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

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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 heArt of origami

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS by Sipho Mabona

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.  

Seahorse / Cá ngựa by Hoàng Tiến Quyết

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." 

Crayfish by Sipho Mabona
May the Autofocus be with you by straightfromthecask

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! 

Toshikazu Kawasaki Origami Swan by Himanshu Agrawal

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  

The Heart of Origami

Consol Glass Treats and Craft Ideas

I believe it's important to be consistent. And since I'm late with pretty much everything I ever do in life (which I'm not proud of, but am honest about), I felt it was only proper to wait 11 months to publish this blog post. It is about the day that Ads and I visited the Consol Glass shop in Woodmead, Johannesburg.

It was A Big Adventure in July 2014 when Ads visited with me and my parents in Joburg. As a Jozi native, I took it upon myself to make sure that in between bumming around the house in our pyjamas and playing with the cat, she got to see a good selection of the best (or maybe just my favourite?) things that the city has to offer.

A Hello Pretty work day

Enter Consol.

The day I discovered the Consol Glass outlet, everything changed. I've never liked plastic for food (it smells funny. Why does it smell funny?). My heart rate went up when I stepped into that shop. The ceilings were as high as the sky, and they were stacked floor to ceiling with glass treasures, flirting with me to take them home and keep things in them. Or just keep.

The first time I visited Consol in Woodmead was in 2011. I went to buy a LOT of tiny bottles to use as salt shakers at one of my best friends' wedding. I'll cut to the chase and say that I left with a lot more than salt shaker bottles.

Recently my sister and her boyfriend visited and we paid the shop in Stellenbosch a visit. It did not disappoint, and after about half an hour in the shop (pro tip: leave your boyfriend at home) a great assortment of glassware was again hauled out and loaded into my boot, next to the R400 worth of cheese that we'd bought from the Simonsberg factory shop a block away (we are pigs and we're ok with that when it comes to cheese).

About a week later, through some kind of weird coincidence, a beautiful parcel tied up in navy blue grosgrain ribbon arrived at my home. It was a parcel from Consol, announcing the launch of that same store that I'd just visited! This both weirded me out and excited me. Inside it was a reusable glass Consol jar, with a selection of "ideas" cards inside it with suggestions for some creative uses for your Consol jars.
I've turned these into a PDF so that you can download and use them.

As a bit of a well-intentioned pleb in the kitchen, I'm sharing them here and hoping that you'll make these things and send us pictures (samantha@hellopretty.co.za. I'm likely to be impressed even if you nailed it).

If you want to visit the new Cape Town Consol store, I can highly recommend it (and you can stop at the Simonsberg factory shop on the way home). You can find it at:
      Rand Road,
      Stellenbosch,
      7600
      Phone 021 888 4000

And now if you'll excuse me I am going to go decant everything into glass.

What else do you use your Consol jars for? I'd love to profile some other creative uses.

That time we couldn't restrain ourselves for more than an hour.

Last monday was an exciting day for the team: our brand new intern Néna joined our team for 3 months! So we hung out together at Hello Pretty HQ and stuffed our faces with cheese. Wonderful, wonderful cheese. We got a picnic kit from Fairview that was actually intended to be a load-shedding candle-lit picnic-dinner kit, but there was no chance of that stuff lasting more than an hour. I mean, look at this.

and three different types of cheese: the white rock with figs, an onion and chives cream cheese "loaf", and my personal favourite, a camembert. Thankfully their cheeses are actually widely distributed.

Fairview, we love you guys. And as well, we love cheese! A lot. No but really, really a lot. Thank you for this bundle of heavenly goodness. It made for an infinitely better lunch than the take-out we were planning to get.

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