Hannah Zakari

Cute!

2011-03-25T14:05:00.002Z

There's no reason for this post other than to share a few pictures with you that I thought were quite cute.

These sweet kitties will be available to purchase on Hannah Zakari from Monday :)

And here's a bonus cheesy photo of John :D

Give us your money! For a good cause :-)

2011-03-21T14:12:00.005Z

At Hannah Zakari we've been truly saddened by the events in Japan and felt we couldn't let it pass without trying to help in some way.

We've set up a Just Giving page to raise money for the Red Cross and to encourage donations to a very worthy cause, Hannah Zakari will match donations up to a total of £500.

If everyone who is subscribed to the Hannah Zakari mailing list donated just 50p, we could raise in excess of £2000! Add to that the people who know HZ though Twitter and Facebook, and you can see how quickly those 50 pences add up.

Donations to the British Red Cross will be used towards helping the Japanese people recover from this devastating natural disaster over the coming months and years, as well as other humanitarian disasters around the world.

So, please donate as little or as much as you like. A tiny amount can make a big difference if lots of people do it!

Please visit our Just Giving page and donate what you can:

http://www.justgiving.com/hannahzakari

Rachael x

Behind the scenes at our lookbook shoot!

2011-03-15T16:56:00.004Z

After a week of preparation which involved mainly shopping and painting plus just a few late nights, we had the photoshoot for the very first Hannah Zakari lookbook yesterday.

It was the first time I've attempted styling like this, y'know, with models and stuff, so I was really nervous. Thankfully I had a great team - 3 models, a photographer, make-up artist and hairdresser - who were all fantastic, professional and made me feel really confident that we'd end up with something special. I think we did...

The lookbook probably won't be available for a month or two and I'm not going to show you any actual images from it until it's all ready. But I will tell you that it's going to be very colourful, quirky and fun, with a few extras I think you'll like!

So, here's a few behind the scenes photos I took just as a wee teaser!

We used the vintage kimono in my previous post for two shots, one with jewellery from Kirsty Kirkpatrick and another with delicate skull jewellery by Michelle Chang layered up with a few few pieces made by me.

This was probably one of my favourite looks, I got the awesome fruit skirt from Armstrongs in the Grassmarket and we used pieces from Petit Plat to go with it obviously!

We did another shot with the same outfit using Plastic Bat's amazing Welcome to Las Vegas Necklace which ended up being my favourite look of all - but you'll have to wait to see it!

Here's a few shots of one of the models, Caitlin, doing some test shots and getting her make up done :)

And for a bit of fun, John put this wee animation together of model Mhairi leaving the shop with a new Showpony tote!

Rachael x

My kimono

2011-03-11T10:23:00.007Z

Last night I was making props for the first Hannah Zakari lookbook (very excited about this!), and I decided to finally do something with the vintage kimono I bought in Japan. So, I found the box it's been folded in for the last few years, took it out, got my scissors and hesitated - I just couldn't do it!

I bought the kimono from Ichiroya when I was in Osaka a few years ago. After making the rather complicated hour long journey to where I thought the market was, I discovered that it is actually based online only - doh! Luckily for me the owner, Ichiro, was there and he let me and John in to have a good delve around his warehouse!

Ichiro talked us through all the kimonos we picked out, his knowledge was outstanding. He told us about how you can tell how old a kimono was by it's length and he estimated this one to be pre-world war two. I bought it for the bargain price of around 5000 yen, which was around £22 at the time and my intention was to use it for the fabric.

Before I cut it up I decided to take some photos and put it on my antique Victorian mannequin which highlighted the difference in body shapes as I couldn't get the kimono to reach around the bust or hips, but I think you can still see how beautiful it is. Even the detail on the inside lining is exquisite.

The inside lining at the top:

I decided to leave the cutting of the kimono overnight, and this morning I've decided I can't do it. It holds so many good memories for me, of that journey out to Ichiroya (it was amazing - maybe I will elaborate on the story another time) and of Japan in general. I've decided instead that I will actually take it out of it's box and hang it somewhere, maybe even use it in the lookbook as a piece in it's own right.

My thoughts are with Japan, and every other country affected by the earthquake today.

Jennifer Loiselle

2011-03-10T12:59:00.004Z

This week we have another new designer - the wonderful Jennifer Loiselle. I'd be surprised if you've visited Hannah Zakari and not spotted these beauties yet, they practically jump out and shout 'wear me' in your face!

So, you need to be a bit bold to wear these (they're BIG!) but honestly, you will look like a superstar!

You can buy the collection online *here*.

Until next time,
Rachael x

Another week, another new designer...

2011-02-28T13:25:00.004Z

I'm in love with this beautiful geometric jewellery from fellow Dundee peep Jane Gowans. Sometimes the simplest things are the the most beautiful...

Now I just need to decide if I should treat myself to the Bessie Ring or the Herbert Necklace. Sigh, my job can be tough sometimes.

Tasty new designer!

2011-02-21T12:37:00.010Z

Eeeeeeeee!

That is the sound I made when I received this adorable collection, I love it so much and I can't stop rabbiting on about it to anyone who will listen.

Each of these amazing pieces is made completely by hand from scratch. That's right, each tiny little individual fruit and berry is hand sculpted and assembled by the designer - the very talented Petit Plat.

Here's some fruity love...

Some equally tasty looking miniature macaroons!

And for the more savoury inclined muncher, how about some mini sushi platters - so cool!

And you can now purchase it on Hannah Zakari - I'm pretty sure it counts towards your 5-a-day ;-)

You're a winner...

2011-01-06T16:50:00.002Z

Me! That's right, this could be the most confusing winner to pick but I'm doing it anyway because I reckon Me will need encouragement to make sure all her 11 resolutions happen :)

Email me with your address and I'll get a box of goodies on the way to you v v soon.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment to enter. I really enjoy doing these little giveaways and will try to do more this year (a resolution?) so if luck wasn't on your side this time fingers crossed for next!

Happy New Year,

Rachael x

2011: New Years Resolutions (and one of those give-away thingys)...

2011-01-05T15:06:00.009Z

*** This competition is now closed ***

I'm not usually one for making new year resolutions. Mainly because I have so little will power that I'm pretty sure I would fail far too quickly for them to count, but this year I feel the need to sort myself out a bit, to get focussed on the big picture and what better time to start?

I've lost count of the amount of times people have commented on my great organisational skills, but I've got to admit that I've never felt like I'm a very organised person at all and am always a bit amazed that anyone would say it. This year I resolve to live up to those expectations - I've got my wall planner and notice board, my to-do list, a staff timetable, and a bit of a year plan forming... I'm looking forward to seeing how it all pans out...

So, what are your new year resolutions? And have you managed to keep them so far? Best comment gets a wee goodie bag of stuff from Hannah Zakari to get your 2011 off to a fabulous start!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-24T13:20:00.003Z

It's been a fabulous year but I've got to admit that I'm looking forward to some prolonged resting and general festivities over the next few weeks.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Hannah Zakari this year, it's been a toughie but I think it's ended in style!

So I leave you with my favourite Christmas song of all time, the fabulous Shakin' Stevens...

Merry Christmas everyone and the best of wishes for 2011 from all at Hannah Zakari x x x

And the winner is...

2010-12-02T18:19:00.010Z

So, I've just finished handwriting and cutting out (well, Verity did that part) 238 names of people who entered the competition, and with a little help from John have drawn the winners - drumroll please!

The winner of our first prize is the very talented StarryBlueSky (wonderful Etsy shop *here*)- congratulations you've won a ton of cool stuff from Hannah Zakari :)

The winners of our next two prizes are:
Izzie Marmitepaws O'Brien (who entered on Facebook)
and
hellorogue (from twitter)
You've both won a goodie bag plus £25 worth of HZ gift vouchers - yay!

And the last two prizes go to:
HulaJuiceBar (from Twitter)
and
Lucy (1) - the first Lucy to reply on the blog who liked the Eliah the Elephant Brooch!)
You both won a goodie bag plus £10 worth of Hannah Zakari gift vouchers :)

I'll contact each winner individually tomorrow and direct them to this blog to claim the prize. But if you see this before I'm in touch please email me with your full name and address so I can send you your prize!

Thanks so much to everyone who took part - let's do it again soon!

Rachael x

Brand New HZ Website and Celebratory Super Give-Away!

2010-11-17T22:27:00.008Z

After months of hard work getting the new look Hannah Zakari up to scratch it's finally ready to go. It's been a long time in the making and I hope you agree it's been worth it.

Anyway, to celebrate we're having a GREAT BIG GIVE-AWAY and all you need to do to enter is tell us what your favourite item on the new look Hannah Zakari is. You can do this in one or all of the following ways with an entry for each:

Tweeting at us on Twitter - My favourite thing on the new @HannahZakari website is *link here*

Tell us on Facebook

Writing about the new website on your blog and letting us know the link.

Or, leave us a comment below

We've got 5 goodie bags to give away.

The 1st prize goodie bag has over £200 worth of prizes including:
£50 worth of HZ Gift Vouchers
An Eclectic Shock item of your choice
A Kate Wilson print of your choice
And a goodie bag like this:

Included in the bag are a Kate Mclelland Owl tote bag, Gemma Correll Pugs Not Drugs Mirror, Laurafalullah Notebook and Rose Brooch, a Hoolala mini goodie bag, brooches from Custom Made, I Am Acrylic, Uncommonly Beautiful and Haberdash House, a Harris Tweed purse by Breagha (coming to HZ soon!), a cute cross-stitch bird ring by Magasin, a Journey Journal from Cracked Designs and a copy of the very awesome Nude magazine - wowzers!

That leaves 4 more goodie bags...

Two of the other goodie bags will each have a £25 Hannah Zakari Gift Voucher and selection of goodies including a Tote Bag, Harris Tweed Purse, various brooches, a copy of Nude magazine and trinkets similar to those pictured above.

The remaining two goodie bags will have a £10 Hannah Zakari Gift Voucher plus a copy of Nude mag and selection of goodies just as good as those above!

The competition will remain open until Thursday 2nd December at 4pm and the winners will be chosen at random by me shortly after!

Good luck!!!

Pre-Giveaway Giveaway!

2010-11-10T14:44:00.013Z

Hey folks, this giveaway is now finished and and the winner is Flora!

We're almost set to launch our new website but it's taking a little longer than anticipated to get those finishing touches just right and I know some of you are waiting for this awesome giveaway I've been twittering on about.

So, to tide you over until the big launch day, I'm having an impromptu pre-giveaway giveaway just to get you in the mood!

All you need to do to enter is retweet (RT) our giveaway tweet - simple.

(edit - you must RT the tweet, don't tweet it back @HannahZakari as the aim is to spread the word!)

So what do you win? Well, all this stuff and more...

Your prize will be full of brilliantly awesome stuff from Hannah Zakari including some of our very best sellers from our shoppe and website, plus a gift voucher designed exclusively for Hannah Zakari by illustrator Gemma Correll - how good is that?

For an extra entry, tell us what one item you'd like most from the Hannah Zakari website, and you never know, it might end up in your box of goodies!

The winner will be drawn at random by me on Friday 12th November at 6pm.

Happy Birthday to Hannah Z!

2010-10-15T10:12:00.009+01:00

Who'd of thought it, my little website is turning 6 tomorrow! And we can't have a birthday without a bit of a celebration, can we?

So from now until midnight on Sunday you can get a lovely 20% off everything on Hannah Zakari with the code 'iheartcake' - yay!

Please note: this discount is available on our website only, there's other fun stuff happening in the Shoppe such as cake and some cross stitching!

And if you want your order to be dispatched today, please order by 2pm :)

Oh, later this month we'll be launching our super duper fancy new website, so keep your Twitter/Facebook sensors out for all the latest news and details of a lovely big give-away we'll be having.

Say it with Cross-Stitch!

2010-10-12T12:12:00.004+01:00

This Saturday, 16th October, cross stitcher extraordinaire and the lady at the helm of Miso Funky, Claire Brown will be at the Hannah Zakari Shoppe cross stitching away and making her sweet little cross stitch badges to your order.

Join her between 12 and 5 pm at the HZ Shoppe on Candlemaker Row in Edinburgh and you too can say it in Cross Stitch!

With every season turn turn turn

2010-10-10T20:21:00.001+01:00

It's feeling very autumn all of a sudden isn't it? It's time to get those thick jumpers and coats out of their hiding places and get ready for, trick or treating, bonfires and the party season.

I don't know about you but being the human equivalent to a magpie, I find pretty treasures teamed with the latest trends makes me feel all warm on a cold night.

Here are a few things we're excited about at the moment:-

I heart tea brooch.

If you're braving the cold and need a nice hot cup of tea in a hurry you won't even need a remove your scarf. Just point to this handy little brooch and one will be delivered to you, hopefully.

Keep Calm and Carry on Shopping tote.

Lets face it, this time of year is silly shopping season. If things get too stressful for you pile some nice cream-cakes into this lovely tote, move quickly towards home and eat. Whilst keeping calm of course.

Leather Leaf Brooch.

One of my favourite things to do at this time of year is crunch through lovely golden leaves in my wellies. When the office is getting you down pin this to your coat and be transported outside.

Miss Beehaving Necklace

Bugs are still very hot this AW10 season.

This necklace is totally in style. Bees are pretty awesome.

Mount Royal No2 Book Necklace

As this necklace is made from a much loved leather jacket you'd be doing your bit for recycling. Also you can remind yourself how nice it is to get lost in a good book, and therefore it's good for your brain too.

Shelter from the rain print.

Winter notepad.

Finally if the rainy weather gets too much; hurry indoors to stare at beautiful prints and write some Halloween party invitations.

Monday Sneak Peek!

2010-10-04T12:42:00.007+01:00

Good afternoon folks!

It's all go here at Hannah Zakari these days, we're beavering away on the brand new website design (which is looking ace btw) and getting ready to add a multitude of new designers online too.

One of those designers is Naoshi, who I just can't bear to keep from you any longer. To say I love her work would be to understate my feelings, I really can't get enough of them!

The originals of her bright, surreal images are coloured in sand which creates a really unusual looking texture to these prints. We have a mixture of her prints and cards for Hannah Zakari which will be available to buy online from tomorrow.

First up - A print preview...

PS The names are almost as good as the images!

Shelter From The Rain - When is it going to stop raining?

Fitting - Hey, you won't be able to wear it!

Dream glasses　-May tomorrow be another good day!

The bad habit of a guy who lives in Post －Everyone's life goes on with each other.

And some adorable cards:

Watch this You Tube video to see how Naoshi creates her work - it's ace!

2010-09-27T13:02:00.003+01:00

A little peek 2 new designers about to arrive at Hannah Zakari...

Hannah Zakari is Hiring

2010-09-22T12:27:00.008+01:00

*UPDATE* We are no longer accepting applications - thanks to everyone who applied!

Hannah Zakari is currently looking for a temporary helper in our Edinburgh shoppe.

If you're a helpful, motivated sort with an interest in indie design and a friendly nature you could be just what we're looking for!

Duties will include:
Opening and closing the shop, cashing up, cleaning
Assisting and serving customers
Being knowledgeable about the designers we stock
Taking care of the things in the shoppe
Preparing stock for sale
Taking website orders to the Post Office
and more!

Basic hours will be Thursday and Friday 12 - 6 until December 23rd.

Rate of pay is £6.00 per hour.

Being able to work alone is essential as you will be required to look after the shopfloor on your own.

If you would like to apply, please email rachael@hannahzakari.co.uk with your CV and cover letter or hand it into the shoppe.

Hannah Zakari
43 Candlemaker Row
Edinburgh
EH1 2QB

*UPDATE* We are no longer accepting applications - thanks to everyone who applied!

Lady Luck Rules OK Jewellery Workshop and Trade Secrets Talk

2010-08-27T12:24:00.004+01:00

Here's a date for your diary you won't want to miss!

Leona Baker the creator of cult indie label Lady Luck Rules OK will be right here in the Hannah Zakari Shoppe as part of her Trade Secrets Talk and Jewellery Workshop tour of the UK on Sunday November 7th.

You can read reviews of Leona's previous talks *here* and book your tickets *here*.

See you all there!

New stuff!

2010-08-25T18:33:00.003+01:00

Just a selection of some super new pieces about to arrive on Hannah Zakari.

2010-08-17T14:42:00.007+01:00

So it's been just over three weeks since we opened the Hannah Zakari Shoppe,and I can honestly say that they have been three of the busiest and brilliant weeks of my life. Combined with the experience of living in Edinburgh through the festival, things are just good and fun right now!

However, although I reckon I'm a pretty organised sort of person some things have had to take a back seat, and unfortunately that 'thing' has been the Hannah Zakari website *sadface*. But don't fret! We have big plans and next month sees the launch the new super duper Hannah Zakari WebShoppe and we'll be having a super duper give away to celebrate. Pleased stay tuned here or on our Twitter and Facebook, or join our mailing list to hear all the latest news first.

In the meantime and if you're still eager to see more pictures of the shoppe, visit our freshly updated Flickr page.

Today's Event

2010-08-06T14:42:00.003+01:00

This is what's happening in the Hannah Zakari Shoppe right now...

Shoppe Event - Gee How Quaint - Friday 6th August

2010-08-02T14:01:00.005+01:00

We're very excited to be hosting Cassandra Harrison from Gee How Quaint this Friday 6th August who will be in the Hannah Zakari Shoppe creating her very beautiful artworks.

You can come along and watch her work or have your very own Edinburgh Tenement Artwork created using your choice of colours and building at the very reasonable price of £35.

We have a selection of Cassandra's work in the shoppe already so if you can't make it on Friday come and have a look anyway!

More Shoppe Pictures

2010-07-28T17:21:00.003+01:00

I can't stop taking pictures of the shoppe, so here are a few more to feast your eyes upon :)

Shoppe Pictures!

2010-07-26T11:24:00.016+01:00

A few of you have been asking for some pictures of the shoppe and here they are!

Despite still missing some furniture and stock, I think it looks pretty good :)

And if that's not enough for you, here are some product shots of new items and designers - expect a big update on the website very soon...

Gorgeous cushions from new designer Caroline Dulko.

'Dookie Rope' scarves from Yokoo - these will be available in the shoppe only I'm afraid.

New bracelets and brooches from Margaux Lange.

Stunning jewellery from new designer Comfort Station.

Beautiful Harris Tweed bags from new designer Breagha, and some Pom Pom Necklaces from Yokoo (and fabby bags from Showpony too!).

Stunning new necklaces from Hoolala made especially for the shoppe.

Phewee! I reckon that should be enough to keep you going but expect more soon...

Thanks...

2010-07-25T21:06:00.004+01:00

I'm pleased to report that the Hannah Zakari shop opening was a great success - yay!

But a lot of people helped me and without them I doubt things would have gone so well, so this post is to say a huge thank you to the following people...

Firstly, and most importantly, all the customers who came along yesterday and supported us, gave us some great feedback and bought ace things. I really hope you enjoyed the cakes and hope to see you all again soon.

All my designers who sent me the most amazing stock, the shop is nothing without you!

Gill at Paper Robot who helped out at short notice many times over the last few weeks.

Andy Murray for designing some beautiful furniture that really inspired the whole look of the shop.

Amy and Alex at Gossip PR for travelling all the way up from Hove to help out and flyering like crazy people.

Loopy Lorna's Tea House for making me an amazing spread of cakes at very short notice - they were extremely tasty!

Josie and Freya at Ding Dong Designs for making the beautiful window boxes for the shop windows.

Emma from Showpony for designing the HZ logo and sharing a studio with me for the last 18 months - I miss you!

The awesometastic John for for being really really good at computers.

My friend Sandra from Ruby Loves Red for sending the gorgeous flowers.

Sorry for getting all Gwyneth at the Oscars on you, so many people helped and I wanted all of you to know how much I appreciate it: LOTS!

The shop - sneak peek!

2010-07-20T12:52:00.002+01:00

There's lots going on today at HZ-HQ!

John and I stayed up until 2 am painting the shop last night and were right back here first thing for a delivery of some of our shop furniture - finally!

Sitting outside the shop right now and attracting a lot of attention, illustrator Judith is decorating the insides of our shutters with the woodblock print we use on the website and it looks ace!

Here's a couple of quick photos...

It's Friday! It's another Sneak Peek!

2010-07-16T17:11:00.006+01:00

I have to admit I'm not well prepared for today's sneak peek, and as soon as I went to take a few extra piccies the battery on my camera ran out - isn't it always the way?!

So, you are only getting a teeny tiny peek at some gorgeous woollies from 2 of our new designers. I reckon the weather today is cold, windy and rainy enough to get away with wearing any of these beauties right now.

The amazing knitted chain scarf from New York designer Yokoo will be exclusively sold in the Hannah Zakari shop along with a range of her AMAZING hand knitted designs:

And these cheeky berets are handmade by the lovely Chatham Girl, in err, Chatham. Hannah Zakari will carry a selection of her berets and oversized bow headbands - super!

Aren't they ace?!

Window Boxes!

2010-07-15T17:46:00.001+01:00

So happy as my window boxes arrived today, made especially for the shoppe by my lovely green fingered friend and her mum :D

Don't they look lovely?

Wednesday double Sneak Peek!

2010-07-14T14:46:00.004+01:00

Another doubler today as I know I won't get the chance to do this tomorrow! Here's just a little peek at shop collections from Dazed Dorothy and Eclectic Shock...

Both Corinne (Dazed Dorothy) and Louise (Eclectic Shock) will be in the Hannah Zakari Shop on our opening day (24th July) offering customisation services! Bring along your old jewels to be revamped into something new and beautiful, or an old leather item to be lovingly remade into an super clutch bag!

Each designer will have a selection of items from their own crafty store cupboards to help you create and customise your own special piece - wow!

Keep your eyes on the blog for more details soon...

Tuesday double sneak peek!

2010-07-13T15:26:00.007+01:00

Since I didn't manage to get one of these done yesterday, today you're getting a double whammy of sneak peeks with some beautiful new pieces from two designers we've had on Hannah Zakari for a long time...

First up, Hoolala, with some amazing OOAK pieces from her Luxe Fallen Angel Range which have been created especially for the Hannah Zakari shop.

The next peek is from Kirsty Kirkpatrick who has sent us a MEGA box of jewellery for the shop! Here are just 2 of the beautiful necklaces included in the package which consisted of an amazing array of earrings and bracelets too.

Hope you like!

Look who's just been to visit...

2010-07-13T15:23:00.002+01:00

Only Gemma Correll and the lovely Mr Pickles :)

Sunday Sneak Peek...

2010-07-11T16:28:00.005+01:00

I really do have an amazing selection of new things for the shoppe and I thought it only fair to share some with you in advance, I'm nice like that.

Most of (but not all) the designers I'm going to share with you over the next week will be available on the website within the next month or two, but will make their début in the shoppe when it opens on July 24th.

I'm going to start with a designer who has been a favourite of mine for years, I was quite frankly honoured when she agreed to let me sell her beautiful items. Here's a mini peek at her collection, I really hope you like them too...

We did it!

2010-07-08T13:40:00.007+01:00

On Saturday me, John and a couple of very lovely and generous friends (who also do weights - the perfect friends to help you move) moved the entire Hannah Zakari studio in Glasgow to the new Hannah Zakari shoppe in Edinburgh!

It's good to have that over and done with and slowly be getting everything organised the way I like it again!

Here's a wee picture of a quick sneak preview window we put out to let people know where we are, I really need to sort out something special for opening...

And here's something I received in the post this morning from Brendan of I Am Acrylic - what a star he is!

Not long now...

2010-06-29T13:00:00.006+01:00

On Thursday I pick up the keys to the very first Hannah Zakari real life shop - how exciting!

The bad news is that the next week is going to be filled with packing, vans, unpacking, painting, organising and general dull stuff. And all of this means that we'll be offline and unable to post orders out for a bit :(

So, you should know that all orders placed after midday on Wednesday 30th June will not be dispatched until Tuesday 6th July (and this will include Special Delivery orders) so if you need something fast best do it pronto.

Of course, you can still use the 20% DISCOUNT CODE that's kicking around - MOVING20 - which is valid until midday tomorrow. Yay!

www.hannahzakari.co.uk

My major fabric destash...

2010-06-10T13:03:00.006+01:00

Those of you who are following me on Twitter will already know that I'm having a HUGE clear out of my fabrics on Ebay to try and streamline my 'things' before the big move to the shop.

As well as big quantities of yardage (5 yard minimums at bargain prices) and a few whole bolts, I decided to try out some 'Mystery Bags' and I've been pretty surprised how popular they have been - so far I've sold out twice!

Here's a couple of pictures of the Mystery Packages on their way out to lucky Ebayers. Each bag includes 3 full individual metres, 4 fat quarters, a variety of large scraps, and for as long as I have some, the odd notion and craft item.

Here's one with some larger bits of fabric:

and another with lots of smaller pieces:

And here's the reason I'm doing this:

You can buy it all *here*.

If you buy some I'd love to see what you make with it!

Pamper Party!

2010-06-08T11:04:00.008+01:00

The last few days I've been sorting out these little promo packs of mini postcards for the Scottish Wedding Directory Pamper Party, and I'm pretty pleased how they turned out.

I wrapped each mini pack of 4 postcards with coloured embroidery thread finished with a vintage button and HZ tag. On the back is all the info about item pictured plus a reminder about our shop opening in the summer (the party is in Edinburgh too!). I tried to target most the pieces I used to be a bit wedding-y but also give a good idea of the range of stuff stocked on Hannah Zakari. Pretty cute, huh?

If you do happen to be going to the Pamper Party, there will be the chance to win a Hannah Zakari goodie bag, stuffed with some of our best sellers and various other super cute bits and bobs!

Made In The Shade Springtime Jamboree - Eastside!

2010-05-10T10:41:00.015+01:00

I've got a busy week ahead preparing for the Made In The Shade Springtime Jamboree in Edinburgh on Saturday (15th May), and I'm super excited to be doing my very first craft fair in our capital!!!

I'll be introducing TWO brand new designers along with a selection of HZ favourites - come and say hello...

My Shoppe!

2010-04-16T12:58:00.006+01:00

Well, it's finally happening, Hannah Zakari will open it's very own real life shop this summer and we couldn't be more excited!

I've had an idea of what would be my dream shop, but I'd almost given up hope on ever finding that perfect combination of all my (some would say) crazy ideas, but this pretty little thing has it spot on...

Two whole floors - woo! Upstairs the internet pixies will be working hard getting all your online orders posted on time, and downstairs you can come in and touch and try on and buy in person!

All going according to plan, the shop will open this July in Edinburgh (just off the Grassmarket).

See you there?

Selling on Hannah Zakari

2010-03-19T12:15:00.010Z

Finally another installment in my Q+A blog posts!

I've tried to cover what I look for in an application to sell on HZ and mixed it in a bit of advice on selling your pieces in general. I hope some of you designers/makers either thinking of applying to sell on HZ find it useful, or if you've not even got that far yet and are just getting excited about starting to make things, maybe you will find a few tips here too...

Hannah Zakari stocks items which are either handmade or designed by indie designers and I place an emphasis on cute, quirky and unusual designs. I look for things that are truly not on the high street, that are hard to find and often not sold anywhere else in the UK.

When looking at applications I take into account the design, the price and the quality, and all 3 have to be pretty much spot on for me to take it further.

Your application to HZ should include:
* Your name and location.
* Good photos which are representative of your work.
* Clear descriptions and retail prices of each piece.
* Your website address if you have one.

Product shots and descriptions are a crucial part of the application and I want to see the love, care and thought that has gone into creating an item.

Your photos should be of a reasonable size (about 750px square-ish) so it's easy to see the detail in your work. I don't expect them to be professional but they must be as clear as possible.

Descriptions should include what materials have been use to create the piece and any background on your ideas and processes.

Please don't be disheartened if I decide not to stock your work. I get about 4/5 applications a week, and in addition to that I also look for and approach designers myself, it would actually be impossible for me to stock everyone I wanted to!

I obviously get it wrong sometimes and I do review applications every once in a while in case I've missed something or had a change of heart about someone (sometimes I get it wrong the other way and stock a designer who doesn't sell much but I don't like those times so less said about that the better!).

There's never been a bigger choice of places for selling your handmade items online and you may find that some places are a better fit for your pieces than others.

Finally, if you feel your work isn't appealing to the right places then review it, see what changes you can make and try again. There is a place for everyone out there if the work is good enough.

So, I hope this helpful/interesting to someone! Next time I'm going to write about pricing your goods - oh fun! - so if you have any specific questions about that do let me know and I'll try and cover it.

Have a great weekend,

Rachael x

How did you get started?

2010-02-10T12:25:00.015Z

This is the single most common question I am asked when someone wants to interview me and it's not all that easy to answer in a short paragraph. Over the years it's taken perseverance, money, mistakes, tears and a few lucky breaks to get Hannah Zakari where it is now. So here's the history of HZ so far...

I started HZ in 2004 after moving to Glasgow and unable to find a job I enjoyed decided to go it alone and try making stuff and selling it. I had no business plan and not much of an idea of what direction I wanted things to go but I'd always been creative and enjoyed making things so that seemed like a good place to start. After University (I studied Clothing Design and Management at The Scottish College of Textiles) I'd spent the years pre-Hannah Zakari working in retail as a manager for a high street shop, which at the time felt soul destroying but it turns out that a lot of the skills I learned during that time have come in pretty handy in running my own business so, ya know, it wasn't all bad in the end!

To begin with I only sold stuff I was making myself like jewellery and bags, and I honestly thought I could just set up a website and people would come to buy my stuff straight away but I was so wrong. It took me 3 weeks to make my first sale and I probably made a couple of hundred pounds in the first few months so I was rather disheartened and started to think about how I could develop things.

Back then I was spending a lot of my time on Craftster making friends and learning new crafty techniques but all these super cool crafters I was 'meeting' were in the States and I sort of had an epiphany style moment when I realised you couldn't buy all this amazing stuff here in the UK. I approached a few designers whose stuff I liked and almost to my surprise they agreed to sell with me. I think that was around late summer 2005 so I guess you could really say that Hannah Zakari as it is now started then.

Over the next few years I added more designers to my books most of which were still from the US but I was starting to get a few UK and other international designers interested in selling with me who are now firm favourites on HZ.

In November 2006 I got an extremely lucky break when Hannah Zakari ended up on an email which circulated around the world full of discount codes available in various online shops, from high street shops like Topshop and Debenhams to the tiny business that is HZ. The website went completely bonkers and I sold out of over half my stock on the first evening! I spent the rest of the year begging my designers to send me more stock and somehow made it through xmas with a well stocked website and many new customers.

I think that was another turning point for HZ, I'd always thought the shop was ace, but lacked the confidence to say this to other people and this proved that they thought it was ace too! It gave me the push I needed to start promoting more so I contacted blogs, put adverts on crafty sites, emailed the few press contacts I had to try and drum up some promotion for Hannah Zakari - this had varying results and I'll go into that in more detail in a later post.

Since then Hannah Zakari has grown into what it is now. It's still a very tiny company with just little old me behind the computer/telephone/twitter/facebook etc etc, but last year it moved into a studio, took on a proper PR person and employed 2 people at xmas - s'not bad really and I feel quite proud of what I've achieved so far ;-)

So, I hope you've enjoyed this first installation, I've got lots more topics I want to write about and my next business blog will be about how I choose designers for Hannah Zakari. It's probably the most important decision I make frequently and not one I always enjoy! If there is anything you'd like to know then please email, tweet or message me on here and I'll try and cover it.

PS the pictures in order from the top are - one of my mushrooms bags from around when I started; Hannah Zakari's first bit of print press Your Cat Magazine who featured *Meomi's cutie stationery; and a picture of the HZ studio from last year (it's changed a little to make more room since then!).
*Incidentally, Meomi have gone on to design the mascots of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics! Check them out: http://www.vancouver2010.com/mascot/

Question Time...

2010-02-03T14:11:00.006Z

Over the years I've had a lot of emails asking me stuff about my job, really a lot! They mainly come from students looking for help with dissertations, people who are thinking about starting their own business wondering if I can offer them any advice, and designers interested in selling on HZ but wanting some more information before applying.

In the past I've always tried my best to reply to them as quickly as I could but, well, maybe over the last year or so I've kind of stopped... This isn't because I'm really horrible and don't want to help, usually I'm busy and they get put to the back of the queue after customer/designer emails then - sorry! - forgotten about, and it's sometimes because the questions are just too prying. That might sound a little strange, but really, I'm not going to tell any old person how much I turnover each year or who my suppliers are! And just one last little bug bear is that of the many people I have helped out, 9 out of 10 don't even email back to say thanks (usually the students!). Maybe I expect too much but manners are free people!

Anyway, to get around the problem of me not having enough time to reply to every email I thought I'd do a question and answer session type thing on this blog and reply to my most frequently asked questions. I'll be covering in depth how I got started, business tips, sale or return and wholesale, how I choose designers for HZ and anything else I can think of.

If there is anything you'd like me to cover drop me an email, tweet me or leave a comment here and I'll do my best to answer your questions in the FAQ's.

I'll try and get the first post up in the next day or two...

Winners!

2010-01-20T09:32:00.006Z

Thanks to everyone who told us their best jokes for our latest give-away, I've really enjoyed this competition! Once again it was hard to pick the winners so I had to call in someone from the outside and we finally managed to narrow it down to three jokes that had us laughing more than the others. And here are the winners....

Drumroll please!
1st Prize
goes to DiabeticType1 with
Who's everyone's favourite guy at hospital?....The ultra-sound guy....

Who stands in when he's not there?....The hip-replacement guy....

Surely a worthy winner :D

And the runners up are:

Holly@Vivid with
How do you turn a duck into a soul singer?

Put it in the microwave until its bill withers...

and

Emma with
How do find Will Smith when he's lost in the snow?

You look for the fresh prints.

Well done to all of you for providing the most laughs chez Hannah Zakari over the last few days!

If you are a winner please email me with your real name and address and I'll get your prizes on the way as quickly as I can.

Make us laugh and win cute stuff!

2010-01-15T12:13:00.014Z

As promised, here's the details of our latest give away and it's designed to help us banish those winter blues with laughter! Yes, we want to hear your best jokes and the ones that make us laugh the most here at HZ-HQ win! Easy peasy, huh?

Here's what's up for grabs...

Super Duper 1st Prize is a goodie bag full of kawaii - a Hello Kitty note pad and tin of sweets, a do-it-yourself 2010 Japanese sticker calendar, some Meomi magnets, a brand new Squirrel and Acorn Necklace from my very own new collection, and a most coveted tiny bunny sculpture from Pretty Random Objects:

Also super but slighty smaller runners up prizes are these mini goodie bags with some more Japanese cuteness bought on our recent holiday and some sweet Hannah Zakari goodies too!

All winners will also get a very lovely discount to use on their next purchase from Hannah Zakari :)

Cuuuuttttteeeee!

All you need to do is leave a comment here with your very best joke. You'll get extra entries if you tweet your joke @hannahzakari on Twitter or if you post it on our Facebook Fan Page ('cause you'll be making us laugh each time, right?!) but you must also post it here for your entry to count.

Oh, and you can enter as with as many different jokes as you like!

Let the laughter begin...

PS you can enter right up until midnight on Monday 18th Jan :)

PPS Hey Folks, that's the competition closed now. I'll be announcing the winner today/tomorrow so be sure to check back to see if you won!

Sneak peek...

2010-01-12T19:30:00.004Z

Here's what I've been up to this afternoon and evening, I would have liked to show you more but the light in my flat isn't lending itself to good photo taking as you can see, grr. Hopefully some more creatively complicated stuff will follow soon...

One of the squirrel necklace in the first photo will be up for grabs later this week along with some kawaii Japanese goodies :)

Hannah Zakari SALE now on!

2010-01-08T11:22:00.002Z

Yay, our sale has finally started! You can get 10% - 50% off items from some of your favourite designers including Hoolala, Eclectic Shock, Custom Made, Pretty Raccoon Clothing, and lots, lots more!

Happy shopping peeps :)

Happy New Year Everyone and a big Thank You!

2010-01-03T18:32:00.005Z

I hope you had a fabulous time over this xmas and new year :)

2009 was an great year for Hannah Zakari, the business grew more than I imagined possible - so busy at times I barely managed to sleep but every minute of it was enjoyable. Last year I moved into premises and employed people, things that even 18 months ago I couldn't foresee and I'm just really happy that Hannah Zakari has turned into something so successful which, of course, would never have happened without many amazing customers and I want to say thank you for supporting the business and basically being lovely people :)

To thank you all this week I'll be having a wee competition/give-away of some cute stuff I picked up on my holiday and a necklace from my own new collection. I've got a bit of catching up to do work wise first and you'll get all the details on here, Twitter or Facebook as soon as it starts.

Also keep your eyes peeled for more sale stuff coming later this week - lots of jewellery and other pretties - with up to 50% off, wowza!

Thank you again for shopping indie and supporting independent makers and designers on Hannah Zakari, here's hoping 2010 is even better - I have a good feeling about it!

X X X

Happy Christmas!!!

2009-12-26T01:45:00.008Z

Hope you had a fabulous Christmas with lots of nice pressies and mulled wine and mince pies and chocolate Mmmmmm.

Christmas in Japan is quite different, it's not a holiday here so everything is open as usual although they do have decorations and stuff everywhere, and cards etc. Apparently it's like a version of Valentines day where couples go out and celebrate together and eat Christmas cake which is actually a very tasty creamy strawberry sponge cake (pictures to follow).

Here's a run down of what we've been up to on out holiday so far...

Day one - very jet lagged so we started off at our hotel in Shinjuku and had a walk through Yoyogi Park to Harajuku where we ate in Pizza Express(!) and had a look through La Foret before continuing down to Shibuya for a bit more looking in shops and finally catching the Yamanote back to Shinjuku for an early night, zzzzz.

Day two - out to Ueno for a picnic in the park and a visit to the National Museum which has a fantastic collecion of kimono and Kabuki costumes, really enjoyed this. After a wander through the hectic streets of Ueno and the Ameyoko market we hopped on the train out to Akihabara (electric town) for Johns benefit. Then, tired again we headed back to the hotel for yet another early night (I know, this is a poor effort!).

Day three - The results of day 3... coming to a website near you soon! We went bead shopping! On the train again out to the bead district, which you can imagine is like my own personal version of shopping heaven! In the 5 times that I've been to Tokyo, this is the first time I've known that there was a whole district devoted to bead shops and I was not disappointed! We had a great day here, I think even John enjoyed and I'm feeling rather inspired:D

Day four - we went to Shimo-Kitazawa which is a little district of Tokyo not yet flattened by development and covered in massive shopping centres. Unfortunately it looked like development of the area is set to go ahead next year so I was happy to get the chance to visit before this happened. Lots of independent shops in this area which makes for a nice stroll around all the wee lanes and some really amazing little shops where I made some great purchases. This area is great if you are petite and like vintage shopping as it's packed full of second hand clothing shops.
Once we were finished here we were back to Shinjuku as we hadn't really explored the area about our hotel yet, so we looked for restaurants we could go to, found a cinema to go and see Avatar (but tix had sold out so we'll try and do that another night) and lots of fun messing about with the interactive xmas window displays at Isetan.

Today we're off to Kichijoji, one of my favourite areas of Tokyo for some more shopping and strolling around the park...

holidays!

2009-12-18T14:41:00.005Z

I'm getting super excited about my holiday, only 2 more sleeps - woo! However, it does mean that there won't be anyone here to look after Hannah Zakari which worries me a little, but it's just one of the few bad things about being a one person business. These up coming next few weeks are the quietest time of the year for me so it makes sense for me to take advantage of that but I feel a little guilty if someone has left it late to buy pressies and I'm not here to help them out!

While I'm away the shop will still be open for purchases but nothing will be sent until January 5/6th (it's still a holiday up here on the 4th). There will be free shipping for all UK orders to try and make up a little for the wait and I'll be adding free cute kawaii Japanese gifts to orders over £30 if you ask for 'kawaii please' in the comments box between Dec 20th and Jan 1st =^-^=

Merry Christmas everyone!!

xmas xmas xmas

2009-12-16T19:14:00.001Z

A big hello to everyone who came to see Hannah Zakari at the Bust Craftacular and We Make craft fairs in London over the last couple of weeks. I had such a great time at both events, it's really nice getting out and about meeting customers and selling things face to face.

I was on my own both weekends so didn't get to do my usual photos and purchases (boo!) which was a real shame as there were some amazing stalls and I'm pretty sure I could have got my xmas shopping done and dusted... As it is I still have it all to do - noooooo!

I'll be having a good think over the next few months about if I can still carry on doing craft fairs in future, they can be super good fun but they take a lot of time to prepare for and things at HZ are really getting a little bit too busy for me to fit all the prep in, especially at this time of year. I found myself wishing a little bit that I was there as a customer rather than a vendor as I could have done with some fun time out of work - I've done too many 12 hour days this year!!!

But anyway, the hard work is almost over 'cause...

...on Sunday I'm off on holiday to Tokyo for 11 days:D This will be my 5th time in Japan but my longest stint in Tokyo as usually we travel around a bit and see as much as we can, but last time we were there we really felt that Tokyo needed some proper exploration. This is the holiday I had to postpone in October as HZ was too busy and Vogue and Grazia x 2 featuring HZ were coming out during the time I had planned to be away - bad timing or what?!

I'll be trying my best to update this blog while I'm away and will be updating over the next few days about what's happening on HZ while I'm away so stay tuned!

Rachael x

Bust Craftacular - tomorrow!

2009-12-11T11:25:00.003Z

Come along and shop your heart out at the awesome Bust Craftacular in York Hall, Bethnal Green in London tomorrow!

HZ on Tour

2009-11-29T18:20:00.006Z

What a hectic month November has been, I've been working my cotton socks off but loving every minute of it!

I can't imagine the next couple of weeks are going to be any less work, I'm anticipating that this week will be my busiest ever plus I have We Make to prepare for this Saturday (5th) and the weekend after that I'm back in London for the Bust Craftacular on the 12th - here's the details for both events, I'd love it if you came along!

Hannah Zakari is hiring!

2009-10-29T12:20:00.000Z

Hannah Zakari is looking for an assistant to help out over the busy Christmas period. If you are free for a few hours on weekday afternoons and would like to be involved working for a tiny but fun and busy business, then we want to hear from you!

Your main duties will be packing and posting orders, preparing new stock, helping with preparation for craft fairs and generally helping out around the HZ studio.

What we need from you:
* be able to work 4 - 5 afternoons per week (minimum 10 hours per week)
* you should be hard working, flexible, and punctual
* an interest in the running of a very small, indie business
* a love of craft and handmade products

In return we can offer you £6 per hour, a generous discount and as much tea as you can drink.

If you'd like to apply, please email us in the first instance at rachael@hannahzakari.co.uk and include your CV and cover letter by Wednesday 5th November.

Other info:
The Hannah Zakari studio is 5 minutes walk from Govan subway station and there are also parking facilities if you drive.
Start date would be asap and employment would run up until approximately 18th December 2009

Drumroll please!

2009-10-19T16:41:00.010+01:00

I have to say I was a bit overwhelmed by the entries into our crafty Friday afternoon competition, although there weren't many entries they were all so fantastic and everyone who did enter really got into the spirit of things. So after much agonising decision making, the winners are...

...the super talented flatmates Alice and Sarah with a joint entry! Well done you crazy ladies! Here's the pictures they sent me of the sign and the making of, as you can see a lot of fun went into the making of this and that's kind of what it was all about!

Fabulous or what?

As I said before, lots of effort went into all the signs and I feel special mention must go to the following people. All of these lovely peeps will be receiving special surprise Hannah Zakari packages between now and Christmas.

In order of entry our runners up are...

Alexis

and Tara

I'm also giving a super special mention to my good friend Sandra who makes adorable stuffed creatures on her website Ruby Loves Red and held a Hannah Zakari tea party complete with deelly boppers and cake - yum :D

So that's the end of our birthday celebrations, I'd just like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who took part again. I'm quite sad it's over *sniff*, but it has been a really fun week :)

Thank you!
Rachael x x x

Thank you!

2009-10-16T17:56:00.005+01:00

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in this weeks celebrations, it's been a lot of fun!

Remember you can still enter our weekend crafting competition to win another cute bunny vase - details can be found here. No one has entered yet so it's either going to be easy to pick or you're all thinking long and hard about what to do!

Fridays winner of the Eclectic Shock item has been chosen and notified already... here's a quick picture of my studio-mate Emma of Showpony choosing the winner :D

Have a great weekend everyone!

Rachael x

Another chance to win...

2009-10-16T15:07:00.004+01:00

...a Tiny Bunny Vase!

We had such an overwhelming response to yesterday's competition that we thought we'd give you another chance to win what is possibly the cutest vase in the world!

Since Hannah Zakari is all about handmade we thought we'd encourage you to create something. So what you need to do is take a picture of yourself holding a sign which reads 'Happy Birthday Hannah Zakari' that you've made with your own fair hands and email to iwantabunnyvase@hannahzakari.co.uk.

The person with the best sign wins the vase, and 5 runners up will get a 20% discount code to help towards their xmas pressies (or simply to treat themselves with) - simple, huh?

You must be ok with me sharing these pictures on Facebook and this blog - so don't be shy and keep it decent!

This is going to run until midnight on Sunday and we'll announce the winners on Monday.

Yay! Good luck everyone!

Last chance to win!

2009-10-15T16:25:00.010+01:00

So it's the last day of our birthday celebrations - and today Hannah Zakari is actually 5 years old! How exciting!

It's also our last present hunt today and the fabulous prize is a beautiful Eclectic Shock item - that's right, any piece you like from one of Hannah Zakari's most popular designers!

As usual you need to find the hidden present (pictured above) on the Hannah Zakari website. We've hidden it 5 times and you only need to find it once to enter... but... today you'll get one entry for each hidden present you find so you have up to 5 chances to win!

Once you've spotted the presents email us at happybirthday@hannahzakari.co.uk and let us know your name and where you've found them. Today's competition closes at 5pm this afternoon and we will contact the winner by 6pm so they can choose their prize.

Good luck to everyone!

Rachael x x x

PS We'll be having a few little mini prizes and promos throughout the day which we'll announce on our Twitter so keep checking to see what the latest on offer is.

Wednesday's Winner!

2009-10-15T15:09:00.003+01:00

Congratulations to Rebecca Ball! Your prize is on it's way to you right now...

Thursday is Bunny Vase day!

2009-10-14T21:53:00.008+01:00

I know a lot of you have been waiting for today and the chance to win the adorable Bunny Vase by Pretty Random Objects!

For those of you who haven't entered our 5th birthday celebrations yet and this is the first you've heard, here's how you do it...

Every day this week we are giving away a fabulous item from some of your favourite designers on Hannah Zakari.

It's easy to enter - just find the hidden present (pictured above) on the Hannah Zakari website! We've hidden it in 5 different locations but you only need to find it once to be in with a chance to win todays prize which is the aforementioned and super cute Bunny Vase:

Once you've spotted it, email us at happybirthday@hannahzakari.co.uk and let us know your name and where you found it. We'll choose a winner at random and announce it on this blog tomorrow morning.

Today we'll be awarding extra entries to those who help spread the word about our birthday celebrations, so if you 're-tweet' our Tweets, write about us on your blog, or share our page with your friends on Facebook be sure to include links to your efforts in your email.

Remember we will post the prize anywhere in the whole wide world!

Good luck!
Rachael x

Tuesday's Winner!

2009-10-14T15:29:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Lydia Mossahebi! Your prize is on it's way already!

It's Wednesday!

2009-10-13T23:40:00.004+01:00

Half way through the week long birthday celebrations and we have another gorgeous prize for you!

Every day this week we are giving away a fabulous item from some of your favourite designers on Hannah Zakari. It's easy to enter - just find the hidden present (pictured above) on the Hannah Zakari website! We've hidden it in 5 different locations but you only need to find it once to be in with a chance to win this super cute I Heart Cake Necklace by Hoolala

Once you've spotted it, email us at happybirthday@hannahzakari.co.uk and let us know your name and where you found it. We'll choose a winner at random and announce it on this blog tomorrow morning.

Remember we will post the prize anywhere in the whole wide world!

Good luck!
Rachael x

PS Please spread the word about our celebrations on Facebook, Twitter, blogs etc etc!

PPS We'll announce yesterdays winner as soon as we've confirmed details with them.

Monday's Winner!

2009-10-13T11:53:00.002+01:00

Well done to Jasmine Wong! Your prize will be winging it's way to you today :-)

It's Tuesday...

2009-10-12T21:35:00.009+01:00

...and day 2 of our 5th birthday celebrations!

Every day this week we are giving away a fabulous item from some of your favourite designers on Hannah Zakari.

It's easy to enter - just find the hidden present (pictured above) on the Hannah Zakari website! We've hidden it in 5 different locations but you only need to find it once to be in with a chance to win this sweet matching Telephone Earrings and Telephone Necklace from Glue and Glitter

Once you've spotted it, email us at happybirthday@hannahzakari.co.uk and let us know your name and where you found it. We'll choose a winner at random and announce it on this blog tomorrow morning.

Remember we will post the prize anywhere in the whole wide world!

Good luck!
Rachael x

PS Please spread the word about our celebrations on Facebook, Twitter, blogs etc etc!

Happy Monday Everyone!

2009-10-11T21:28:00.012+01:00

Today is the start of our 5th birthday celebrations - yay! - and the prize today is the super adorable Plastic Bat Happy Acorn Necklace.

We've hidden Monday's 'present' in 5 different locations around the Hannah Zakari website, you only need to find it once to have a chance of winning!

Once you've spotted it, email us at happybirthday@hannahzakari.co.uk and let us know your name and where you found it. We'll choose a winner at random and announce it on this blog tomorrow morning.

Remember we will post the prize anywhere in the whole wide world!

Good luck!
Rachael x

PS Please spread the word about our celebrations on Facebook, Twitter, blogs etc etc!

***Edit*** I've had a few entries telling me where the Happy Acorn Necklace is on HZ so I thought I'd reiterate that you need to find the hidden present (ie the big pink image with the present in it) to enter!

The Hannah Zakari 5th Birthday Present Hunt!

2009-10-09T10:35:00.010+01:00

Hannah Zakari turns 5 years old next week and to celebrate we have 5 fabulous prizes to give away.

Each day there will be a different present hidden somewhere on the website - to enter you need to track it down.

We'll have a different prize every day, starting on Monday with this adorable Happy Acorn necklace from Plastic Bat

On Tuesday you can win this cuuuute necklace and earrings from Glue and Glitter

Wednesday's prize is a yummy I <3 Cake Necklace from Hoolala

Thursday is Bunny Vase day (yay!)

And on Friday you can win an Eclectic Shock item of your choice - any one you like! I like this one...

To enter:
Find where we have hidden the present.
Email happybirthday@hannahzakari.co.uk and tell us your name and where you found it.
You can enter once per day.

We'll pick a winner at random every day and announce the results on this blog the following morning.

Your prize will be in the post that day and can be sent anywhere in the world!

We won't use your email address for anything else.

Happy hunting!

Super Cute Kawaii

2009-09-30T13:43:00.003+01:00

One of my favourite blogs is the super cute Super Cute Kawaii, so I was extremely happy when they asked me to be a guest picker and blog about my favourite kawaii items for them! You can read them here...
Say hello to Monsieur Le Bun For me :)

Great new stuff

2009-09-24T10:40:00.003+01:00

I've added some gorgeous things to the shop this week... Beautiful mixed media collages from Suzanne Smith and super cute bags and purses from Custom Made.

Aren't they beautiful?

Our new designer for this month is Gemma Correll, her of the cute sneak peeks below!

Made In The Shade - this weekend!

2009-09-22T10:24:00.003+01:00

Hannah Zakari will be back at Made In The Shade at The Lighthouse in Glasgow city centre this Saturday 26th September with as much indie goodness as I can fit on my table!

Hope to see you there...

New designer for September...

2009-09-18T11:44:00.002+01:00

Next week we have a very special treat in the form of the latest new designer to Hannah Zakari - here's a wee sneak into what you can expect...

Cute, huh?

Look what I've got for you this time...

2009-08-28T13:31:00.007+01:00

A few months ago I tweeted asking for recommendations for some new designers who specifically made sterling silver jewellery and thanks to that I have 2 amazing brand new designers for you that I previewed at the Craftacular and have added online this week...

Firstly, home-grown talent Joanna Rutter from beautiful county of Devon with a really super cute range of hand fabricated creatures and greetings! Here's just some of my faves from the range:

Secondly, I have a range all the way from Brooklyn, NYC, and am very proud to be the first UK stockist of Michelle Chang's awesome gold and silver jewellery featuring tiny charms of skulls, hearts and kittens - sweeeet! Again, just a few picks from me:

Let me know what you think...

Hello little blog!

2009-08-28T11:10:00.010+01:00

It's been a while since I wrote but I never stopped thinking about you!

It's been a crazy few weeks here at HZ HQ, I've been prepping for and attending the Bust Craftacular (having a tiny holiday in London at the same time), and Hannah Zakari has been featured in some fabulous magazines which has been making sure I'm as busy as can be! All this plus adding lots of super designers to the site, phew!

HZ was at the Craftacular which was last Saturday in London. I had hoped to come back with a memory card full of fabulous pictures but, well, things don't always work that way and I only have a couple of pics of my stall which I was pretty proud of, I can tell you. So here is me, my trees (made by Brendan of I Am Acrylic, thank you Brendan!), and lots of glorious goodies waiting to be bought by all the lovely customers...

By the time the doors opened at midday there was a queue right around the block - eek! I had the best time, it's such good fun getting out and about to meeting customers and what a lovely lot they are too.
I made a few purchases myself, of course. My favourite being this awesome pie lady by The Cat In The Shoe and a super cute little gift for John from the Fine City Friends stall ( cute card and tiny guinea pig brooch!).

And I also bought a cute fox brooch from my next stall neighbours Love From Hetty and Dave (sorry, I don't have a picture!).

In other London news I treated myself to some gorgeous Liberty fabric to (eventually) make myself a dress with...

and we also went to the Natural History Museum which was amazing! We went to their butterfly garden, which I have to admit wasn't as good as the one in the Natural History Museum in New York, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Here's some pretty butterfly/moth pictures...

I shall blog about the new designers seperately...

just before I go home

2009-07-31T16:51:00.002+01:00

Just before I go home for the weekend, here's a teeny peek into the cuteness that landed on my desk this morning...

Have a good weekend folks,
Rachael x x x

Gocco!

2009-07-31T16:13:00.003+01:00

This week I've been working with intern Heather creating a new look for the Hannah Zakari website and craft fair stalls. This has resulted us spending the last couple of days gocco-ing the craft fair bags with a pretty design and given me a headfull of ideas on the HZ stall which is going to be super cute! Anyway, here's the bags, hot off the printing press...

Coming soon...

2009-07-28T10:52:00.009+01:00

Barely a week goes by when I don't get some gorgeous new stock in to HZ HQ, and this week has been no exception.

Over the next month I have 5 - yes 5! - new designers lined up for HZ, some of whom will be making their preview at the Bust Craftacular, and some others who will be online in the next couple of weeks.

I've been working hard on the home wares selection and the new website will have a fully fledged 'Handmade Home' full of treats from some of the best indie crafters around which I'm very excited about. Here's a preview of 2 designers who are exclusive to Hannah Zakari in the UK -

Firstly, a range of uber cute forest inspired vases:

And a range of vases based on North American trucks:

Beautiful teapots:

And cute ceramic necklaces:

Of course, we won't be neglecting the jewellery - oh no! We have this super cute ranged ready to go online any moment now:

And I can't go without sharing with you some pieces from HZ fave Me Me Me and her beautiful ceramic jewellery, available online very soon indeed!

Pheweee! It's a tough job but somebody has to do it...

Interviews

2009-07-26T19:54:00.002+01:00

Have you ever wanted to know more about Hannah Zakari, how it all started, or who's behind it all? Well, now you can!

Way back in June I was interviewed by the lovely Anissa for awesome German blog Handmade 2.0 and you can read the results right here. (It's in English too!)

And just last week Made In The Shade gal Carrie interviewed me for her 'Watcha Doin'' column in The Skinny, which you can read here.

It's great fun doing these interviews and spreading the word about HZ - I hope you enjoy reading them too!

Bust Summer Craftacular

2009-07-16T17:46:00.002+01:00

Yippee! You can come and visit Hannah Zakari in London at the Bust Craftacular on 22nd August 2009. Hope to see you there!

The Small Object...

2009-07-15T14:55:00.003+01:00

The Small Object is back at Hannah Zakari - whoopee!

I've posted this picture before, but if you want to see what the Little Sweeties look like before they're ready for a girls night out then look no further than here!

Girl's Night Out! - by soumynona*07 on Polyvore.com

More sneak peeks...

2009-07-14T16:14:00.008+01:00

Cheesy peeps, it's been a hectic few weeks here at HZ-HQ! The kind folk at Star magazine featured us last week and things just went a bit mental... can't complain though, I now have lots of lovely new customers and have sold masses of stuff for my designers - yay!

Today I have a few sneak peeks for you, a brand new designer and a selection of peeks from the new Dazed Dorothy collection.

First up, Dazed Dorothy with, as always, a stunning collection of leather clutches.

Later this week there will be another new designer to the HZ posse, all the way from Italy with a collection of vintage vinyl wallpaper goodness.
Bags, boxes and lunch bags:

Necklaces and earrings:

Everything will be available online later this week :)

New today!

2009-07-02T11:30:00.008+01:00

This morning I've added yet another new designer, It really is non stop here right now!

Doloris Petunia is from New York and the label is named after designer Courtney Prince's pet doggie - cuuute! Here's some of the highlights from a small but very sweet collection:

Last week I introduced another new designer, Cosas Mínimas. J'adore these beautiful illustrations and have 4 (yes 4!) lined up above my desk at home which looks fab. Here's a selection of my faves:

I was going to post some sneak peeks too, but I think that's enough for now to whet your appetite...

What's happening in July...

2009-07-01T14:28:00.003+01:00

I've got so much amazing new stuff coming up this month, I know I say this all the time and it is always true but this month it feels like there is even more about to happen than usual! I'm waiting on orders coming in from a about million* new designers and the last week has been a flurry of parcels and drop offs and emails full of pretty things.

Over the next few weeks I'll be updating here and on Facebook with pictures of new pieces and info on when you'll be able to buy them on Hannah Zakari.

When I'm not working...

2009-06-16T13:43:00.009+01:00

I can be found decorating!

Am a little poorly today so decided to work from home and thought I'd give you the tiniest peek into what my flat looks like!

I moved to Glasgow, to this flat, at the beginning of 2003 and ever since we (John and I) have been doing it up with varying degrees of success and it feels like we're finally (finally) getting there. The flat is a Victorian tenement, big and strong, and in our case in dire need of some tlc. There are many times I would quite happily have packed it in and gone to live in a shiny new build (really? I'm not sure) but now it's almost over I can honestly say I love the place.

I had wanted to share a little more with you but it's really gloomy here today and the pictures aren't turning out very well so I've done what I can and will try to do more on a better day...

My Kate Wilson original sketch:

Hidden door to the en suite in our bedroom:

Ashley G and Kate Wilson pictures again to make me smile while I have my shower in the morning!

The living room. The sofa is next on the list of projects and will be reupholstered, I quite fancy a bright yellow bobbly sort of fabric...

The ceiling rose in the living room which we stripped back and restored:

Little snap of yesterdays coffee table crafting - handmade envelopes for HZ goodies:

You will notice I haven't included the kitchen or bathroom, that's 'cause they are currently undergoing work. The kitchen is very nearly done, but the bathroom... well, take a look for yourself *cries*:

One day, I will have a beautiful bathroom, but maybe not for a wee while yet!

It never rains...

2009-06-12T13:47:00.014+01:00

...it always pours here at Hannah Zakari! After what felt like a new stock drought lately I have tons of gorgeous brand new items lined up you you over the next few weeks.

This morning (at 7am, thanks postie*) I opened up this big box of goodies with a gasp:

I love getting new stock but sometimes you get a box that truly makes you happy and this box of cuteness was one such box, filled with the most adorable goodies from The Small Object. Here's a little peak what was inside...

Some kawaii trinket boxes:

Super sweet needle cases:

And some Blythe sized moustaches on sticks!

I love my Blythe - do you like her outfit? I know you can't see much of it but I made it myself on my craft day last week :)

Once I got to work I opened yet another box of jewels, this time from Hannah Zakari favourite, Eclectic Shock. Eclectic Shock's shipments never fail to excite me and this one was no exception. Starting with my favourite bracelet, here are just a teeny wee sneak peek into what you can expect:

And then, much to my surprise a package with these beautiful prints from a new designer who you can expect very soon!

So as you can see, I have a super busy few weeks coming up, and I'm also expecting new stock to arrive soon from Kirsty Kirkpatrick, Frozen Peas, and more, plus more new to HZ designers than you can shake a stick with a moustache on top at!

Want to see even more sneak peeks? Visit the Hannah Zakari Facebook Fan page and be our fan!

*actually it was John who answered the door, I am grateful :)

Some spare time...

2009-06-02T15:28:00.004+01:00

This week I have what feels like some rare spare time - only a very small amount of stock to put online (new skirts from Jennie Lööf, no less), just a little paper work left to do, emails are up to date, wholesale orders are sent off, I'm generally pretty well organised and it feels good!

So what will I do with my time then? Well, this gives me the opportunity to get my crafty hat on and I'm in the mood for lots of sewing! For the last few years I've used my red polka dot bag come rain or shine and I think it's time for a change at last! I also have a new line in mind so will hopefully get started on that and will do a little spring cleaning (why oh why did I buy a white desk??!), but just a little to leave time for lots of sewing and creativity.

My fabric stash is almost out of control, I just love collecting interesting prints and can't resist a cute Japanese cotton. I'm going back to Tokyo in October and need to get through all the fabric I bought last time so I can replenish - the problem is that some of it is so cute I can hardly bear to cut it up!

Whatever I do, I shall post the results up on here by the end of the week :)

Mini Sale!

2009-05-27T12:16:00.002+01:00

Hannah Zakari is have a very mini sale starting now with 50% off all items from Giant Jewels and Paraphernalia! Go grab some bargain goodies while stocks last!
Hannah Zakari MINI SALE!

The Octonauts & the Only Lonely Monster

2009-05-20T11:07:00.009+01:00

Was browsing in Borders last night and suddenly noticed something super cute out of the corner of my eye...

The Octonauts & the Only Lonely Monster is the first childrens book by those purveyors of cuteness, Meomi and I would totally recommend buying this for any children you know, or even grown ups who, like me, love everything kawaii!
The book itself is just beautiful and at £5.99 for the soft cover, it's a total bargain too!

Rachael Bakes!

2009-05-18T10:26:00.007+01:00

This post is slightly spurred on from Twitter and friends who want to see this wonderous cake I keep bleating on about, and also, I do kind of want to show it off because I am rather proud of it :D

Inspired by those 'ladies' over at Domestic Sluttery I thought I'd attempt a chocolate ganache cake this weekend, and boy was I glad I did - this cake tastes heavenly! I have to admit I didn't use their recipe in the end simply because I couldn't find any rose water so I kind of mixed it up with a Good Food recipe I found whilst googling.

I've attempted a Nigella chocolate loaf cake thing before which was a disaster and didn't even taste good, so I was a little worried as it shared a lot of the same ingredients, but I needn't have worried as this turned out just fine...

I have slices for Emma and I to munch on this afternoon.

Not only does this cake look and taste great, it's also inspired me to be more creative. When I first started Hannah Zakari it was for me to make and sell my own designs and since it's grown so much since then I don't have as much time to be creative and make my own line anymore. So, from now on, once a week I'm going to do something creative, be it sew, bake, draw, do something nice in my flat (it needs it!), garden - whatever, and post the results on here for everyone to see. Hopefully it will encourage me to both blog and create...

Don't privatise the Royal Mail!

2009-05-11T12:41:00.006+01:00

Please sign this petition to keep the Royal Mail as a publicly owned company:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Royal-Mail-Sale/

Now, I'm not a fountain of knowledge on this, but I do know that Hannah Zakari and many friends who run online boutiques rely on the Royal Mail to get your goodies out to you on time and at a reasonable price.

Experience tells me that privatisation doesn't mean better services and cheaper prices, I mean, who enjoys using trains these days? Privatisation means they need to make more profit and that's done with job losses, increased prices and cut services.

Please sign the petition and help stop this from happening!
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Royal-Mail-Sale/

Oops!

2009-05-08T11:43:00.005+01:00

Sorry to everyone who is waiting for these t-shirts and polka dot jewels to go online, but it's going to be just a few extra days and will probably happen on Tuesday next week!

Instead I have just added some pretty bags I made myself. I was hoping to add more styles to the collection before getting them online but time just seems to run away at the moment and I have no idea when I'll get to sit down at my sewing machine again. So here's a couple of pics of the bags, they are £38 each and you can buy them online right here.

PS later on today I am doing something which is so far out of my comfort zone I am amazed I've agreed to do it - eek! updates will follow...

love mornings like this...

2009-05-06T11:25:00.005+01:00

I arrive at HZ-HQ to 3 packages packed to the brim with gorgeousness! I've very quickly unpacked and ironed (very quickly!) to be able to take some photos to share with you all...

The first (and smallest) package was from Margaux Lange with a small selection of her beautiful Barbie collection, including this amazing polka dot necklace:

The next package I delved into was from Pretty Raccoon and was packed full of fabulous dresses, tops and scarves. My fave is the aubergine and gold bow top, but it's a difficult choice:

The third package was from a brand new designer who you can expect this week on HZ! Here's a sneak peek:

Weekend's over

2009-05-05T11:07:00.004+01:00

I hope you all had a fun long weekend... Mine was spent decorating my kitchen which I have to say is looking rather splendid, I may even post some picture of it when it's finished!

Last week was a good one on Hannah Zakari, 3 amazing new designers joined us and are going down a storm...

Jemima Lumley makes beautiful sterling silver jewellery with little flower blossoms, lovebirds and butterflies, so perfectly sweet and summery.

Glue and Glitter is a cute and kitsch jewellery label with nostalgic shapes and colourful drawings. Adorn your neck and ears with everything from Russian dolls to vintage telephones, all hand drawn and printed by creator Laura.

Emma Ferguson is a stitcher extrordinaire! Making the coolest necklaces and brooches with faux leather speech bubbles, tattoo hearts, mexican wrestlers and lots more.

new designers coming soon on Hannah Zakari

2009-04-23T15:12:00.004+01:00

Here's a peek 3 new designers work you can expect in the next week or so at HZ

making free gifts...

2009-04-23T14:46:00.006+01:00

Making badges to give away with orders!

2009-04-03T11:43:00.006+01:00

new designers!

2009-03-26T10:53:00.004Z

This week I've had 2 brand new designers pop over to the studio and drop off collections for Hannah Zakari.

I'm not going to say too much about either and instead just show you a few pictures of items from each collection. One is a range of clothing made with vintage fabrics and the other is a stunning range of sterling and pearl jewellery. Each is beautifully crafted and perfectly unique and I am sure you will love them as much as I do...

cutest new stuff!

2009-03-26T10:39:00.003Z

Waiting to go on the site right now are some beautiful items from new designers and some of my current favourite designers on HZ. Here's some quick sneaks of new stuff from designers already available on the site...

New cards from Cracked Designs check out the inside of the oven card - fabulous!

And here's a pile of beautiful flowers from Laurafallulah, I love the colours - so summery and bright...

All will be available next week :)

What I'm working on...

2009-03-26T10:16:00.007Z

Okay, so it would be hard to miss the fact that I am pretty terrible at blogging, but you can expect a small flurry of posts this morning starting with some wee photos of the jewels I've been working on myself.

I've definitely found that moving into the studio has helped me to organise my time better and I've been able to start working on my own line again which is making me very happy. The past few weeks I've been working on jewellery and soon I'll get on to the bags again.

Firstly are the pieces I've most enjoyed making and I hope to develop this line even further. They are made with loads of beads and charms very carefully arranged and threaded and I think it creates a really unique look - there definitely won't ever be 2 exactly the same (even each earring turns out a bit different I find). Here's a necklace I've just finished...

I've also been doing more with precious stones and these earrings are made with beautiful aqua Chalcedony stones, as smooth as they come:

Here's another necklace I've been working on, very simple and super delicate, made with beautiful tiny silver sapphires:

And finally, here's some fun bracelets I've been making with Swarovski beads and skulls I got on my last trip to Japan. I have to say, I'm not sure the cream one will make it to the site, I only have enough beads for one and I love it soooooooo much!

more sneak peeks!

2009-02-24T16:15:00.005Z

Sometimes I wonder how I cope with balancing my finances and my work, I mean, when I get such beautiful items as these Dazed Dorothy Clutch bags it takes all my will power not to keep the lot for myself - eek!

So instead I'm going to share them with you, here are my favourites from the latest collection that will be available on HZ very soon indeed...

busy busy

2009-02-17T14:47:00.012Z

I'm a busy bee today updating HZ with all manner of pretty things especially for you...

Suzanne Smith has a brand new collection with updates on previous designs and some super new ones. My faves are the gorgeous Vintage Lace Kilt Pin Brooches

I'm also working on pictures for new collections from T-Boo, Hoolala and FluffsStuffs, and because I'm in a good mood today I'm going to show you a little sneaky peak from each of them!

T-Boo Religious Charm Bracelet:

Hoolala Wizard Of Oz Necklace:

FluffsStuffs Russian Doll Bracelet:

Gorgeous, huh?

PS tune in my head today is Keep The Faith by Bon Jovi due to the Religious Charm Bracelet - thanks T-Boo!

Silly song post...

2009-02-11T16:10:00.002Z

I've been busy over the last few hours labelling up new stock ready to take photos and it dawned on me that the tunes that go around in my head are usually inspired by the names of the items I am working on. I thought I'd try and add to the end of each post what song is in my head and what item it's inspired by.

Today- Working My Way Back To You by The Detroit Spinners - what a great tune! - inspired by Eclectic Eccentricity's Winging My Way Back To You Necklace.