Handmade Gift Feature & GIVEAWAY from Hallo Jak!

Today's feature for "25 Days of Handmade Gifts" is from Hallo Jak, run by a pair of ridiculously fun sisters!  I saw them at both the Patchwork Long Beach and Patchwork Santa Ana shows, and they seem to have so much fun together.  :)  And who could blame them, surrounded by cuteness like mason jar sewing kits, washi tape sets, cozy scarves, pretty jewelry, handmade crocheted boot cuffs, and more!

In fact, Jen and Kris are offering up a pair of their crocheted boot cuffs to one of my readers!  Enter the giveaway after the interview, which includes the cutest story of how they came up with their shop name.  Enjoy!

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Tell me a little bit about yourself!

We're sisters Jen and Kris.  We 've been crafting since we were little, but never really considered it more than a hobby.  We are both in left-brain oriented careers and see our business as our chance to explore our right brain!  We concentrate on vintage stock and unique finds.


Where did the name of your store come from?

Our dad has always encouraged our creative "right-brain." Being an immigrant, our dad says "hello" with an accent. It comes out sounding like "hallo".  Jak is a play on our dad's name, Jack and out initials together (J and K).

Why did you start making goods for hallo jak?

We were always making gifts for our friends and family. They were personal and unique. They, in turn, wanted to order items for their friends. After a couple of years, we decided to make it a business. Plus, it's a great reason to travel and meet new people!


What is your favorite item?

That's a hard one. Since our items are unique, they are all favorites. The crocheted rocks, which is something that we don't sell any longer, was a favorite. We still incorporate them into our display. They were all done freehand, without a pattern. They're special because each one is made to fit around the rock. The rocks were all collected as part of our travels: from the beaches and trails in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Ventura, Nantucket, Hawaii, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, etc.

Win me!

What is your most popular item?


Our latest product for the winter are crochet boot cuffs. Those have been our most popular item this season. I can't crochet fast enough to keep up!


Where do you get the inspiration for your work?

From our travels. It's inspiring to see how different people and different cultures use everyday things and make them beautiful.

What makes your store unique?

Us! Our store is an extension of ourselves.


What is the toughest part about making your goods/your artistic process?

Being handmade and of limited quantity is a good and bad thing. The fact that "we can't make copies of ourselves" to speed up production is something that we've had to get use to. It's what makes our products special.

Do you take custom orders?

Custom Orders are definitely welcome! It's an opportunity for us to see our products thru the eyes of our customer. It opens up our prospective and allows us to draw inspiration for future projects/ products.


When is the last day I can order in time for Christmas Day?

Ideally, it's December 18th. That would give it just enough days to be packaged and sent out before Christmas.

Where can I see more of your work and buy a gift? 

We will be @ the Rose Bowl today Sunday, Dec 8th. After that, we're not sure. We have some opportunities to do more shows, but we're really thinking about taking a vacation to Asia or Hawaii....

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/hallojak
Blog: http://hallojak88.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hallojak
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/hallojak/

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Once again, let's keep this short and sweet!  Before I start the giveaway, I just have to point out that cute little crocheted rock in the picture above.  Isn't it sweet?  It's just a part of their display, but they have the best cigar boxes, jars, and crates to display everything!

Okay, let's get started with your chance to win a pair of Crochet Boot Cuffs in your choice of Creamy Snow or Evergreen Forest ($28.00 value).  Just enter in the Rafflecopter widget below.  It can be slow to load, so please wait OR click on the link that says "a Rafflecopter giveaway" if you are impatient like me!

a Rafflecopter giveaway