My father kept us all motivated. He would tell my mother and I to keep producing and making our products. This is what lead to our inventory out growing the house. There were many days that were discouraging; however, we love what we do so that made it easier to stay consistent and committed.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Rhythms of the Village – what should we know?
Rhythms of the Village is a family ran cultural boutique. Our goal is to promote cultural, visual and performing arts. Many of our products are made in house. We specialize in making custom unique threads for our customers. We also have hands on workshops in sewing, dancing, drumming, and African language. We are still traveling doing shows sharing the culture and our many gifts. We are proud to empower and enlighten our community with high quality cultural products. We inspire our customers with our authenticity. We are known for our creativity and ability to bring others artistic vision to life.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Authenticity and willingness to share our cultural gifts. It is an honor to share our African heritage with the community. We go out of our way to make sure our customers are satisfied. Many of our clothing products are tailor made to fit our customers individual style and preference.
Pricing:
- Drumming Workshops is $12.00 a session
- Dance Workshops is $10.00 a session
- Yoruba Language Workshop is $12.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 2279 N. Lake 91001 Altadena, CA.
- Website: rotvp.com
- Phone: 626 616 2561
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: 1rhythmsofthevillage
- Facebook: facebook.com/ROTVP
- Yelp: Rhythms of the Village
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
