Shana Tova And Thoughts Of The Future

A new year is always a nice time to be grateful for what I've got. With two new lovely collections and of course, my wonderful family, I feel I'm on my way up. It's just a matter of time till I get there J

I've learnt a lot in the past year. I became a better designer and learnt how to build my collection. Along the way I met people who helped me better myself and believe in me. I even learnt a few lessons about people I need to keep out of my way… I also gave my Etsy shop a new, urban, chic look.

A new year should be a happy one, with great expectations to a brighter future. I wish you all the brightest!

Bottom line: it's all really about family. I love spending time with mine. Every holiday is a blessing.

To freebie or not to freebie

I was never a really big fan of freebies. If it's a freebie sample, it's always too small. If it's a gift, it's never unconditioned. For the past two years I've tried to evade handing out pieces of my jewelry in every way I could. I tried using Facebook ads, Google ads, all kinds of sales and marketing techniques, but I still didn't go viral. Oh, I wanted to go viral SO badly! At last I resorted to the freebie option, although I wasn't comfortable with it.

I chose my would-be freebie very carefully. The first time is always the hardest one, so I had to choose a piece that was an interpretation on a well-known symbol. Neither butterflies nor cogwheels: I went straight to the heart, the "Big Heart", to be exact!

So from now and till next Tuesday at 18:00, everyone who shares this photo gets a chance to win a Big Heart necklace. If you like to buy one just comment on the same Facebook post and get a 20% discount on a Big Heart of your own.

Bottom line:

Wouldn't you just love to have one of these "Big Heart" necklaces? 

All my LoVe,

Hila.

No more hearts sales on Jewish Valentine's Day

A few days ago we celebrated Tu Be'Av, the Jewish Valentine's Day. Like many other designers and brands, I knew that some pieces in my collection will be just right for lovers, especially items with a heart shaped pendant. 

At that point I was faced with a dilemma: should I offer heart shapes jewels on Tu Be'Av discount? Everybody else was doing it, big brands and small labels, designers I know and love and others I didn't even know about until I came across their Facebook ad campaign for Tu Be'Av.  Tu Be'Av sale ads were changing frequently and I couldn't escape them.

And then I realized something, if I can't escape them, no one can. These ads were everywhere and people stopped paying attention to them. Everybody knew about Tu Be'Av but eventually people would go to the mall and get their loved one some chocolate and flowers. Not many Israeli guys buy jewelry and when they do, it's for a really "big" occasion which would require an expensive piece.

So this year I didn't offer my creations to men. These jewels are made for women who love themselves every day and are welcome to my shop 24/7.

From my "Time For Butterflies" collection:

From my "Japanese Love" collection:

Bottom line:

Love isn't really limited to love fests and events; we should celebrate it all year round!  And... we should celebrate it wearing my heart shaped pendants, of course J    

All my LoVe,

Hila.

Love Is In The Air

Love is in the air… two weeks to go to Valentine's Day and I am in the mood for love. Now, before I go off and do the best things possible as far as love goes, which I will leave you to imagine yourself ;-)  I'll just go on a little about love and why it ended up as my jewelry.
As you might remember, I spent some time in Japan, and there I realized how some concepts are universal, while others take on a unique meaning of their own. Take love for instance, we love our children, we love our sweethearts, love chocolate and love going to the movies (especially if there's a good Love story in them.  For us, in English, we express all these feelings with the same word, Love… in Japan, you don't LOVE food, you like it. あい (AI), LOVE in the Japanese language is kept for the special romantic feeling between lovers, not a casual word to use. あい(愛AI) is a passionate word. You wouldn’t even dare say it to your girlfriend at first. At first it's always affection expressed by すき (好き, Suki), the affectionate like/love. If you truly feel it, then it's LOVE!
I wanted to feel that love all around me, wear it and display it, be able to give it and receive it…and so was born my Japanese Love collection, my love baby in some way. In it, I use a repetition of the word あい (愛AI), to create truly meaningful jewelry, to be given to loved ones, and worn close to the heart, filling us with true love.

 

Isn't it lovely to have love? I wish all of us that true feeling in the heart, and the pleasure of sharing the love… two weeks to go, are you ready?

All My LoVe (this time a lot of...:-))
Hila.

Happy New Year 2013

So, it's 2013! 

So, it's 2013! Well, I've been thinking about the meaning of 2013. 2000, that's a lot, but the 13 is the fun part. What about 13? 13 is a natural number after 12 and before 14, Is it a lucky number or an unlucky one? Depends on your beliefs I guess… 

Why is 13 unlucky?

In some cultures 13 is lucky. Pagan cultures, Judaism and even early Christianity saw it as lucky.  There used to be 13 months in the year and 13 signs in the zodiac. Jesus received the Magi on the 13th day, it's even the year a Jewish boy celebrates his bar mitzvah and becomes a man. Among other things that mean he can drink – now, wouldn't you consider that lucky? :-) 

Triskaidekaphobia, an acknowledged phobia of the number 13 is based in many cultures. Among others, the fact that the Mayan colander ended in 2012… so as we're passed 21.12.12 we should be looking forward to 2013 as a new beginning ;-) 13 became a big issue in the Middle Ages, as the 13th apostle at the last dinner was Judas. 
Thirteen is a prime; primes have always attracted attention (compare 7). What's worse, 13 is one past 12, the dozen, almost universally regarded as a perfect number, signifying harmony and all good things. Thirteen, by contrast, is a number of transgressions, taking matters one step too far, turning harmony into discord. 13 is also considered a feminine number, as there are 13 full moons a year. But 13's bad reputation may have more to do with fear of women, witchcraft, and disorder than is commonly supposed. (Taken from here).

I choose to see the good in numbers, as you will be seeing soon in my new collection. The beautiful numerology of the Time for butterflies collection combines numerological values for the important things in life - Health , Bliss, Love, Freedom, Courage, Peace, Blessing and Luck.  It's time for a new wonderful beginning.

Wishing you a blessed 2013 
and all my LoVe,
Hila