Meet Sara Ho of Ohmonah in Pasadena

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Ho.

Sara, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Initially, I had started selling a few illustrations at conventions, under the pen name ‘ohmonah’ (which means “oh my god” in Korean) purely for fun during college. I ended up meeting some of my closest friends who lived across the states, and started realize a slow, small, but loyal fan base across the nation who would repeatably stop by my booth, It felt incredibly heartwarming that I was able to bring smiles and laughter to so many people who come from different walks of life.

After I started working full-time at animation studios, I still continued to attending various conventions throughout the years to continue ‘ohmonah’ as a side project. In 2015 I slowly started to introduce originally designed apparel. It started out purely for creating something that I wanted to wear. Growing up, I was limited to how much I would be express my creativity, whether it was through fashion or hanging posters on my wall. It was a chance to express how I felt through simple whimsical on clothes. More and more fans started relating to the clothes, and it continued to bring smiles on their faces. I realized that it was ultimately what I wanted to accomplish with pursuing in the art field since I was a child.

“To move people, and make them happy/ smile through my art”.

In 2017, I made a final decision to discontinue working in the animation industry and pursuing in creating an apparel line. I started incorporating things I have learned through the years of trade shows and working at an animation studio- while keeping the essence of me.

In early 2019, I finally was able to set up ‘ohmonah’ to be an official company, with a small crew. Despite the growths over the years, I am still incredibly humble with the reaction I receive for any of the designs. I’m extremely thankful that at the end of the day I can be true to myself and fans are able to resonate with that.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think with creating any type of artwork, it is important to stay true to yourself and create things with a balance of what you believe in, as well as some marketing tactics.

Throughout the years, I’ve seen a lot of artists change because of a large social media following. They begin to be stressed to create something purely for profits and become disappointed when it doesn’t follow through.

For this, despite some potential risks- I feel the need to stay true to myself than exploit a market and create something only for sales. It keeps me motivated and hopeful when creating each design and to be able to find new ways to help inspire new artists to not focus so much on just the monetary value of their art. But where it comes from. -Your heart.

Ohmonah – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
‘ohmonah’ mainly centralizes around the nostalgic feeling everyone had growing up. Whether it’s through the colors or small moments in memories that people tend to forget through their hectic busy life. Its a sense of innocence and whimsical imagination.

Initially, when I was struggling with “what is ohmonah going to be”. I realized that the apparel designs were just an extension of myself and how I felt growing up as a Korean-American in the states.

I think the biggest thing that sets ‘ohmonah’ apart from other apparel companies is each piece comes from my heart and soul, whether it is a feeling or mood that people don’t necessarily talk/ think about. It’s reassuring that despite any struggles anyone encounters growing up; you aren’t alone.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
A lot of people define success as how many followers they have, or how much income they are able to produce.

Through some life experiences, I believe that the means of success is to be able to create comfortably the things that you want to show to the world. Regardless of how much money you make, how many followers/ likes you get. Being content with a home/work balance to continue to be motivated to work on your craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ohmonah.shop
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohmonah
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ohmonah

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