A vintage velvet, soft floppy rose coin purse with antique bronze hardware and kiss clasp is more than an elegant evening accessory. Sisters Liane and Nicole Wainstein, natives of South Africa who emigrated 27 years ago, wanted it to be something more: a purse with a purpose that enables the owner to carry coins for tzedakah while demonstrating style.
In addition, the sisters, whose company is appropriately called hip and holy, are donating 10 percent of all profits from “the little rose” coin purse to feed and comfort the hungry children of the world. Both buyers and sellers of “the giving purse” have a chance to do tikkun olam – acts of kindness to repair the world. Liane and Nicole have a dream of making a difference in this world, one petal at a time.
Just as their mother, Jeanette Lewin, who served as financial controller at the Merage Jewish Community Center for 22 years, taught the two women never to give someone an empty purse, but to “put a penny into it,” Liane and Nicole want to give something to their customers. They have replaced the penny with a token of love, so that the purse should always overflow with abundance. “the little rose” label is intentionally sewn with a red thread representing the Kabbalah string for good luck and fortune.
The velvet rose coin purse, which accommodates a credit card, as well as coins, is available in raspberry red, dusty pink, enchanted olive and midnight black, with a polka dot cotton lining. It is packaged inside a cotton dust bag- perfect for gifting.
For Liane, the venture is an outlet for running a company that gives something back. She explains: “Most of my life I have been on a spiritual quest, savoring the common threads of wisdoms that link us all and feeling very deeply connected to my Jewish roots.” Liane adds: “While I’m driven by creativity and sometimes the ideas get stuck in my head, my sister, my partner, my number one raving fan, is always at my side, ‘the wind beneath my wings,’ the kindest and most generous soul in the world. She has always been the action in all these ventures, helping the ideas manifest and turning them into realities.”
Liane opened the Hair Health and Beauty brand for Carlton Hair, traveled the world, and attended various beauty and gift shows. Nicole was working with big names in the food and hospitality industry, from opening restaurants for Wolfgang Puck in the Middle East to launching and opening the Mozambique restaurant in Laguna Beach.
While both sisters enjoyed their jobs as traveling entrepreneurs in glamorous businesses, they felt that they wanted something more, something of their own and something that would allow them to incorporate tzedakah. The obsession with beautiful things and the desire to repair the world turned into a little business. Now they work together beautifully. Nicole says: My sister has always had the best style and always been ahead of her times. I believe in her ideas and creative vision. Being partners just comes naturally, we wouldn’t want it any other way”.
Liane concludes with this: “It is our hope and dream that this is no ordinary tzedakah purse but that it vibrates with divine energy. We want each purse to overflow with abundance, so that we are all guided to give a little more, all of us becoming who we are meant to be—messengers of love and true compassion, reaching out and loving one another, remembering that we are all One.”
For more information about hip and holy and to buy a velvet rose purse, visit: https://hipandholy.com/. You can also email Liane and Nicole at: hipandholy@yahoo.com.
RACHEL STERN is a contributing writer to jlife magazine. She is a published author as well as a freelance journalist. She resides in San Diego and can be reached at ganeitikva@icloud.com.
Hi, I enjoyed reading the article. The purses in the picture look very pretty with a rich design, and I like the fact that the Wainstein sisters are making business with a Jewish spirit.
The writer, Ms. Rachel Stern gave a great description of the business and product.