Her GadgetMatch

Planning a wedding in the Philippines? Take your gift registry online with Knots and Pans

An ecommerce site perfect for time -and cost-conscious newlyweds-to-be

Published

January 29, 2019

Two weeks ago, I got married. On January 13, I married my boyfriend of seven years at a garden ceremony and reception in Tagaytay. After being engaged for more than a year and a half, the event itself just flew by, and it was surreal seeing all of the work we put into preparations pay off within a single day.

To cut costs and indulge our pickiness, we decided to book suppliers ourselves and hire an on-the-day coordinator to take over the actual date. Much like handling a long-term work project, finding the right suppliers to trust with our vision was enjoyable, but also exhausting. As the date inched closer, one thing we started handling relatively late was prompted by friends and family asking if we had a wedding registry. Oops.

Enter Knots and Pans: an online wedding registry website, the first and only (so far) of its kind in the Philippines. We discovered it when a friend used it for her own wedding, and we were impressed by the convenience of not having to trek to a physical store for purchases. We waffled about on whether to try it for ourselves until ber-months rolled around, and we realized we didn’t have anywhere to direct guests to whenever they asked about gifts. Not having enough time in our schedule to open a registry somewhere else, we dove in.

Creating an online gift registry on Knots and Pans is simple and straightforward. It’s totally free, and registering is like creating an account on any other ecommerce site. From the get-go, you select the occasion you’re building the registry for — wedding, birthday, bridal shower, baby shower, housewarming, or fundraising — and can use either your Facebook account or email address for logging in. Next, you select your personal aesthetic for product suggestions from a few choices and can then customize your registry page by creating a custom URL and adding a banner image.

Of course, the most fun comes from building the registry itself, which feels just like messing around on Pinterest. Most items come from local brands, and are usually unique. There’s a search function if you’re looking for specific needs (bed sheets or appliances, for example), and guests can find your registry simply by searching your names.

We could always go back to the website and add new things, and even add spaces for monetary gifts with different labels (like travel, home fund, etc.) to be deposited directly into an account. You also have a gift tracker to see which items were already purchased and by whom. Getting an email notification that somebody bought something was always exciting, but I turned that option off because, well, spoilers!

One comment though is that the search function is extremely bare-bones and could do with a few more filters, which reflects how items are organized in the main product catalog, as well. It can be difficult to find exactly what you’re looking for as categories are too general — although, it isn’t a big problem now due to the limited types of items available.

But there’s a caveat: despite there being a large number of items to choose from, I did feel limited in the look of things we saw (as everything is pre-curated). I’m sure some couples wouldn’t be fans of this site if their personal aesthetic may not match the products.

Despite that, it worked out fine. While we did still receive physical gifts, most came from Knots and Pans. That little blessing manifested itself on the day, when some unlucky circumstances meant we ended up with less car space going home than anticipated. It definitely took a load off us; we didn’t need to spend too much time stressing out on how to Tetris a bunch of gift boxes (and leftover food, leftover wedding cake, wedding gown and suit, and more) for the way back to Manila.

Now we’re here, two weeks after the wedding, and we’ve already received and found places for the first set of gifts our guests purchased from the site. Some friends bought gifts closer to the date, and Knots and Pans’ customer service team was very responsive on Viber, letting us choose whether we wanted to wait a little longer to receive everything in one go or have them delivered in two batches. Delivery straight to our home was free, and all boxes came neatly packaged with custom wrapping paper. A nice surprise was that they took the time to attach printed cards with messages guests could customize while they were buying on the site!

Overall, we had a great experience with this supplier and would recommend it to any engaged couple aiming to save time and money. While ecommerce has become ubiquitous in everyday life, it would be interesting to see what other needs and niches future players in the industry can address, just like this one did for us!

Accessories

Dyson Airstrait: Hair straightening with air, not heat

Less heat, less damage

Published

March 27, 2024

Her

People may now straighten hair without worrying about heat damage. Dyson has launched the new Dyson Airstrait hair straightener, ushering a new era in hair straightening. As the product name suggests, this innovative tool introduces a new way to straighten hair using just air.

The Airstrait has a simple wet-to-dry straightening process. Airflow is accelerated through the two arms’ 1.5mm openings, creating a high-velocity downward blade of air at a specific angle. This creates a controlled downward force to straighten hair simultaneously as it dries.

With the tool, stylers can achieve a naturally straight and shiny finish that maintains the hair’s strength and healthy look. The Airstrait also speeds the process up by about 25%. What’s best is there is no heat damage, unlike traditional straighteners.

Designed for multiple hair types

The Airstrait runs on a specifically-engineered Hyperdymium motor, a 13-blade impeller that spins up to 106,000rpm and generates 3.5kPa of pressure. Like Dyson’s hair care range, the Airstrait features intelligent heat control that measures the airflow’s temperature to ensure there is no damage.

Users may switch between two styling modes: Wet and Dry. The Wet and Dry modes are pre-set with specific heat and airflow combinations for the best results. A Cool mode is also available to set the style. Moreover, the airflow control has two speed settings, low and high. Drying, meanwhile, can be set to cold shot or root drying.

The science

Dyson has constantly invested a lot financially in research and technology development to craft innovative products in its specific industry. In creating the Airstrait, Dyson engineers studied every detail, from airflow dynamics to hair structure. They also considered thermal, mechanical, and chemical damage and their effects to hair health.

In the end, the Airstrait works based on one key principle. In styling hair to a new shape, hydrogen bonds from each hair strand are broken down. Traditionally, this is done through heat or moisture. But Dyson came up with a tool that just lets water weaken the hydrogen bonds, and then style hair with the optimum level of heat and controlled airflow.

Price, availability

The Dyson Airstrait is available starting April 16 in two colorways: Bright Nickel/Rich Copper and Prussian Blue/Rich Copper. It is priced at PhP 33,900.

Those interested in preordering may already do using this link: Dyson Airstrait

Her GadgetMatch

Filipina who created Window Garden joins Google Play program

More indie games to come?

Published

March 24, 2024

Her

Filipina-owned CLOVER-FI Games is taking the next step to build more accessible mobile games through Google Play. One-woman developer and publisher Camilla Santiago is representing the country at Google Play’s Indie Games Accelerator (IGA) program this year.

Her CLOVER-FI Games studio is behind hit local game Window Garden. The idle game lets players plant and decorate their own virtual indoor garden while relaxing in chill vibes, lo-fi music, and a cottagecore aesthetic. It was released in October 2021, back when Santiago learned app development amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Windows Garden has since amassed a million downloads. In almost three years, it has been received well by gamers with a 4.7 rating based on more than 8,200 reviews.

Google Play IGA

The Google Play IGA is a 10-week course designed for high-potential indie game studios. The program allows these startups to access the best of Google’s programs, products, people, and technology to be able to build and improve a successful organization.

The last Philippine representative in the program was Ranida Games, which had created one-on-one fighting game Vita Fighters. Through IGA, the title received benefits, allowing the developers to improve it.

Like Ranida Games, Santiago’s CLOVER-FI Games is just getting started. Her studio’s goal is to ultimately create more cozy-themed games that are accessible to everyone through mobile platforms.

With the help of the IGA, Santiago will be equipped with the necessary skills and experience needed to create another potentially successful title just like Window Garden. We can only wait as she empowers Filipinas through her craft.

Her GadgetMatch

Dyson unveils ‘most intelligent hair dryer’ yet

The Supersonic Nural

Published

March 18, 2024

Her

During its global launch event in Seoul, South Korea, Dyson has unveiled its “most intelligent hair dryer” yet: The Dyson Supersonic Nural.

The styling tool harnesses Dyson’s new automatic Nural sensor technology to protect scalp health and enhance hair’s natural shine.

One of the Dyson Supersonic Nural’s key features is a Scalp protect mode which is activated by the Nural sensors.

This automatically reduces the dryer’s heat as it nears a person’s head, protecting the scalp from damage. The process is done by having the sensors recognize when the dryer is already nearing the person’s head.

In addition, the Supersonic Nural’s LED light automatically changes under Scalp mode, depending on the distance from the head. Users will see yellow for low heat, orange for medium heat, and red for high heat, for convenient usage.

Moreover, the tool intelligently remembers your last used heat and airflow settings and will apply them the next time it is in use.

Price, availability

The Dyson Supersonic Nural comes in two color palettes: Ceramic Patina and Topaz or Vinca Blue and Topaz.

The entire package will come with five attachments, including two new ones: