So I have decided to blog, I get involved in a lot of fun projects that people often ask me about, and I thought that the occasional blog post would be a great way to give you an insight into what goes on behind the scenes to see the various projects I get to work on, and to keep you updated on the exciting things happening at Oh My Honey and Louise O’Mahony Headquarters! For those of you that only know me as Louise O’Mahony, I also sell lovely 50′s inspired dresses here. And for those that only know me as Oh My Honey, I also design and make bespoke bridal wear, burlesque costume and wearable art, which you can see examples of on this very site!

So is it ironic that my first blog post on my beautiful shiny new portfolio website is a post that tells you I am going to be awol for a while?

I work super hard at what I do, clocking in 90 hours most weeks and having about 1 day off a month. I have a couple of great seamstresses in Brighton that lighten some of the sewing load for me,  but I sew, design, fabric shop, research, network, post, email, and run every aspect of Oh My Honey and Louise O’Mahony myself. AND I LOVE IT!! However, we all need a break every now and then, and the travel bug has truly bitten me once again, and I am craving some good old fashioned adventures! So I am going off volunteering for 3 months in Venezuela.

I will be spending a lot of my time on the Caribbean coast (my ideal place to be in January!) doing some construction work, and teaching afterschool clubs at some local schools – sleeping in a hammock outdoors (with the creepy crawlies, eeek!) I will then be heading inland to work on a coffee plantation in the jungle focusing on reforestation and then onto Guácharo Cave National Park. After this I will be spending some time on a tiny island off the cost, documenting the effects humans are having on the amazing coral reefs around the island.

For the final part of my trip and the part I am dreading/looking forward to the most is a two week trek up to the top of the highest Tepui Mountain in Venezuela.

Here are some images of said mountain – yikes.

You might think you recognise this amazing table top mountain. Angel falls, the tallest waterfall in the world falls from one of these incredible rock formations that are thought to be the oldest on the earth – they form part of the pre-Cambrian Guiana Shield, the remains of when the South American continent was still attached to Africa. A third of all plants found here are found nowhere else on the planet. Mount Roraima also inspired author Arthur Conan Doyle to write his novel The Lost World. And I have a sneaky suspicion that they may have also inspired the creator of Pixars ‘Up’

Picture: saltypopcorn.com

So I hate insects (especially the dangerous kind!) and sleeping outdoors, and most of all walking. I am a girl who loves her home comforts and I am quite happy to sit here everyday sewing away and working and going on on facebook/twitter – but I am REALLY up for taking myself totally out of my comfort zone and just going for it!

A few years ago I did some volunteering in Ecuador, and I loved it – got stuck right in, see..

So it will be great! I am nervous, slightly scared, excited, but starting to really get my head around the whole thing and really looking forward to it!

How is this going to effect my customers?

So it is all very well to hear I am going on an adventure, jolly good for me and all that. But if you are reading this, it is likely it is because you are a follower of Oh My Honey/Louise O’Mahony, a current customer, potential customer, somebody I have/will be working with, or an industry professional, and want to know how me taking 3 months off and not being very contactable is going to effect any work that you want me to do for you.

January and February are VERY slow months for the retail industry. As a small independent business, they are actually rather painful, demoralising and boring. It is difficult to make money during this time, because nobody has any money to spend! Also my dresses are mostly for Spring, Summer, holidays, weddings and parties – all of which are very rare in the first 3 months of the year. So I have chosen the quietest time of year to go away, hoping for minimal disruption.

I have contacted all of my customers that have confirmed orders with me for 2012, to let them know what my plans are and to let them know that their orders will not be affected. If you think I should have contacted you and I have not, then please email me.

I will be taking orders for Christmas up until December 16th, giving time for me to make and post all Christmas and New Years Eve dresses, then I will be taking my very last orders on December 22nd.

Oh My Honey will still be online while I am away, and I will have any pre-made dresses left after Christmas still for sale on the site, there will be somebody based here that will be sending out any orders placed while I am away. I will back making and designing lot more dresses from March 20th.

I will mostly be in remote areas, but there is the possibility that I will be able to use the internet at the weekends, so if you email me, I should reply… eventually. Please be patent.

Well I think that is it! If anyone has any questions, please email me at louise@ohmyhoney.co.uk and I will get back to you asap (while I still can!)