#WIN: Living loud and proud in a zesty pair of O’Connell’s shorts

Passionate to preserve and continue the vibrant legacy of her late husband, the zesty O’Connell’s shorts were created to give life horns.

Seated in her oh-so-stylish sea-breeze Umdloti home, nestled between comfy scatter cushions, Georgina Starling O’Connell said the sudden loss of her husband Kevin O’Connell (48), was like losing all the colour in the world.

“Kev passed away from too much work – he was a glorious cardiologist who could not say no to his patients, pushed hard and lived life intensely. One night he went to bed and never woke up again,” said Georgie, as she is fondly known, who shares her home with her six children and three dogs.

“Kev had a sparkle. He was just the loveliest, down to earth, beautiful man. And he always wore shorts.

“After losing him, my girls said they missed his brightness and I was determined to find it again.”

This sparked the idea of starting a colourful, fun-loving, confident slounge – sleepy lounge – shorts range called O’Connell’s established in 2009.

“These shorts are about him. He always said ‘give it horns’ and when you wear a pair of these guys, you will want to do just that. They shout out that you feel solid in your skin and happy and don’t give a hoot about what other people think,” said Georgie who is a talented pretty-maker and is known for her gorgeous scatter cushions and all things island living on her online shop Coast Style.

“People are not always brave with colour and style and I hope to give them some confidence via social media with my ideas. Scatter cushions, for example, can change a room, yet people are nervous about mixing colours and textures, so I created the scatter cushion story where I combine a set of cushions for you.”

The effortlessly elegant Georgie said she is always looking for new ideas, thinking out of the box and going where others have not gone before her.

“We have so many talented local folk who have the skill but might lack the commercial knowledge or the creative eye that will take their work to the next level. I want to work with them and give them the vision to be different.”

She intentionally involved her children in her passion for home-grown business ideas which has seen them go into creative directions and heading up start-ups of their own.

“We as parents have to lead and show our children how to be self-sustainable and help them find their entrepreneurial spirit. I always tell my children not to look down while they walk but to be on the lookout for opportunity and always have the end goal in mind.”

WIN!

Win one of three pairs of O’Connell’s shorts valued at R550 each.

Visit our Facebook page to enter the competition.

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