Omolola
Owogbele Shonola; a publisher, blogger, fashionista, wife, and mum amongst
others. Fondly called Lolarshon, which stands for her luxury brand that
promotes West African cultures, fashion and style by showcasing its positive
values. Through the Lalarshon Fashion Magazine, she speaks against the erroneous
belief that Nigeria, Africa is all about fraud. But that we’ve got brains and
beauty.
Lolarshon
who also provides consultancy services for fashion brands, in terms of their construction,
setting and others in this interview talks about her sojourn in Ghana, Lolarshon
fashion Magazine, upcoming event amongst others.
What
have you been up to lately?
I just relocated back again from Ghana back to Nigeria, and
right now I have started working on my magazine back to back, and more
consistent than we have ever been. We just had Yvonne Jegede on the cover of
the last edition, which is a sold out. And for the upcoming November/December
edition, we have Ninalowo Bolanle on the cover, and Mama Ajasco on the Big and
Fabulous, we have a whole lots of other people.
Also, right now I am working on a fashion show, to bring the
magazine back online and also to put it on a YouTube channel. All of these will
be happening on December 4th, 2017. So that’s all we are working on
and you can order your food now online.
With the YouTube channel, we want to create a platform where
we bring different designers and people from all areas of fashion to meet. It’s
going to be very controversial because we won’t be on the same page with them.
We will be on the side of the viewers and they will be talking from their own
angle. It’s a platform that will be very engaging, where viewers can
participate by writing, coming into the studio to record with us and all that.
I realized that fashion itself is very controversial because what works for A might
not work for B. and what you think is fashionable is not fashionable to other
people. So that’s what we want to tackle.
Having
stayed in Ghana for some time before relocating back to Nigeria, what were you
involved in there?
I was running a restaurant and was still doing my fashion
magazine there. Though it wasn’t as consistent as it is coming back home.
What
was your experience in Ghana like?
Ghana is slow, no place like home. Ghana is very slow, I
realized that Ghana is good, but Nigeria is fast forward already. It’s a sweet
bitter experience because I got to meet new people, I got to realized that
there are other cultures in fashion. Their own fashion views is totally
different from ours just like Abidjan. Also I was able to discover myself,
discover exactly what I needed to do with the fashion magazine. So Ghana for me
was good, sweet, bitter experience. Though I wanted things to be fast, but it
was like nobody was in a hurry.
Looking
at your stay in Ghana comparing it to Nigeria, how would you describe both
countries?
Ghana is the most expensive African country to live in.
Nigeria is cheap compared to Ghana despite all the challenges we are faced
with. The population in Nigeria is huge, when you produce you tend to make more
profit. You can actually save living in Nigeria compared to Ghana.
What is
the concept behind Lolarshon Magazine?
It’s a fashion magazine which spotlights fashion, culture
and arts and people, that is published every two months.
What
has your experience being working on the Lolarshon Magazine?
The experience so far is that I realized that the more you
publish, the more you discover yourself and what to do more and improve. For me
every edition has being a better version of the previous edition. It’s more
like I learn everyday what people want, not forgetting that it’s a growing
industry. You can’t sleep, you have to be on top of your game, because you have
to be fast forward, most people are already in 2018.
As a
mother, wife, fashionista and businesswoman, how do you cope with the family
runs?
I have three kids and I’m married, I have been able to
differentiate Omolola the wife and mother from Lolarshon, the publisher,
blogger and the likes. I have tried to create a ‘me time’ for me. And I don’t
put my family out there, whatever happens in my home stays there. Like someone
said that social media is a market where you come to sell stuffs. So it’s not
nice to go to the market and start saying that my husband said this or that.
And again the fact that I work for myself gives me the time and the room to say
this is when I have to be at home, this is when I have to work and the good thing
is one can even work from home. I have good team and everybody is doing what
they have to do as at when due.
What
role is your husband playing in this?
They say that behind every successful man there is a woman,
but for me I’ll say that behind every successful woman, there’s a good man. My
husband has being the brain behind Lolarshon. He has pushed me to be a better
person, he has supported me. Days I’m not around, he’s been the one with the
kids despite his busy schedule. And my husband has been everything. Without God
and him I don’t really know what I would have done. I have been married for 8
years, if I was married to someone else, it would have been a different song
right now. I’m married to my best friend and brother.
Did you
close down the restaurant in Ghana?
No, the restaurant in Ghana is still functioning because my
younger sister is there and she has a beauty place close to the restaurant, so
it’s easy for her to still monitor what I do. Here, I cook for families,
because I don’t have a restaurant. I get calls to cater for people, we prepare
food for parties and then we sell to the host. The least we cater for is two
people, fashion is really what I want to do, but food is a part of me that I
can’t disconnect, even when I am not selling, I’m cooking half the time. So I
can as well just make money from it.
Who is
Omolola?
Omolola is a creative person which switches, this minute I’m
very sweet and the next minute, I’m just by myself. I like to be me, I make
friends a lot and I believe in what so ever happens in Rome stays in Rome. And
I don’t take whatsoever happens on the road home with me. I’m a home person so
I find time to relax at home with the kids.
What
should we look forward to in the forthcoming fashion show?
It’s going to be awesome and interesting. No protocols,
human mannequins, comedies, music, the unveiling of the You Tube channel, the
blog and there will be a lot of give away. There will also be meet and greet
with the cover model, Ninalowo Balanle, where his fans and followers can rock
the red carpet with him. It’s not going to be the stereotype kind of concert
but a festival like one, which will have in attendance a number of Nigeria entertainment
and fashion stars. The highpoint of the night will be the unveiling of the
online presence of the Lolarshon Magazine and also the new edition which I’m
super excited about its content.
What
other information would you like to pass across about the event?
For the forthcoming event we have stand for people to buy
and there’s space for brands to give back to the society. We call on corporate organization to be part
of this epoch-making concert. In case you want to be part of this, just follow
us on Social media @Lolarshon Fashion Magazine, you can DM us and then we will
respond to you.
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