April 10th, 2012
— Justine De Jaegar
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Just a second ago it was January & we were at the Top Drawer Trade show in London. A look back at our trip to Top Drawer London.
2012 seems to be flying by quickly…
Before we had even stepped foot onto British soil for Top Drawer London Spring/Summer 2012, Trend bible named Malée as one of the beauty trends to look out for Autumn/Winter 2012-2013! Trend Bible is an authority on home interior and lifestyle trends, working with many key brands and retailers in the UK and USA. They forecast design, consumer and colour trends up to two years ahead of the season- and clearly they thought Malée was one look out for!
Check out their blog post on the Top Drawer London trends here
Top Drawer is the leading retail trade show in the UK. The show took place at Earl’s Court from the 15th-17th January 2012. We worked with Rod from Cardboard Future to put together our 100% recyclable and sustainable shelving which became the talk amongst exhibitors.
Looking back, Top Drawer was one of Malée’s milestones. We met international suppliers who were interested in stocking Malée and we realized that Malée really is a unique brand that tells a story of its own.
April 3rd, 2012
— Justine De Jaegar
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The Malée store construction officially started last week, a nail biting experience to say the least, as months of planning have started to turn into tangible floors, shelves and paint.
Along with the store, we are very excited about our brand new office space, which is conveniently located an escalator away from the Malée store & leaves us with an entire shopping centre at our polished fingertips.
In the last couple of weeks we have had the pleasure of meeting all sorts of new wonderful people; a VIB (a very important blogger), Miss Millib was one of them. Miss Millib own the Johannesburg store MeMeMe, consults for Woolworths and writes for a few South african glossies. MeMeMe is a haven for South African made fashion and accessories.
Like our photos? Follow us on Instagram @ Maleeonline
March 23rd, 2012
— Justine De Jaegar
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Our very first billboard is up and we are so proud of it!
The team spent many a night running up and down the office looking at the miniature billboard we put up from all angles and simulating lighting conditions. The rest of our office block thought we were a bit mental running from window to window peering into the office and shouting out comments about randomly placed honeycombs.
And then the big day came for the billboard to be vinyled onto the store front. Our very first tangible sign of the Malée brand and the upcoming store going out to the public.
Although it took us close to a week to put it all together, it took a mere hour for it to go up.
We just can’t wait for the store as it’s unlike anything South Africa has ever seen.
If you haven’t yet seen our billboard, go take a look and we would love to hear your thoughts, It is on the lower level shopping mall in Hyde Park Corner.
Happy Monday!
March 23rd, 2012
— Justine De Jaegar
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With the store launch build-up in fill swing, it’s challenging to find a few free moments to reflect on things and update the blog with all that we have been up to.
5 o’ clock on a Thursday evening, most people are on their way home from the office. Not Zeze Oriaikhi; she’s about to speak at the prestigious SALA (South African Luxury Association) Wealth Summit. I take my seat, unzip my camera bag and feel a pang of nervousness in my stomach. Which is rather odd, as I am not the one about to speak to a room full of industry leaders.
There are three ways to present a speech. One can either be extremely nervous and not really get their point across. One can present certain points and give an adequate presentation. Or one can put their personality, time & passion into coming up with a moving presentation.
Zeze did the latter. Her speech was based on the beauty and evolution of the African woman. She reflected on the African woman from the past and intertwined this with the contemporary African woman of today who is successful in her own right. Touching on Authenticity, I kept on thinking that I had heard this story somewhere before…. And I have.
Her speech was a reflection of the story of Malée. By combining the evolution of the African woman and her authentic story which can be appreciated by all, Malée was created. Her speech was moving, personal and thought-provoking. And everyone at SALA thought so too (there were even a few teary eyes in the house).
At the end of the day moments like these are why I joined Malée. These moments inspire, motivate and drive me towards my goals. Even the traffic on the way back home couldn’t get me down, what a wonderful afternoon.
March 16th, 2012
— Justine De Jaegar
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As the weeks fly by and the preparations for the store opening in Hyde Park Corner Johannesburg are on the way, our store front has been boarded up while the builders work away. Our very first billboard letting the world know that we are about to launch our very first concept store in May 2012 goes up on Tuesday night (Be sure to look out for it!).
Our amazingly gorgeous & ingenious designers, Andrea and Megan from Anatomy Design, have finalized their plans and from here it is full steam ahead! We can feel the excitement building already!! Less than two months already.
While your waiting in anticipation for the Hyde Park Store to open, pop into our new online store and take a look at our whole new product range!
