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

South African Design

A visit to the Marie Claire Beauty Playground in Jozi

We were invited to the Marie Claire Beauty Playground in Braamfontein in Johannesburg last year. Maybe because we are sometimes fancy (have you seen us when we're out of our PJs??) -- I'm not sure but that's what I'm putting it down to.

It was filled with beautiful people, and beautiful products. We were greeted at the entrance by this ridiculously good-looking foursome which felt briefly intimidating, until we'd slugged down the glass of JC Le Roux Method Cap Classic (the good stuff - and it was good) that they handed us. Marie Claire is fancy that way.

The event was held in a gorgeous, large and bright open space in Braamfrontein in Jozi, with floor-to-ceiling sweeping views of the city. There were a range of things for all budgets within the show and I made a point to stop in at each and every booth.

First stop was, of course, the A Ring To It stand. It never disappoints and because I am a sucker for rings and unable to control myself, I left with one.

A Ring To It's neighbours to the left were Vintage Zionist. We met the two owners and this is a brand that I hadn't heard about before but am really freaking excited about. Keep on the lookout for this one, they're almost certain to get huge soon. Two hip guys with superb taste, in the business of upcycled fashion. They source and upcycle high quality leather and make leather jackts (and some other things I think? I was mesmerised by the jackets.) They're young and they're unique, and can be headed nowhere but up. Get on it before you can't afford it anymore when people like Rihanna are buying them.

The show also had an OPI stand with nail polishes in every shade, to make your heart race a little.

There was the Moroccan Hair stand (yes.. I left with 1.5 litres of hair products. Don't judge.), Vogue eyewear (who were doing a mini photoshoot of everyone who tried on a apair of glasses), and Optiphi facial products (which have won awards, and I tested and they were good).

A new discovery for me is a brand called Harrison Lee & Co. They do hand-crafted leather things, and they're beautiful ones. A unique and fabulous product in their range is a gorgeous leather pouch for your makeup brushes.

Inglot had a makeover service. I was keen to get in there, but unsurprisingly it was popular and had a queue to heck and gone. So I just took photos of these other two pretty gals getting made up.
 

Last stand on my travels through the Marie Claire Beauty Playground show was the Karen Murrel stall, who had top quality cosmetic products. I hadn't heard of them before and I was very pleased to discover them. If you happen to stop them, try them out and then email me to say thanks ;)

Next time Marie Claire holds one of these events in Jozi I can't recommend enough that you head over and spend a couple of hours browsing, being pampered and perhaps shopping.
 

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.

Win with Peach State! - CLOSED

It's always a little bit cooler when you know that nobody else has it. Such is the case with Peach State. This jewellery is hand-made from vintage buttons, so your Peach State jewellery is and always will be one-of-a-kind.

To make your Monday a bit better and brighter, we're giving a piece away to one lucky gal and her bestie - we know you're two of a kind, so it's only fitting that you're kitted out in one of a kind accessories!

To enter:

  • Leave a comment here, taging the friend you'll share the prize with
  • Get an extra entry by tweeting @HelloPrettySA and @ItsPeachState and letting us know in the comments below.

Good luck Pretties!

Entries close at 10am on Friday 21st November. Hello Pretty's standard competition Ts and Cs apply.
 

Special Star

Catch a falling star and put it not in your pocket, but on a very lucky finger. This beautiful ring from HelenSilverSmit is upcycled by hand from a vintage 1925 silver coffee spoon. Given the nature of upcycled items, it's obviously one of a kind, so we'd suggest you snap it up here before someone else does!

We featured this item in our newsletter this week, along with a curated collection of our favourite items with a star motif. There's a new theme every week, so if you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up below!

Win with A Thousand Paper Cranes and Hello Pretty

You guys have been asking for this for a while - and here it is. Another awesome thing for you to win, and this time there are cats involved which makes it doubly cool.

Meet the newest member of the A Thousand Paper Cranes family:

He (or she?) has two coats that he wears - a pink one and a black one - but no name. Shame.

A Thousand Paper Cranes is giving away one of her cat cushions this week, and it could be to you! Here's how you can enter:

Once a winner is chosen, they will get a cat cushion of their very own, and the cat cushion will be christened with the name that they suggested.

I'm so looking forward to hearing your ideas! I can't vote, but if I could I would suggest Sebastian, after my own cat.

Entries close at 10am on Friday 7th November. Hello Pretty's standard competition Ts and Cs apply.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween's not just about pumpkins and candy, y'all - it's celebrated in various forms around the world, and has a rich and fascinating history. The Mexican tradition of Dia de los Muertos is only tangentially related to what we know as Halloween, although it happens at the same time. There's no candy here except eye candy - the traditional "sugar skull" designs have recently seen a surge in popularity, and they make a really striking element when used in unexpected places, like this gorgeous cushion from Jeez Louise.

We featured this item in our newsletter this week, along with a curated collection of our favourite Halloween-inspired items. There's a new theme every week, so if you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up below!

Chantilly Lace

Lace isn't just for your granny's handkerchiefs anymore. We're seeing it pop up everywhere from details on clothing to contrast laser-cuts on leather. One of our personal favourites is this beautiful earthenware bowl with a lace patterned glaze. Get yours from Sandy Godwin Clay Creations here.

We featured this item in our newsletter this week, along with a curated collection of our favourite lace-inspired items. There's a new theme every week, so if you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up below!

Win with Hello Pretty and Long Jean Silver! - CLOSED

We're of the opinion that it's actually good things that come in threes. Like three piece suits. And Hanson. (Don't even pretend you didn't love Hanson.)

That's why we were thrilled when Long Jean Silver told us she was going to give away not one, not two, but three of her stunning new textured silver triangle rings.
 

That's right. Three of them. One for you, and one for each of your two favourite people in the universe. (Note: Unfortunately shipping on this prize only covers Planet Earth.)

Winning these beauties is as easy as one, two...yup, you guessed it, three!

Entries close at midday on Friday 24th October. Hello Pretty's standard competition Ts and Cs apply. Note that only one extra entry per channel will be counted.

Get on your bike!

Old or new, vintage bicycle or shiny new chopper, there's just something special about getting where you're going on two wheels instead of four. Bring some pedal power to your couch as well with this cute cushion cover from Handmade by Me, available here.

We featured this item in our newsletter this week, along with a curated collection of our favourite bike-inspired items. There's a new theme every week, so if you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up below!

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