A tiare flower behind the ear
In Tahiti, a flower tucked behind the ear is enough to say whether your heart is open. It is a childhood memory of our founder, and the idea HelloHere was born from.
A childhood memory
"As a child, I went on holiday to Tahiti with my mother and my sister to see my grandfather's friends. He had taught electricity at the public school there, and my mother had lived in Tahiti for a few years as a little girl.
What stayed with me were the tiare flowers. There, a single flower tucked behind the ear says something about the person wearing it: depending on the side, their heart is already taken, or it is open. No need to ask, no need to guess. A small visible detail that everyone knows how to read.
Years later, in Bangkok's bars, I thought about those flowers again. All around me were people who would probably have liked to meet someone, and no way to know who was open to a hello. HelloHere was born from that memory."
Sylvain, founder of HelloHere
The language of the flower
In Polynesian tradition, a tiare flower worn behind the right ear means single and available. Worn on the left, the side of the heart, it means taken. Today many people wear it simply because it is beautiful, but the code is still known, and still read with a smile.
And elsewhere in the world
Tahiti is not alone. Cultures that never met invented the same idea: a discreet sign, worn on you, to say "my heart is open".
Tahiti and Hawaii · the flower behind the ear
In Tahiti, a tiare flower worn behind the right ear means single and available; on the left, the side of the heart, it means taken. In Hawaii, popular tradition reads the flower the same way.
Bavaria and Austria · the dirndl bow
The dirndl apron is tied on one side or the other: on the left, single; on the right, in a relationship, engaged or married; in the middle, rather not say.
Ireland · the Claddagh ring
Two hands holding a crowned heart. On the right hand with the heart facing out, the heart is open. Facing in, it is already given.
Japan · the long sleeves of the furisode
The furisode, a kimono with long flowing sleeves, is traditionally worn by unmarried young women on special occasions such as Coming of Age Day.
Korea · the braid and the ribbon
In the Joseon era, unmarried young people wore a long braid tied with a ribbon; marriage was signalled by a bun held with a hairpin.
Today · traffic light parties
At traffic light parties, everyone wears a colour: green for single and open, amber for it's complicated, red for taken.
What we kept
HelloHere answers a simple question: what would the tiare flower look like today?
- A sign you choose to wear. On HelloHere you decide to be visible, or not. Nobody is visible by default.
- A sign read in the room. Just as a flower is only seen by the people around you, your profile only appears to people in the same venue.
- A sign you can take off. You remove a flower; on HelloHere, visibility ends after two hours, or with one tap.
- A real face. A flower is worn on you, not on an old photo. That is why every activation needs a live selfie.
What we changed
Many of these traditions mostly concerned women, and only said "free" or "taken". On HelloHere the sign belongs to everyone: you choose what you are open to (friendship, dating or both), who you would like to meet, and when you show it. A hello becomes a conversation only if both people want it, and a pass is never shown to anyone.
You are in a partner bar and you switch HelloHere on: that is your flower behind the right ear, visible for two hours to the people in the room. See how it works.
These traditions vary by island, region and era. We share them for what they inspire, not as rules to follow.