• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2025 ABC News
  • Family

This mom couldn’t find traditional African-print clothing for her baby, so she started a company making her own

1:37
Mom couldn’t find African-print clothing for her baby, so she made her own
Leyla Ismen
Shannon McLellan
ByShannon McLellan
February 17, 2022, 9:06 AM

When Temidayo Adedokun became pregnant with her first child, like many new moms, she said she was excited to start shopping for baby clothes.

Adedokun, 31, who was born in Nigeria and then moved to Canada at 4, said she wanted to find baby clothes with traditional African prints that she grew up wearing. But when she searched, she said she found nothing.

Related Articles

MORE: Meet the trailblazing founder behind Ami Colé, a brand rooted in celebrating Black beauty

"I was super surprised that I couldn't find affordably priced African aesthetic products that were designed from an authentic place," Adedokun said. "And I really thought that was an important thing that a lot of people would want for their children as well."

Ade + Ayo founder Temidayo Adedokun and her 2-year-old son.
Leyla Ismen

Adedokun said she then decided to make her own version of the clothes she was searching for her future son.

"At first, it was okay, let's see what I can do to kind of create it for myself," Adedokun said. "For my son, I created these onesies that had animal prints on them and put them on a website to see what happened. And there was enough feedback there that I thought, 'Okay, I think people do care about this.'''

Adedokun said she figured she would make the baby clothes a side hustle to her full-time position as an attorney at an Oakland law firm.

Then at the onset of the pandemic. she received a call telling her she had been placed on furlough at the law firm, she said.

That's when she said she decided to start her own company.

Editor’s Picks

How Black families can achieve financial freedom

  • Feb 04, 2022

How to support Black-owned businesses and restaurants through apps

  • Feb 08, 2022

10 Black-owned skin care brands to try during Black History Month and beyond

  • Feb 01, 2022

"I had to evaluate: What, am I going to try and go search for another job that I don't have a lot of passion for? Or am I going to take this as a chance to risk everything and kind of bet on myself," Adedokun said. "I choose the latter."

Ade + Ayo's mission is to make authentic African-print clothing for children.
Leyla Ismen

And so she launched her company Ade + Ayo. The first part of the name, Ade, comes from her last name and means "crown" in the Yoruba language. The second part, Ayo, comes from her first name and means "joy" in Yoruba -- a theme in her family with all of her siblings also having "ayo" in their names as well.

"I really wanted to touch on the theme of pride," Adedokun said. "One of my goals with the brand is to help children grow up with pride with their heritage ... and that children are the pride and joy of their parents' lives."

Since the company was founded in 2020, Adedokun said she has gotten feedback from parents saying its allowed them to show their children their heritage, but also -- for parents who aren't of African descent -- they say the clothes have helped them teach their children about a new culture, she said.

Related Articles

MORE: Black History Month: How stores are celebrating, honoring and giving back

"It's really allowing the parents to start having conversations about being open to different things, and about learning," Adedokun said. "On my product listings on the website, I go into quite a bit of detail about prints' names, and the inspiration for the design, what region it comes from, and so people can kind of take that and start having conversations with their kids about what they're wearing."

Founder Temidayo Adedokun says she hopes her clothes inspire conversation and learning about African culture.
Kylee Ann Maughan

Adedokun said that she sees the original inspiration for the company when her son wears the Nigerian-themed clothing.

"We also are very proud people like it's important to us to be proud of what we do, and the work that we do, and the ways that we affect lives around us," Adedokun said. "Knowing that I was going to be raising a Black boy in America, I thought it was important for him to have something you could come back to and know that he was worthy ... that he could be proud of."

Editor’s Picks

How Black families can achieve financial freedom

  • Feb 04, 2022

How to support Black-owned businesses and restaurants through apps

  • Feb 08, 2022

10 Black-owned skin care brands to try during Black History Month and beyond

  • Feb 01, 2022

Up Next in Family—

Mom shocked to welcome 4th child on same day as her 3 older kids

July 17, 2025

What to know about A$AP Rocky and Rihanna and their family

July 14, 2025

What to know about camp safety: Key questions for parents after Texas flooding

July 11, 2025

Mom welcomes triplets after 10 years of thinking she couldn't have any more kids

July 10, 2025

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2025 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2025 ABC News