Hello Pretty is Winding Down

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

Interview

Ethical accessories and a story: We All Share Roots

Hello everyone! I’m Elise, the founder of WeAllShareRoots (ethical handbags). I’m French but based in Cape Town since 2014 and locked down at home, in Tamboerskloof, with my husband and two girls, a 3-year old and a 5-month old, due to Covid-19.

I grew up in Paris but, by moving to Cape Town, I discovered that I am much more a nature-lover than a city-girl… or I’m probably a mix of both! I’m totally in love with South Africa, and this is actually why I decided to create my ethical brand: working with the townships, bringing income and skills where they are highly needed, and promoting Cape Town vibe and fashion, is somehow my way to give back to this amazing country.

And I think we can also say that I’m a colour and accessory lover. Have a look to our bags and you’ll get a sense of it! There is nothing I like more than a smart casual outfit enhanced by a unique, colourful, unexpected accessory. Bags are ideal for that, you can be so creative and show a glimpse of your unique personality with it!

WeAllshareRoots offers a variety of handcrafted bags, all of them created in limited editions. From the beach bag to the clutch, all our items are locally designed and handmade. We try our best to be as ethical as possible.

For example, for the sewing and the assembly of the bags, we work with a small CMT, based in SeaWinds / Lavender Hill. These underprivileged communities suffer from unemployment and gangsterism. By bringing them work and enabling our seamstresses to work from their home, we help them to take care of their families and put bread on the table. We also help them to grow, get new machines, prospect new clients, etc. Our success has to be theirs.

Also in 2018, we decided to launch a 100% vegan range, made out of Piñatex (a natural leather alternative made from pineapple leaf fibres). This new and innovative material is intended to be a sustainable alternative to the mass production of leather and pollutants, thus enabling a responsible choice for a better future. Made from natural wastes, with a low water use and reduced waste production, this material does not contain any harmful or animal chemicals. We are very proud of the result and are in love with our colourful and mindful range of vegan clutches!

In the current context, we are more convinced than ever that the future belongs to ethical, small, human-oriented brands. And we count on everybody’s support to make it true.

The venture started in 2016… I cannot believe that it will be soon our 4th anniversary! Creating a brand from scratch, with no similar experience before, is such a challenge. I have done most of the work by myself and I am now lucky to have the help of a tiny team (we’re two, plus an intern!). It is difficult to be on everything, but you have to. Producing means purchasing materials, looking for the best suppliers and options, spending time designing, explaining processes to the production team, overseeing quality etc. And once you have your product, the work is not over, you need to sell it! For this part, Hello Pretty is such a huge help, offering an online and user-friendly platform!

Also, in the four years of WeAllShareRoots, I had two pregnancies and two babies… I guess that I am a good example of a "mumtrepreneur"! It is hard to find the good balance but having two little girls gives me more motivation even to do good, to help other working mothers in the townships, to teach my kids to be mindful human beings and to show them that women can do anything as good as men! ?

There are a lot of highs and lows in a professional life and probably even more when you’re driving your own business. Thankfully, I almost never have complaints about my products (top quality is one of our core objectives) but I can be very sensitive with anything going wrong with my business. Actually, I have learnt to not over-react, to put my emotions aside and to "digest" before taking any action. On the other hand, there is nothing I appreciate more than a positive comment, a like on a post or sweet feedback from a customer. We handle every single order, we handwrite the names of our customer, we always wonder if they ordered for a special occasion or how they found us… We are just so happy when we receive a message after our shipment was received!

I saw once a quote saying “when you buy from a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance”, this is SO true!

I would recommend to anyone willing to sell on Hello Pretty to curate pictures and descriptions. It is important to think about your customer experience. Buying online is not always easy, you need to get a sense of the size, the materials etc. It is crucial to try to bring the maximum of information to those you are on your eshop, it will help them to make up their minds and better understand your offer.

And because we know that this Coronavirus crisis is hitting hard on everyone’s finances and mood, we decided to offer 10% discount on certain items during the lockdown and for some time after. We will also be helping our dear seamstresses giving them back 5% of all online sales from Hello Pretty. They also need all our support and help in these difficult times.

Stay home, stay safe and take care of yourselves, beautiful people.

Meet Olivia, the designer behind handmade boho- & travel-inspired home brand, Wild Minds

Hi everyone! My name is Olivia and I am the mind behind Wild Minds :)

I design wooden (and hopefully soon, metal!) wall hangings, dreamcatchers and other bits and pieces for the home. I am hugely inspired by festival culture and style, and absolutely everything bohemian. I also love to travel, and that has introduced me to many different cultures and their spiritual symbols, which I have incorporated into several of my artworks.

Wild Minds began from my home in Cape Town around 3 years ago. I had designed place names for wedding tables which I had then had laser cut from wood. I realised how many possibilities there were with laser cutting and started designing decorative wall hangings (initially for myself) as I could never find exactly what I wanted elsewhere. When I got my first samples back, it hit me that I should make this into a business, and Wild Minds was born!

It has been a massive learning curve as I do everything myself - from the initial designs and hand-painting, to website management, sales, packaging & shipping and accounting to name a few. I would say that has been the biggest challenge, although it has definitely taught me a lot along the way!

Having your own business can sometimes be a real test - there are often days where I stop and wonder if my work is good enough, if I'm wasting my time on a pipe dream, and if I am ever going to be able to make a real success of it. Your confidence can take a real knock when sales aren't pouring in. However, when I send a piece off to the other side of the world or I get to collaborate on a custom design with a customer or another maker, it's really exciting and I love every second of it.

Receiving a lovely piece of feedback after a lot of hard work also makes everything feel worthwhile - I don't know if my customers ever realise just how much it means to me to hear how happy they are with something I have made just for them. When I think about all the people across the globe that now have a little piece of my artwork displayed in their home, I feel really proud of myself that I have managed to get to this point and I hope it continues!

The best part is that I get to be creative and do something I love every day. Even the more mundane tasks are just a reminder of the fact that I have built a little business by myself, and that's a great feeling.
 

My advice to other sellers out there would be to just keep pushing forward, keep creating and being inspired, and stay positive! Set backs happen, but when you put yourself out there to showcase your work, you are doing it because you are passionate about it, and thats the most important reason of all.

A platform like Hello Pretty is so valuable for us small business owners as it gives us the means to get online, get selling and extend our reach to people who may not necessarily have ever discovered our work. So make the most of it and enjoy!

You can find me on Hello Pretty under Wild Minds, on Instagram at @x.wild.minds.x and on Facebook at facebook.com/wildminds.sa.

This blog post is one in Hello Pretty's guest blog series. Each post is written by a person who is running their online store through South Africa's favourite art, design & craft marketplace.

If you'd like to more view guest posts in this series, and other posts where we interview local businesses, click here.

Wanna write a guest post on Hello Pretty? Email us at info@hellopretty.co.za to find out more.

 

Totally addicted to glass. Meet Sue, maker of Living Glass.

I am Sue Webber, owner of Living Glass. I am passionate about anything glass, it is such a beautiful and versatile medium. I have had a go at most crafts, but when I discovered glass work I was hooked.

I started working with glass about 25 years ago and for many years my studio was the place I went to for stress relief. I would putter about and all my problems seemed far away. My family and friends came to expect a piece of my work for birthdays and other celebrations.

There is a limit to how much one can give away, however, and I got to a stage where I had to either sell some pieces to pay for more glass or stop.

Well, stopping really wasn't an option so I started selling and Living Glass was born. 
 

I began selling at markets and apart from getting up early to set up I enjoy the markets, it's wonderful to meet new people and make new friendships. The people I meet also give me ideas for my work.

I retired two and a half years ago and while this gave me more time in the studio, I craved company so I started giving workshops in stained glass work. I LOVE the workshops, I get an afternoon's company and the chance to show off what I can do. Many of the people  have become good friends. Some wanted to continue at home but didn't want to spend a fortune on equipment so I started making pre-cut kits which only require a soldering iron.

My biggest challenge has been trying to use the computer to show off my products, I am much more comfortable with a glass cutter than a mouse and even something as simple as uploading photos is tricky so opening my Hello Pretty shop was a major achievement.

I am lucky enough to have a lovely studio and a very supportive husband who keeps me supplied with tea., I also have Kermit The Dog who keeps me company in the studio although he often gets in the way too.

What comes next? Who knows, but whatever it is will be smashing.

This blog post is one in Hello Pretty's guest blog series. Each post is written by a person who is running their online store through South Africa's favourite art, design & craft marketplace.

If you'd like to more view guest posts in this series, and other posts where we interview local businesses, click here.

Wanna write a guest post on Hello Pretty? Email us at info@hellopretty.co.za to find out more.

 

How a "plattelandse meisie" made it in Cape Town. Meet Sonjé of Sonny Mo Arts.

Hi, I’m Sonjé, the creative brain behind Sonny Mo Arts. Being from the Northern Cape originally, I’m something of a “plattelandse meisie”. I came to Cape Town to study and naturally fell in love with the Cape and now live here with my husband and our 3 doggos. I’m a homebody and enjoy spending time in my own environment (which is good since I work from home a lot!), love listening to music especially when I work, would never say no to chocolate and a good cup of coffee! I’m also not the best cook but have come a long way! ;-)

From a young age I was encourage to explore my creativity by my mother (who is an artist herself), and although I like to dabble in different mediums, photography drew me in the most.

 

After my studies I started my wedding photography business, and although very rewarding, I always felt I wanted to do something else too. I submerged myself so deep in my wedding photography, building a brand, attracting the right clients, refining my style, etc. that I never seemed to get the time to experiment with something else. I was also very set in my ways with regards to how I shoot and edit weddings that I struggled to break the mould I have put myself in.

My husband then bought me a photography diary that encourages you to take a photo a day, and that is the main thing that pushed me to think differently. I started taking more “just because” photos, playing around and experimenting. I absolutely loved it, and from there, Sonny Mo Arts was born.

I draw most of my inspiration from nature and natural elements. My current work I would best describe as having a more traditional film look to it, raw and organic.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve had and continue to have is building a new social media audience from scratch and attracting the right clients who would be interested in my work. A more personal challenge is doubting myself and my creativity, and to always keep pushing forward even on days when you feel like giving up.

One of the biggest highlights must have been when I received my first order. It was so humbling to know someone loves my work as much as I do. My other biggest highlight was when I received my first international order all the way from Australia.

My biggest tip to anyone starting their own online shop would be not to give up and whenever that little negative voice comes in your head to make you question yourself, just shove it aside, do not listen to it and rather use it to drive yourself to work harder.

This blog post is one in Hello Pretty's guest blog series. Each post is written by a person who is running their online store though South Africa's favourite art, design & craft marketplace.

If you'd like to more view guest posts in this series, and other posts where we interview local businesses, click here.

Wanna write a guest post on Hello Pretty? Email us at info@hellopretty.co.za to find out more.

 

 

5 tips to start an online business, by Natalie of Sugar & Vice

Natalie van Dijk (nee Vice) of Sugar and Vice, always knew two things: that she wanted to run her own business and that she wanted to incorporate her creative talents into this business. The impetus to make this happen eventually came in the form of her retrenchment from a comfortable marketing job in 2014. Rather than acknowledge defeat, Natalie saw this as an opportunity to reinvent herself and make that business idea happen!

Sugar & Vice was started without any funding, handouts or loans. Instead Natalie relied on tenacity, hard work and an uncompromising commitment to her vision to build the brand. All Sugar & Vice products are handmade in Cape Town. The growth and development of the local creative industry is of key importance to the brand.

Starting and managing a business has been a steep learning curve for me and I am always happy to share my experience and learnings with friends, family and acquaintances. The thing is though that it is a very complex question to which the only short answer is, it is complicated and a lot of hard work. But I’ve given this question a lot of thought and condensed it into five points, which I am happy to share here.

Note that this is by no means the comprehensive guide to starting or running a business. This is merely my experience on my particular kind of business (an online shop in the creative industries with a wholesale element).

Over the years I have invested in my own professional learning, growth and development by, among others, doing a mini MBA course in business management, various kinds of training with the Craft and Design Institute (CDI), and courses in graphic design and interior decorating. I’ve worked in marketing, sales and admin roles and all of these have added to my experience in various ways.

1.    Do (A LOT OF) research
This is so important, because you need to know where in the market to position your product or service. Make sure you have a unique selling point – so that you know exactly what sets you apart from similar brands. See what similar products are priced at. Get quotes from all suppliers. Don’t forget about packaging. Find out how much the initial out lay will be and think about how you are going to finance this.

2.    Draw up a business plan
No, you won’t stick to it exactly because theory is one thing and practice is something completely different, but this is an important exercise to get you thinking about your business and how you are going to make it work. Write down your vision and mission statement. Note down what you want to achieve with your business. Include how you will finance things and what your marketing plan is.

3.    Start small
At the beginning I went a bit bananas with the variety of colourways I made my products available in. I should’ve chosen just two colourways to simplify things and to establish my brand. Also, don’t go overboard with spending too much money on stationery and equipment, only get what you absolutely need. You don’t want your cash to be stuck in objects, instead of being available for spending on suppliers/couriers. Don’t make your range too big. I’d advise starting with between five and ten to test the market, and gradually adding on from there.

4.    Do market research
Delve deep here. You need to make sure you know who your customer is, what they like, when they buy, how they like to be communicated with etc. If you do this properly then you will be able to market your products more effectively.

5.    Professional photos
The need for professional photographs cannot be stressed enough. This makes the world of difference. I have uploaded photos of my product to social media that I’ve taken myself and no sales, but as soon as I uploaded a professional photo of the same product, I made a few sales of that item the same day. Photography is definitely worth the financial investment.

This blog post is one in Hello Pretty's guest blog series. Each post is written by a person who is running their online store though South Africa's favourite art, design & craft marketplace.

If you'd like to more view guest posts in this series, and other posts where we interview local businesses, click here.

Wanna write a guest post on Hello Pretty? Email us at info@hellopretty.co.za to find out more.

Pretty Personal with Riz & Resh of the Dollie House

Pretty Personal with Riz & Resh of the Dollie House

Photographic duo Riz & Resh are long time friends and favourites of ours - they recently made us look fancy in our own little photo shoot, and we've had the likes of A Ring To It and Bow Peep turn to them for product photography. Bottom line is, they have mad skillz.

And to our delight, they've joined us as Hello Pretty sellers! They're selling product photography packages that are pretty darn great, and we felt that they deserved to be on the other side of the lense for a change.

Pretty Personal with Riz & Resh of the Dollie House

Products shown:
  1. Hello! Tell us a little about yourself.

    The Dollie House is the home to Riz and Resh Dollie.  We're both simple beings who find great pleasure in food and greenery (not the bushy kind you're thinking of).

    Resh is a quiet individual with a vision of living clean and building a sustainable existence for his family.  He is the eldest of five brothers and is an avid yogi with an honours in Anthropology.  He is also the prettier member of The Dollie House. 

    Riz has a great passion for people and Instagramming meals.  Riz has worked in every sphere of media and has been messing around with cameras for over ten years. Riz's students gave her a pet name; B.B.D. (we will leave this open to your interpretation).

    We both travel as often as possible and feel as that it's an essential part of the growth of a person.

  2. How/why did the Dollie House?

    The Dollie House was the love child born from our shared passion for visual pleasure.  We both hail from art backgrounds and chose to focus on the anthropology of people and their memories.  We're both fascinated by human behaviour and observation, and photography was a good way for us to express what we saw and experienced through sharing brief passionate moments of peoples' lives.

  3. What do you love?

    We both thrive in any natural environment and have a keen affinity to aesthetics of the visual kind.  We love pretty things, appreciating good food and reading as often as possible  

    Riz loves talking and Resh enjoys silent conversations.  Resh loves cooking and Riz loves eating. We love constant change, hence the choice to grow The Dollie House.

  4. Can you tell us about the wonderful things the Dollie House makes/does?

    We offer a range of lifestyle photography packages and visual styling for shoots and interiors.  Riz focuses on events, family, portrait, maternity and wedding photography.  Resh thrives in making things pleasurable for the eye and desirable for the soul; he spends his time styling shoots and visually merchandising store windows.

  5. Tell us something unusual about you/your trade/etc that people generally don't know.

    We shoot weddings most weekends and because we're so passionate about our jobs, we often become family confidants for the day.  After a few hours with a client's family, we often feel like we're a part of the family.  People always feel the need to share their family histories with you.

    We both love visual storytelling, and voluntary information usually helps strengthen the visual depth of the photographs.

Pretty Personal with Riz & Resh of the Dollie House

These beautiful shots by Ronél Kruger Photography.

Pretty Personal with Cecile from Ménagerie

Pretty Personal with Cecile of the Menagerie

 

1. Hello! Tell us a little about yourself.
I come from a graphic design / film industry creative background. A while after my daughter was born I realised I just couldn't keep up the hectic hours that the film industry demands, and there is something about having kids that makes you want to do something that feels more authentic and worthy. I have a lifelong interest in handmade stuff, and since the craft movement has had such a revival I started a small but very beautiful handmade goods market (once per month) in Stellenbosch called The Treasury Market (it ran for 2 years but I now only do pop-up markets). I met so many wonderful people through the market, and was itching to do something myself and so Ménagerie was born. 

 

2. How / why Menagerie?
Ménagerie is an English word that was used to describe any collection of exotic animals that pre-dated the existence of zoos. It is now also used to describe an odd or eclectic assortment of things, which I thought was quite apt for my animal cushions. I like the name because it is derived from the French word 'ménage' meaning household, and mine is very important to me. Not to be confused with 'ménage à trois' though ;)

 

3. What do you love?
My kids, aged 5 and 2, inspire me every day. They are so unselfconsciously creative, and prove that it is still possible to do original things, something one often forgets in our pinterest/internet dominated world. I also just love living in Cape Town, visiting our many excellent markets (like the Milnerton market for finding aged treasures) and making use of our easy access to nature. I have a love/hate relationship with the interweb, I love keeping up to date with shifting trends but I feel one has to cut yourself off too so you are not too influenced by it. I am also very inspired by some local makers who have managed to build up some beautiful brands!

Pretty Personal with Cecile of the Menagerie

4. Can you tell us about the wonderful things Menagerie makes?
Menagerie makes a range of cushions that are silkscreened by hand on natural cotton. For the animal cushions I start with a photo that has some charm (for which I buy an extended license so I can use it for items for resale) and then I do some extensive photoshopping on it to enhance the charm and change it into a modern looking bitmap image. I am now starting to bring out some more colourful items and am especially excited about a screen printed doll I am designing. 

 

5. Tell us something unusual about you / your trade / etc that people generally don't know.
Once my daughter, aged 4, snuck upstairs into my studio, where she is not really allowed in office hours, and this conversation happened:
 
  She: "Mommy, what are you doooiiing?"
  Me: "I am sewing."
  She: "Whyyy?"
  Me (a bit irritated since I was trying to finish something): "So I can make money so we can buy things."
  She (looking at me dumbfounded): "But mommy, you aren't making money, you're making cushions!" 
 
Lol, until I figure out how to just make the money, I will just have to keep making cushions!

 

Pretty Personal with Cecile of the Menagerie

Products shown:

Pretty Personal with Lauren Frates

Pretty Personal with Lauren Frates

We've all played a childhood game of "I Spy" on long car trips, but usually our discoveries tended more towards the mundane - cars, trees, and the like. Lovely Lauren from iSpy has a knack for finding the hidden beauty in everything around her, and uses it to create beautiful homeware with bright, bold prints. Here's her story.

Pretty Personal with Lauren Frates

Products shown:
  1. Hello Lauren! Tell us a little about yourself.

    Ok, so I'm a graphic designer by day, and textile designer at night and on weekends. I spent 10 years living and working in Pretoria and Jo'burg as a graphic designer before we moved to Knysna in 2010. Taking a break to have babies and adjust to small town life resulted in an unintentional shift towards experimenting with textile design, just for kicks. At this stage in my life, I seem to be wearing many hats – wife, mom of two preschoolers, domestic manager, graphic designer, textile designer and a member of a really collective called Hands Design Collective – a good story for another day!

  2. I'm tired just thinking about how busy you are! At what point did you realise that iSpy had gone from being an outlet to a brand with a life of its own?

    Has iSpy become a brand of it's own? Awesome if it has! Living in teeny Knysna, it feels like I'm Facebooking, emailing and posting into oblivion ;-)

  3. Haha! It absolutely has, and we're so glad. Your designs definitely aren't "teeny" though - lots of bright colours and bold prints. Where do you draw inspiration from?
    Living in Africa, you'd think my inspirations would be more Afrocentric. And once upon a time they probably were. But I now find myself gravitating towards the simplicity and boldness of Scandinavian design. I love the way their designs, from furniture to product design to textiles, are so simple and clever, but haven't lost that human touch. Personality is also such a strong component in their work, as is color – they are so good at mixing up scrumptious, unexpected color palettes. Scandi design makes me smile. It has a strong emotional pull for me.

     

  4. I love that you've taken the very simple aesthetics of Scandi design but managed to make them pop. What are some more interesting facts about your designs?

    It's really important to me to have iSpy products be as handmade as possible. A lot of my formal graphic design training centered around hand rendered design and illustration, so it's always been close to my heart. I believe this adds something special and gives my products a little bit of soul. I also want to support fellow Knysnarians wherever possible. All my designs are meticulously screenprinted by hand by a small family-run studio called The Natural Hand and my products are sewn by a jolly group of township ladies called Women of Vision. The leather components of my totes are sewn by the local shoe repair guy who operates just around the corner from our shop, so my bags take their place in the queue of shoes waiting for repairs.

  5. That sounds like an amazing little community you've built up. Ok, last question. It obviously has to be "I Spy, with my little eye, something beginning with..."

    ...world domination, one town at a time ;-)

We can't say we'd mind! Living in a world full of colour and pretty prints sounds awesome, to be honest. You can see more of Lauren's work in the iSpy Hello Pretty store, and get in touch on Facebook.

Pretty Personal with Jessica Binns

Pretty Personal with Jessica Binns

Charming Jessica from Hector & Bailey is much like the designs she produces - whimsical, gorgeous, and with a really interesting story behind her! We decided to find out what that story is.

Pretty Personal with Jessica Binns

Products shown:
  1. Hello Jess! Tell us a little about yourself.

     

    Hello there. I moved to Durban from the UK two and a half years ago. It was a spontaneous decision which is totally unlike me, but love was involved, so I'll say no more... I started Hector & Bailey, my interiors company, back in London and it only seemed right to bring it to South Africa to give the company a chance here. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.

     

  2. And the UK's loss is SA's gain! How did Hector & Bailey come into being?

     

    Hector & Bailey was the outcome of a very sad situation. In 2009, amidst the depths of recession, the architectural company I worked for went under. I decided to take my chances as a freelance interior designer and go it alone. I had 10 years experience under my belt, so I thought it was worth pursuing. I'm very glad I did, I've been out of my comfort zone ever since, but that's what keeps me on my toes. So in conclusion, Hector & Bailey is my silver lining.

     

  3. That must have taken guts. What inspires the H&B ethos and aesthetic?

     

    I love to seek out unwanted items and nurture them into the best they can be. Everything - like everyone - has the true potential to be utterly wondrous, and I adore being part of that process. My influences tend to lean towards colour, however I'm currently embracing my neutral side. You can't fail to be inspired by the flora and fauna that reside in this country. I am also crazy mad for cats and the odd G&T too!

     

  4. We could be sisters! Cats and G&Ts are basically fuel for Team HP. Tell us a bit more about the wonderful things you make and remake?

     

    The upcycling and product ranges from Hector & Bailey began when I moved here. I had spent far too long in front of a computer and wanted to be more hands on, plus I needed a reason to work outside and soak up the beautiful African sun!  So I set to work transforming furniture from our garage. This grew to upcycled cushions and lights and then on to product design of cushions, perspex planters and coasters. I like to keep busy. :) Aside from the retail side, my day job is interior design & decor. My work has taken me to places as far as Mozambique - I love the diversity this industry has.

     

  5. I believe your mom is also very talented. Did that play a part in your story, do you think?

     

    My mum is an extremely creative lady and has been a firm role model in my life. I think my emotional responses to beautiful, well made, ethical items is a trait I picked up from her. There has to be meaning behind things, whether it's the process of how it was made to the history tied up in that one item. Emotion plays a huge role in design, I wouldn't have that any other way.

     

Absolutely right - and gorgeous design is one of our favourite things (along with cats and G&Ts of course). You can see Jessica's latest treasures in the Hector & Bailey Hello Pretty store, and stay in touch on Facebook and Twitter.

Pretty Personal with Rhett Baker

Pretty Personal with Rhett Baker

Living in sunny SA, we all know the importance of a good pair of shades (even in winter!). So you can imagine what a design crush we have on Kraft Eyewear - handmade with reclaimed wood and a lot of love. The crafty Rhett Baker is the man behind Kraft, so we had a few questions for him.

Pretty Personal with Rhett Baker

Products shown:
  1. Hello Rhett! Tell us a little about yourself.

    Kraft is me and my wife Kerry. I have a background in graphic design and finishing carpentry.  At the beginning of 2013 I was in a job in sales, least suited to me, driving round endlessly looking for clientele which were driving me insane. I had been in the building/carpentry trade for the last 8 years, and was yearning to do something with my hands again. One day I went for a hair cut at Durban's finest barber (Ed. note: Hi Nev!) where the coffee shop owner from next door came in. I noticed he was wearing a pair of glasses made from bamboo, and that really got me thinking - I could make those out of wood! I immediately went home to Google if anyone had thought of that. To my surprise wooden sunglasses had been a trend in the US and Europe for quite a few years. I set out to make my first pair, and the rest is history.

  2. That's a great set of coincidences - Kraft got started because you were getting a haircut in the right place at the right time! Why the name "Kraft"?

    The name Kraft speaks for itself. Each pair of sunglasses we put out has been individually handmade with care, using old techniques inspired by the craftsmen of the past. We aren't reinventing the wheel, just trying to put out a truly handcrafted product.

  3. What inspires your designs?

    We are inspired by our surroundings, all the thought and love that goes into the creation around us, as well as the amazing bespoke manmade creations we find. Anything bespoke and natural.

  4. We're living in a great time for design. Can you tell us a little more about your amazing sunnies?

    Our products are made from quality natural products. Wood is salvaged from unused offcuts from local furniture manufactures and repurposed, rather than buying new products. Recycling in this way reduces the wastage of our earth's resources.
    Every part of the making process is done by hand using small hand-oriented machinery as opposed to the large scale CNC milling or laser cutting done by most companies. 
    Every pair is hand cut on a scroll saw, something that takes a lot of patience and coordination, but makes the outcome is a truly hand crafted product. The cutting process also ensures that each piece is unique and easily customisable.
    We use the highest quality hinges available as well as quality polarized lenses - all come standard with your pair of Krafts.

  5. And is there a story behind the style names?

    As a Durbanite, born and bred, I really love this underrated city. There is so much talent coming out of this place. All our models are named after old street names  and landmarks, as a homage to this wonderful and colourful city . With my product I hope to lend to the pool of talent coming out of this awesome place.

His future's so bright, he has to wear shades - a pair of Krafts, naturally. You can get your very own pair here, and stay in touch with Kraft's news on Facebook.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Interview