Infusing cool and chic with a touch of Godliness, two sisters born and raised in South Africa co-founded hip and holy, an e-tailer offering meaningful jewelry and The Little Rose bag. Working together side-by-side, the sisters are bringing their brand a higher purpose and dream of inspiring real change in the world.
“It’s been a forever dream of mine. The seed was planted in my heart before I came into this world,” Liane Wainstein, co-founder of hip and holy, said. “It kept growing and growing, and in 2018 my sister and I put it into action. The rose is a message, that’s the essence of our product. We wrapped it up as beautifully as we could to deliver it to the marketplace.”
Creating The Little Rose to Help The Little Ones
Influenced by Jewish tradition, in which a coin purse holds the wearer’s “tzedakah,” or charitable gifts, the little rose is a promise to consider the needs of others. The sisters’ motto – “ a little bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives roses” — means that the act of giving can bless the giver just as much as the recipient.
To model this principle, the Wainstein sisters pledge 10 percent of profits from the little rose to Feed the Children, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that helps to feed and support hungry children around the world. For every dollar donated, Feed the Children provides $7 worth of food and essentials to some of the nation’s most vulnerable population.
The Purse, The Penny, & The Promise
Liane says The Little Rose coin purse is more than just a purse, and everything that goes into making it is very intentional. For example, the label is sewn with red thread, which symbolizes long life and protection against enemies. The red thread is also called ‘Raksha thread,’ and it is believed that wearing this will keep God’s blessings with its users.
Each Little Rose purse also comes with a “penny” inside. The sisters’ mother always taught them to never give an empty purse, and so they replaced a penny with a token of love so that customers can always overflow with abundance. The brand’s promise is to give 10 percent of all of their profits from The Little Rose purse to feed and comfort the hungry children of the world.
The Ultimate Adventure Awaits
Currently, hip and holy is an online retail store. Liane says she doesn’t plan on opening a brick-and-mortar storefront anytime soon because she sees the brand as more of a traveling boutique. “We’ve been doing some pop-up boutiques. The goal is to buy an old Volkswagen little kombi, spruce it up, and travel around either by appointments or pop-ups. It’s the ultimate adventure,” Liane said.
The Little Rose coin purse is hip and holy’s best-selling and most popular product, but they also offer jewelry, La Vie Parisienne by Catherine Popesco, which is an exquisite line of vintage inspired jewelry. The collection originates in old Parisian workshops established over 200 years ago. The pieces are made of “old silver,” a unique French process of laying sterling silver or a 14k gold plate over a copper base which are then hand set with brilliant Swarovski crystals.
To see more of what hip and holy has to offer, visit their website at hipandholy.com.