Designist Dream

Five days left until Hanukkah and four amazing ideas for your gift giving pleasure:
(clockwise, from top left)

If your man is anything like mine, then he likes his products. A lot. My only complaint - and believe me sharing an exfoliator with your husband is not necessarily a bad thing - is that the brands he uses are so boring to look at. They put no thought into their packaging. Standard colors, bold, manly type. Blah. Enter Sabon, Israel’s leading luxury soap and body products company. Sabon, meaning soap in Hebrew, is a real branding phenomena here in Israel. Everything from their products and casings to their gift wrapping options and overall store design is highly stylized and smartly executed. The look is girly but abstract, old world but modern, luxurious but affordable, urban and international. They recently expanded their collection to include a men’s or “True Gentlemen” line, as they call it, that includes shaving and skin care products. The True Gentlemen Deluxe gift box above contains a soap, cleanser, shaving cream, shaving brush and aftershave that’s “suitable for princes, presidents and scoundrels alike!” In other words, savvy packaging for you and quality products for him. Available here.

Not every woman would love a gift of metal. But this handcrafted decorative bowl by Israeli designer Talila Abraham will have you throwing metal horns in the air. It’s metal imitating fabric - black lace to be exact - and I find it not only technically breathtaking, but also incredibly sexy. Inspired by vintage Eastern European lace, it’s the perfect bedside decoration to hold jewelry, glasses and other late night items. It’s also the type of black lace gift for your woman that you’ll definitely want others to see. Available here.

Many parents are constantly striving to give their children a leg up on learning. Others take a more laid back approach, often prioritizing fun and creativity. Well these cute Aleph - Taf, or A to Z in the Hebrew alphabet, bookends by Israeli designers Zoe design productions will appeal to all parents with their stylish but serious sensibilty. Available in black, red and silver (by special order, see link for details) these bookends are not only elegant enough for an adult’s bookcase, but place these on your child’s bookshelf, and have two letters enter his or her alphabet repertoire just like that! I love children’s accessories that are neither childish nor over the top. And the added bonus is that these don’t market anything sinister to your children other than good old fashioned Hebrew. Available here.

From my hometown to your home, the collages by Israeli artist Julie at Hand reflect her passion for so many things, including “trees, creme brulee, walking barefoot, shadows, figs, old stamps, flea markets, found objects, bird boxes, detail and decoration” - and I even edited her list! Point is, Julie’s love for and interest in the beauty and wonder of our everyday world make for a magical set of prints about our homes, world and everything in between. The Red Roots print above is part of an earlier series that is still being reimagined in a new series of collages with red roofed buildings. I love the dreamy and ethereal quality to her work. And I can tell you that as a fellow resident of Modiin, there are no houses like these in our neighborhood. But there should be some on our walls to at least dream about. Available here on etsy.