MEET LEGENDARY ESTELLA OGBONNA (Fashion Guru) @estellacouture

Hello lovers!!!

I am super excited, i really am. i have always desired to have this fabulous woman on my show.

There are very few women i look up to and madam Estella Ijeoma Ogbonna is one of them, i seriously do not need to introduce this All time and world class Fashion Guru.

This American based Igbo Chick hails from ,Umuahia North, Abia State, Nigeria.

Her birthday Anniversary is July 21st,when i asked what she will consider a birthday gift she said "Electronic gadgets, For the nerd in me

So if you want to please her, you know what to buy.

I also asked her, her hobbies and she said

"Sewing ,of course, sketching designs, playing computer games, designing foods in the kitchen, I love to experiment with recipes"

Madam Estelle doesn't have a favourite food, it actually depends on her mood and weight watching goals at that given time, but one thing is for sure , she is a sweet tooth, so any Food with lots of sugar gives her pleasure.

For her best loved outfit "So many, she said, I have lost count. I could make one even tonight that becomes my best loved"

And for her Educational background,

She went to Army Secondary schools, University of Jos, Nigeria for her first Diploma in Special Education (hearing handicaps), and her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology.

University of Maiduguri for her MBA (which she sadly abandoned in the last semester due to one of the religious riots in Maiduguri, she said she had to choose between her life or an MBA).[post humus?].

Her second Diploma (Computer Applications_. from University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Second bachelor's degree from DeVry University, Virginia, USA. (Computer, Network Admin),  Second Master's Degree (MPA – not finished) Keller Graduate School. Virginia, USA.

She started another Diploma in Fashion Designing in USA, but packed that up as she was traveling too much at the time.

Enough of my plenty talk! Please meet the Legendary estella ogbonna.

XP: who really is Estella ogbonna.

ESTELLA: Estella Ogbonna is a simply person. Humble. Down-to-earth. With a humanitarian heart. Ready to give away the last coat on her back.
Very creative, multi-talented and applying all her skills in her businesses.

XP:What ignited the spark in you to start you fashion line "Estella couture"?

ESTELLA: 'Estella Couture' started off actually as a hobby. I loved to tweak and change styles and somehow, my church members (In Maryland, USA) found out that all my unique clothes were done up by me, before I knew it, I was getting orders to make clothes for people. It spread from my church to people even outside the state. I was being invited all-expense paid trips to Universities across USA to showcase 'African Fashion' during the 'African Students' Association events. I became like the 'African Fashion Ambassador' on campuses in USA and beyond. It was very intense when I started. But it was quite fun. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.                      (  Estella designs )

I was making so much money from making clothes, even more than my salary and business profits, so, naturally, I registered it as a business in 2005.  I quit my job and computer reseller business to face fashion business fully. The name I started with was 'Tradishionale Couture'. I have never looked back since then.

Jeankara, my denim brand was birthed in 2008 here in Nigeria when I came back on a business trip.

XP: Your fashion line is a house hold name in Nigeria, are there any special secrets to you success in business?

ESTELLA: It is all G O D! I owe it all to Him. He is my Publicist, PR agent etc.And I haven't even started business fully in Nigeria, with total trust and faith in God, better successes ahead for me.

. 

XP:How do you handle clients dissatisfaction.

ESTELLA: From experience, the customer is always right, even though there are clients that are not easily satisfied, I look at it from the angle that the person is spending their hard earned money and deserves to get what they seeking for.
I do my best to satisfy and I can confidently say that I rarely have dissatisfied customers, few times I did, I went above and beyond to satisfy.  Because truth is that people would broadcast your name when you DON'T satisfy them, not when you please them. You know how bad news spread fast!

Funny though, I have had clients that refused to absolutely give me credit for dresses they loved! Because they wanted people to think they bought it from high-end expensive foreign shops!  Lol. That's kinda flattering, it cost me potential clients though.

XP: Tell us about "Jeankara" and the new boutique.

ESTELLA: JeanKara is the World's #1 Ethnic Couture Denim brand. The idea was birthed in 2008,  since that time, I have embarked on intense trainings, researches, studies, experiments and sampling to make sure I get it right, the way I saw them in a vision.

The designs that I have public at the moment are actually my 'simple' JeanKaras. The actual couture, high-end, limited edition JeanKaras are not made public yet.

That is, because the designs are UNIQUE, ORIGINAL, creative…and definitely not cheap. They are my Luxury denim collection. The target market is my other home – America.

About the boutique,The name is XLenTê , You are the first media to mention this publicly she said" it is an outlet for creative people and fashion designers to showcase, promote, and sale their products, with opportunities to also get into the fashion industry in USA. I am very excited about it.

XP: We are excited about it too, What inspires your designs?

ESTELLA: Everything. I am inspired by everything. Fashion is everywhere like Coco Chanel said.Looking around my environment can give me design ideas. That is why I always have my pen and paper ready to sketch designs as they come. I once mistakenly sketched a design on my Traffic Court case docket inside a courtroom  Washington DC, waiting for my case to be called. (I was driving above speed limit in a school zone). The problem for me was that I had to submit the docket when my time came up…..so, I 'xeroxed' it in my head, ran to my car and 'resketched' it on a jotter. Lol. As I knew the chances of my forgetting it was really high…a new design could come up.

XP:what lessons has life thought you?

ESTELLA: A Lot! Every day in life is a lesson. Story for another day. Lol. Wait for my new book, where I am chronicling all lessons I have learnt in the last 22 months in Nigeria.
The problem is when people refuse to learn from those lessons and end up making same mistakes twice.

XP:do you have any particular person you admire?

ESTELLA: Depends on what they do, what they contribute(d) to humanity etc.

XP:How would you describe and rate the Nigeria fashion industry?

ESTELLA:Point Blank, Nigerian Fashion Industry still has a looooooong way to go. So many things are NOT done right here. What freaks me out more is the 'cut and sew' system they still do here. Lots of tailors still refuse to use patterns to make clothes. It is sad that in a country like Nigeria with high population and lots of creative people and available fabrics and materials, we still don't have sewing factories!  Accra has a lot of those. Or those that have the sewing machines do not have the technical manpower to produce garments that meet international standards etc.

There are so many sales outlets now, yet, lots of event planners are still doing fashion shows with not even one buyer in attendance. Fashion shows here are run like just another item on the agenda. Just so many things done wrongly here.

XP:What are your opinions about domestic violence?

ESTELLA: Being a survivor myself, I will still say that when a man who is supposed to love and cherish you starts beating you,

RUN!  He can't say he couldn't control his temper, how many men do you know that would get angry and go kick, break or bash their cars??
It's also a sign of insecurity for a man to raise his hands on a woman. Such men are not fit to be called men!

It is sad that the men that are this barbaric come out to the public in suits and looking like 'normal'  human beings, when they should be seeing a shrink. They have psychological issues. I marvel at the number of crazies that walk around the streets of Nigeria that simply refuse to see psychologists! So many of their problems are not really issues of witchcrafts from their villages, it could be a case of what a dose of medicine could balance out the needed deficiencies in their brains.

Women also have to learn to appreciate and love themselve. To me, it's also an insecure woman that would remain with a violent man. That excuse of "I am staying because of my kids" is soo yesterday! As the kids that grow up seeing their fathers beating their moms, would likely become violent men too, while the females would become willing 'punch bags' as well.

XP:People say life is easier for the women , do you think this is true? Give reasons either ways.

ESTELLA:I don't think so. From where I am sitting, life is equally hard on women. I used to work in a men industry – Network Admin and security. We all used same brain cells, we carried the same heavy equipment etc.
That saying may be attributed to ladies who 'use what they have to get what they want'…..but even at that, I am sure it is not easy for the street girls to look all good and attractive, right? They must be primping and polishing themselves to attract the men that make their lives 'easier'(?).

At the end of the day, no matter the side of profession a woman is on, being a woman is not easy. Dealing with hormones, body changes , birthing etc is sure not easy.

XP:what personal attribute do you think one must have to be successful?

ESTELLA:Confidence. When you faith in yourself, you will believe in yourself and be more focused to achieve your set goals.

XP: what's the big dream.

ESTELLA: To leave a legacy behind on earth.

XP:what does the word "experience" means to you.

ESTELLA:to me, it means life's occurrences. Could be positive or negative. Everyone have the choice to make their experiences stepping stones or let them remain obstacles.

XP:what's your advice for upcoming Female Entrepreneurs.

ESTELLA:First, they should believe in themselves. Before then, they have to be CREATIVE! And bring something to the table. If someone is just going to come out as a fashion entrepreneur to copy another designer or even steal ideas off others, they are really contributing nothing.

Carving one's own niche is also good. The sky is huge enough for all birds to fly without clipping wings, so, everyone can uniquely fit in.

WAOH!!!!!!

I really dont want to stop chatting with you ma......

Am honoured to have you on the show and for you not to miss out on none of her latest move follow her on her social media accounts...

Twitter: @estellacouture, @JeanKaras

Instagram: @EstellaCouture, @The.JeanKara

Facebook: 'Estella Couture' ,    'JeanKara'

19 Ademola Adetokunbo Road, #B6,
Victoria Island, Lagos. Nigeria
USA: +1 240 360 6137
Nigeria: +234 81 0778 0330, +234 80 8714 4840
Ghana: +233 24 876 0467
Intnl. Fax: +1 707 335 3105
Emails: info@estellacouture.com
              info@xlente.com
www.estellacouture.com/
www.jeankara.com
www.xlente.com
BBM: 5345E39F
WhatsApp: +234 070 1183 5192

My name is Omaje
And this is the XPERIENCE.

Thank you for reading....

Best regards

Success Julius