After more than ten fulfilling, magical years beginning in the good old days of 2012, Hello Pretty is retiring and heading off to the beach with a drink with a tiny umbrella.
Read our goodbye letter
It's Tuesday again - and that means a new edition of Pretty Cool! Sign up to get your weekly fix of hot things, new things, discounted things, and occasionally FREE things!
Here's a teaser of what was in this week's edition, featuring all things round:
Catch you in your mail next week Tuesday ;)
It's been a while, but finally it's GIVEAWAY TIME! We love these giveaways just as much as you do.
This week, enter to win any two items of your choice - one for you, one for your best friend - from Hallo Jane. Say what!
Her stuff is super cute, made-in-South-Africa bamboo jewellery and homeware, and you should know that it's one of Hello Pretty's top sellers.
To enter:
Here are a couple of customer favourites to whet your appetite:
This giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere. Entries close at 10am on Friday 13th of November (this Friday). Hello Pretty's standard competition Ts and Cs apply. Only one entry per channel will be counted.
So from time to time, Team Hello Pretty ingests things that aren't wine, cheese and coffee - and recently, Zestly Box has made our kitchen endeavours infinitely more enjoyable.
As the new kid on the subscription box block, Zestly Box is all about gourmet snacking, so we were naturally thrilled when one landed on our doorstep. AND! Because there are glass bottles and jars in the package, there is also lots of shredded paper padding. What's that thing about how you give a child a gift and they play with the packaging?
Jokes aside, I am possibly the least domestic human alive. In my mind, I'm Bree Van der Kamp herself (sans the drama), but in reality I am a flailing mess in the kitchen. I'm happy to report there have been no fires as yet, but I am still new in this life.
SO! What better way to become more kitchen savvy than to have someone send me things to try out? Everything in the package is delicious and I develop mad skillz.
Each box comes with a detailed "meet the makers" page, so you know exactly who the gourmet wizards are that have created such droolworthy items, with every item carefully selected by the Zestly duo, Gino and Tamlyn.
In this particular box, the slab of lavender white chocolate was the first to go, with the olive caviar hot on it's heels. (Yes, they are already finished. #sorrynotsorry)
You should definitely get in on the action, at http://zestly.co.za/get-started/ - say hello to many delicious days in your future!
This week we've embraced the halloween spirit in our weekly mailer, Pretty Cool. As you can see from our little sampling, we actually have a decent selecion of snakes, spooks and spiders for you to enjoy (or be disturbed by - to each their own). We even finished it off with a halloween version of our logo, the Hello(ween) Pretty.
You should get in on the action using the signup form below. Sometimes there are surprise giveaways and freebies. Just last week we gave R50 to all of our subscribers. Pretty rad, imo - there is such thing as a free lunch, as it turns out.
Here's a snapshot of some of the things in this week's edition. Sign up down at the bottom of this page so you can get these curated, hand-picked favourites from the Hello Pretty team each week.
Before you learn how to Knoll, you probably want to know what this strange word is refering to... Knolling or 'flat lay' photography as it is also known is a popular design term used to shape brands and market products in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Top image source
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Knolling is a process whereby objects are arranged at 90 degree angles from each other and then photographed from above. "Knolling creates a look that is very symmetrical and pleasing to the eye, and it also allows people to see many objects at once in a single photograph".
Knolling has gathered a lot of attention through Instagram recently, with Instagram accounts dedicated solely to knolling and flat lay photography.
It is said that knolling was started by Andrew Kromelow, a janitor at a furniture store known as Frank Gehry's furniture store. Gehry's was designing for a company called Knoll and they were well known for designing angular furniture. At the end of each day Kromelow would clean up and gather all of the loose tools and arrange them in angles to one another. He called this Knolling in reference to the angular furniture that they were working on.
Knolling eventually became popular by the artist Tom Sachs and by 1987 it had officially become a trend. The image below is by Tom Sachs and it is his description of how to Knoll.
It's such a fun way to display products and it always looks so beautiful. After reading this article I am so excited to give it a go!
You can read more about Knolling or flat lay photography here and go and have a browse at the Flat Lay Instagram account while you're at it! It's super inspiring to see what people get up to on there.
You like? Because we do.
Every week we pick a selection of things that we think you'll love, and send them out in Pretty Cool, our weekly mailer.
You should subscribe. Sometimes there are treats in the mail: this week we sent our subscribers a R50 gift voucher.
The vouchers are for people who subscribe, but if you want to try for one: sign up in the form below, then email a friend the link to this week's newsletter (this is where you'll find links to buy everything featured too) and cc info@hellopretty.co.za to claim your voucher. Note: this is limited to the first 200 people who do this. One per customer.
Open to friends, family, strangers and everyone else worldwide.
To claim your R50 gift voucher:
Limited to 200. One per customer. First come, first serve.
Shara Mordt, a surface pattern and interior designer who founded Design Mate in 2011, has recently introduced Hello Pretty to her latest collaborative project called Left collective.
Left Collective is a collaborative design studio specializing in product design, graphic design and interior design. Shara along with the design collaborators have recently started designing unique bespoke decor products and they have just launched their latest product... Digital tapestries!
Tapestries are a versatile and unique way to change up any plain space. Left Collective's digitally printed monochromatic tapestries are printed on 100% pure cotton.
We love the idea of being able to spruce up a room so easily without having to worry about the permanence (or cost) of paint and other drastic measures. Tapestries easily transform a space by adding an artistic element to the room as well as adding more space, or at least creating the impression thereof in the room.
You can buy these gorgeous bespoke tapestries by Left Collective on their Hello Pretty store here.
Last week Tuesday, our weekly newsletter was a feature of treats under R300.
This week: a few lovelies on promotion, and bunches of summer-vibes fruit.
We have a weekly newsletter called Pretty Cool. Did you know? It goes out once a week, and has only pretty pictures in it.
Leading up to festive season we'll be featuring a lot of promotions and sales, and products grouped by price so that you can easily find what you're looking for, whether it's a secret santa gift, or something special for your fiancé.
Below is a taste of some things that were featured in last week's newsletter showcasing stuff that's on sale, and the picture beneath is a selection from this week's newsletter, Florals & Botanicals.
The art of Origami is something that has always mesmerized me. I am amazed at the results that can come about from folding up a square piece of paper. After finding this article on Cruizine I was inspired to get folding and attempt the art of origami for myself.
Some background info about this art form...
"Origami appeared in 17th century and was soon popularized throughout the world as one of the traditional forms of the Japanese art.
Origami is a vivid example of the tight interconnection, which exists between pure art and precise science, as it requires clear understanding of the space, symmetry, and geometric patterns. It is also a true example of wit and inventiveness of humans." Pavol Janovicek
My attempt - or rather my many attempts were nowhere close to the art works shown above. This seemingly simple art form has a very calcualted technique to it.
I eventually relaxed into the process of folding and found myself in a trance like state - totally removed from the hustle and bustle of life. This art form is really theraputic once you get the hang of it and I can definitely recommend it for those moments where you need a bit of an escape. Just get a few pieces of paper together, Google some simple shapes and get folding!
The swan is definietly next on my list, but for now I'll stick to my simple heart shape while I've mastered it. ;) I think it also makes for a great gift or even a bookmark. It will look much nicer with colourful paper, but while practicing I suggest you use exam pad.
This is the site that I used to practise my origami making - they have great ideas on here to try out.
http://www.origami-instructions.com/easy-origami-heart.html
