A woman who used to make jewelry as a hobby in college has turned it into a successful six-figure business.

Passion projects can be a gateway to success, as demonstrated by Dotun Abeshinbioke, the proprietor of Ábiké Studio in New York. According to Insider, what began as a collegiate hobby has blossomed into a six-figure business. Abeshinbioke stated, “Three years ago, I was studying graphic design at the Parsons School of Design, and I started freelancing as a way to build out my portfolio. Initially, I was doing design work for T-shirts and flyers, then I moved on to creating sets to show off my photography.” She then made the transition to small-scale installation work, which was motivated by her traditional Yoruba name, meaning “born to treasure.”



Being on a limited budget, Abeshinbioke searched for inexpensive substitutes for her sets, looking in discount and hardware stores. She credits the help of her community members and social media followers for the shift from passion to profession, as she gained traction when she started posting her work on Instagram and connecting with industry peers there. Furthermore, she would often go live to show her building process. The posts spread, and businesses started to hire Abeshinbioke for jobs, as well as her friends who would refer her to other creatives seeking design for projects such as music videos.



An example of her referral work is when one of her followers referred her to the production studio working with the artist Fabolous. The video shoot was in New York, and they needed a set. Abeshinbioke was given a budget that she split between material and labor costs. This led to her career escalating in 2021 when she joined Creative Collective NYC, a networking platform and production agency for creative freelancers, which enabled her to construct sets for Foot Locker. Other projects she's worked on include the #REELJOLLOF Ghana versus Nigeria basketball game, the Billionaire Boys Club, Pokémon, the New York Yankees, and CCNYC’s 2022 CultureCon event.

To keep up with the demand, Abeshinbioke has since employed two graphic designers, a project manager, and also works with contractors and freelancers on branding and web design projects.

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