The owner of Honey’s Alterations is realizing a dream.

Honey’s Alterations is located at 604 E Admiral Doyle Dr, New Iberia, and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and closed on Sundays. The shop opened in 2022.

Honey’s Alterations’ owner, Huong Nguyen, made the move to New Iberia from Vietnam in 2019 after working for the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology in HaNoi for the last 22 years.

Her love for the Teche, its culture and people was instant. She knew this was the place she wanted to be.

“A small city surrounded by sugarcane fields and bayous, peaceful and not much traffic, low living costs and warm residents,” Nguyen said. “Everything is so comfortable that I chose it over New Orleans, Lafayette or Houston.”

Nguyen opened up Honey’s Alterations because fashion was a passion of hers since she was a little girl.

Since she was 13, Nguyen has been making dresses, dreaming of owning something of her own.

After graduating from college, Nguyen made the difficult decision to give up on that dream to work at the University in Hanoi in Vietnam.

“I decided to give up my dream and take an easy but well-paid job,” Nguyen said. “After I moved to the US, I realized that it was time for me to chase my dream. It was a now-or-never moment. And Honey’s Alterations was born.”

Nguyen said Honey Alterations offers a wide variety of services to their customers. They work on formal outfits, alterations, repairs for mens, womens, and even children’s clothes.

“We also do custom outfits making, tailoring and same-day service is available,” Nguyen said. “We also sell dresses, jewelry, handbags and purses.”

The demand for tailor/alteration service is increasing every day, and Honey’s Alterations is the right place to go, she added.

Nguyen said her goal for the business is to bring clothes to her new home. Another goal for Honey’s Alterations is to teach design fashion and sewing for children and teenagers. She wants to make her business a famous fashion center, where people are inspired to reach higher fashion standards.

“Nowaday, when talking about fashion centers in the US, they think about New York. I hope in 10 more years, talking about fashion centers in Louisiana, they will think about New Iberia and Honey Alterations,” Nguyen said. “I also would like to open some branches in other big cities in Louisiana at the right time.”

Nguyen said she loves her job, and the work. She never feels tired, and she is always excited to see the satisfaction from her customers. It makes her proud to have her business thriving in New Iberia.

Thanks to the courage she took a few years ago, her dream was realized.

“New Iberia gives me the chance to be myself and makes my dream come true,” Nguyen said. “I will live and work the way to make New Iberia proud of a New Iberian as me.”