So, let me start this post by saying, thank you, my patient and loyal readers, for sticking through the silence and subscribing, visiting and checking in on me. Please know that I haven’t forgotten you and/ or DD and am just working out a few kinks. So while things may be a little slow around here, I am following the advice of the uber-encouraging and creative-supportive Tim Gunn, who I dream of telling me in person one day, “[Ziva], Make it work!”

And in celebration of the mental blocks and life obstacles that we all have to deal with and overcome in one way or another, this week’s all about baggage! Ha, get it? Both the mental/ emotional baggage we all carry around with us and the beautiful bags that we physically carry around with us.

To kick off the week, I’m going to start with the Magnes Sisters beautifully crafted, handbags and shoulder bags. A few reasons why: the company’s founders Israeli-born and super talented; the bags are divine looking; and (and here’s the funny part) I actually met Dina a few years back, traveling through Vietnam – which was totally, unbelievably amazing btw. Harry and I were out on a junk boat in the middle of breathtaking Halong Bay, in the middle of nowhere. And wouldn’t you know it we met other Israelis and Jews from NY. Ha. Small world indeed.

Back then, Dina was talking about the company she and her sisters were starting to get off the ground. We talked about the production and design I remember. And now, I’m thrilled to see they’re making waves. And rightfully so: the Classic Martini and Dry Martini Clutch featured above are amazing feminine, retro shapes made of colorful leather so luxurious it’s satin-y. Pricey for an everyday bag but certainly perfect for a special occasion.

1948-58:

Tel Aviv’s distinctive Bauhaus style reflects a strong tradition of art and craft that was brought over from Europe. But the slight alterations – replacing windows with balconies and increasing shaded areas through added cornices – account for the Middle Eastern climate thereby introducing an Israeli element to an International Style. Or perhaps recreating an older aesthetic within a new, Israeli style of living. In 2003, Tel Aviv is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and renamed the “White City“.

1959-68:

Don’t let these bathing beauties distract you from the real excitement of the decade: Gottex. Founded in 1949 by Leah and Ermine Gottleib, Jewish immigrants from Hungary, as a raincoat company, they turned a quick 180 degrees toward the Mediterranean sun – in recognition of our more defining climate. With Gottex’s revolutionary introduction of Spandex (yes, you can blame Israel for that one), bathing suits became lighter and clingier, allowing for Gottex to pioneer two significant swimwear crazes. First, as hemlines rose in the swinging 60s, bathing suits hiked in all directions – thanks to the miracles of Spandex and other light fabrics developed by Gottex. Second, and this relates to later decades of partying and excess as well, Gottex put glamour and fashion onto the beach. And with Gottex the concept of luxury swimwear was born and bred.

1969-78:

If you thought many of Israel’s corporate logos, symbols, posters or advertisements had something in common, you were right. They were either designed or influenced by Israeli graphic artist extraordinaire Dan Reisinger. Born in Yugoslavia in 1934, Reisinger’s talents were quickly identified and he was sent to study at Jerusalem’s prestigious Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Reisinger’s prolific career has enjoyed incredible hometown and international success. He has designed more than 200 social, political and cultural images and posters in Israel, including 150 logos that have become part and parcel of our everyday living. Together they serve as a visual timeline marking Israel’s most significant historical, social, economic and cultural developments over the decades. In 1971-76, Reisinger designed what we have all come to know and love (or loathe) in the form of ElAl’s corporate logo – the slanted letters, mixed Hebrew and English, blue and white. Above is a destination poster to travel with ElAl which was part of a series from 1968-71. The graphic, abstract and modern-meets-traditional, almost nostalgic but contemporary, aesthetic of Reisinger’s work continues to influence.

1979-1988:

Just like disco its moves and grooves, so too, in a way, did the artwork of Yaakov Agam. And as the excessive and hyperextended 80s took over, Agam’s kinetic, geometric and highly colorful, conceptual art found its place in the middle of Tel Aviv’s bustling metropolis. In the form of a rotating sound and light water fountain that, along with the angular blocks of color – that really change as you look at them from different angles, represent the elements of Water and Fire. Agam’s experiments with optical, kinetic and experiential art left an indelible imprint on our canon. In this case, the spectacle placed within and about Tel Aviv’s most important crosswalk shows the city gaining a self-awareness – or perhaps a self-imposed importance – of its position as the (cultural) center of the country.

1989-1998:

I can’t say enough about Ron Arad. I love, love, love him. He’s an incredible designer. World renown. Amazingly innovative and challenging at the same time. And from Israel. In 1989, Arad’s rapidly increasing fame and reputation for chair and furniture design led him to establish Ron Arad Associates in London. In 1994, again owing to growing success, he added a studio workshop in Italy to increase production of his studio pieces. Seating and shelvingare just some of his more famous designs that are currently either on view at major museums around the world or on sale for respectable (read: incredibly high) prices at prestigious auction houses. But with design gaining mass popularity and media attention these days, its the talent that makes Ron Arad a household name – not just the pricetag.

1999-2008 and beyond:

The Israeli Design Center in Holon where the past, present and future come together and forge ahead. Both the culmination of years of amazing art and design efforts from Israel and the (final) destination for future ones. Designed by none other than Ron Arad, the Museum’s voluminous shapes take on larger-than life presence as it guides the visitor’s experience both inside and out through a range of spirals, swirls and enveloping colored building materials (steel, concrete, stone, glass, etc). Obviously an amazing homage to Arad’s own legacy – since the works to be displayed inside the museum were undoubtedly influenced by him. Headed by Dr. Razi Amiatay, in consultation with Professor Ezri Tarazi, a celebrated designer, teacher and arts advocate in his own right, the Israeli Design Center has been gaining speed and prominence both locally and internationally with a great website (albeit in Hebrew only for now), events and conferences welcoming prominent figures from abroad, and a burgeoning student and independent artists and designers community. It is literally and figuratively the space to watch for our art and design future.

The above post was created specially for 60bloggers.com where 60 bloggers celebrate 60 years of Israel with 60 days of posts on Zionism to politics and everything in between.

Take these three tee-shirts by Israeli design student Irit Lanciano. The idea is simple: the human body has receptacles and containers – hands, stomachs, breasts – and manufactured products serve as receptacles and containers. What happens when the two meet? When what covers your body serves the same purpose with the addition of a newly attached appendage. Where does the human body begin – by its definition and purpose – and the manufactured ‘body’ begin?

Or how about these beautiful leather shoulder bag by Riva. Called the Torso for Design by Riva, it’s a slender and elegantly shaped lithe fashion accessory that comes in an amazing array of colors. (The leather textures are quite sumptuous too.) The detailed stitching and layering of materials along the top edge – what makes the rectangular shape almost hourglass – recalls the curves of a (woman’s) body her hips or her chest. Either way, this small open-hole detail elevates an everyday shoulder bag from merely beautiful to somehow sensual.

Finally, these leotard-clad dancers are by Israeli ceramic artist Meira Una. Despite the impression of flexibility and movement they give, they’re actually frozen in their poses. As vases, the extensions of their body – what actually moves and breathes beyond the ceramic case – are the flowers, plants or leaves that you put in them. An interesting take on what’s natural, alive, (im)material and eternal.

But for some reason TMZ decided that Messing’s, “voluminous coral parachute shmata and head scarf,” somehow ended up, “looking like a Tel Aviv kibbutz farmhand.” Hmmm, not sure where I should begin with that really. A Tel Aviv Kibbutz? Not possible. A Tel Aviv farmhand? Can’t say that’s the latest trend being touted around these Tel Aviv streets.

So what to do? Get some real (good and exciting) Israeli fashion – and hope that Debra Messing will too.

1. Check out the real fashion forward of Tel Aviv and garner a street-wise impression of what we’re wearing. My favorite site Ilook was one of the first and is still the best street fashion photo blog from Tel Aviv. The interviews are in Hebrew but the photos are universal.

2. Read up in the Designist Dream archives for links and reviews of Israel’s current leading fashion designers, accessories and trends. Including some of my personal favorites like Sigal Dekel, Fishndag, and Shelley Leemor.

So for a little cherry atop this welcome back Thursday sundae, above are the beautifully crafted Sugar handbags by Israeli accessories designer Riva Naroshevitch. Her line Design by Riva is ubiquitous on Tel Aviv’s shopping-forward streets mostly setting trends with its careful attention to design and clever use of textured fabrics. In her own words, “When I approach the design, I try to visualize the clients wearing it as if it was a dress or a shirt.” In other words, nothing more basic or rudimentary to your wardrobe than these lovely purses, shoulder bags and wallets.

I love beautiful sketchbooks, journals and notebooks. Not only because of the feeling from crisp white quality paper (more exciting than it sounds). But also because, when done correctly, the creativity that happens on the inside reflects what happened on its outside. And on that note, take a gander at the gorgeous writing pads by Israeli fashion and accessories designers Ilanit Neutra and Sharon Brunsher.

Ilanit Neutra strives to create eco-friendly design products by recycling inner tubes and tires into handmade, purses and wallets and other accessories like belts and sketchbook bindings. The sketchbooks above each have 82 blank white pages, of high quality paper, and range in size from 100 x 160 mm to 150 x 230 mm. All are bound with recycled truck tires. I love how Neutra manages to combine elements of the industrial, aesthetic and textural in her work. And you can rest assured that your deepest doodled secrets are safe in these durable rubber covers.

On the lighter and airier side of the design spectrum is ‘lifestyle’ designer Sharon Brunsher who, according to this recent WWD article on her and other Tel Aviv trendsetting Gan HaHashmal designers, mixes old and new, and textural and luxurious with monochromatic and modern. Her pieces range from fashion tops and bottoms to accessories – booties and scarves – to bedding and notebooks. Brunsher’s notebooks below come as a set of three in varying sizes with a chic leather binding. Together the set not only forms a pyramid, in the designer’s own words, but they also literally and visually tell a story. The sentence “Sometimes you should keep a memory forever” appears on the cover of the notepad itself and, obviously, the way you set them down each day may tell a different story. Given their layered packaging and meaning, Brunsher’s notebooks allow you to dream away – of times more chic and where memories were made.

So whether you’re looking for somewhere to hash out your parachute colors or brainstorm your next business venture, these Israeli designers’ sketchbooks give you two very different points of entry: one from the industrial, the other from the ethereal.

See you tomorrow as Re-Design Your Workspace, Israel Style continues

I am pleased to invite you all to next week’s Re-Design Your Workspace, Israel Style. I’ll be covering all things work and office space related including lighting, desktop accessories, office space furniture and general decor. It’ll be cool, colorful, collectible and creative. And hopefully it will look something like the amazingly inspiring workspace featured above by Israeli designer Daniel Fintzi. Now living in Shanghai and collaborating on some very interesting projects, Fintzi will tell us more about his work in general, approach to creativity and the story and approach behind this cool office. So it’s a work in process – ha ha very punny – but it’s going to be great. See you there!

Weekly Wrap Up:

~ Israeli designers ranked high in Designboom’s Dining in 2015 competition. Including top honors for the Fragile breakable salt and pepper shaker by Mey Kahn and Boaz Kahn.

~ To celebrate my birthday I put together a wishlist of (the most expensive) items I wish I owned, ranging from Ron Arad to Arik Levy to Mike Darnell.

Links I’m Loving:

- Israeli design on the super-trendy Daily Candy: Shlomi Yagur is an Israeli-born designer now heading his own product design and development company in Denmark and NY. Multi4m, gets prime billing for this cute elephant lamp on a network TV morning talk show. Check it out here. (Thanks for the link, Shlomi!)

~ A very happy welcome to readers of The Honey, an e-newsletter about life, style, culture and fun in Israel. The Honey loved the Pita Pockets by Anat Safran that I featured on Designist a little while ago and were happy to shout it out on their recent issue. Thanks and check out their newsletter for other fun and trendy things to do – or going on in Israel.

~ And I’m not sure what to make of this Tel Aviv-based fashion house Spunk Fashion. I can pick out some items in the photographs that I would wear but only totally differently – like with a pair of jeans or classic trousers not with the items shown. It seems like the presentation is slightly weird here. Is it just me? Or is it just a very European trendy catalogue look that I’m not vibing with?

Have a great weekend and see you next week for some Israel-style work space re-design!

Weekly Wrap Up:

~ Up-and-coming Israeli designer Kobi Nakav recalls the verticality of trees and natural growth in his square cork hanging plant frames. An ecofriendly solution, it also puts forth the importance of bringing the outdoors in – even in the most urban of spaces. Crossposted to Green Prophet.

~ Expect the Unexpected: Israeli jewelry designers render amazing three dimensional objects from the most unlike of sources. Recycled materials and two or even one dimensional objects are transformed into beautiful objects ranging from bracelets to modern Judaica. Crossposted to Modern Tribe.

~ Israeli artist Mike Darnell revisits the Biblical era from a Digital perspective in Digital Zion. Catch the exhibition on view at the Yellow Submarine in Jerusalem through March 12th.

Links I’m Loving this Week:

~ Israeli designer extraordinaire Arik Levy’s new glass candleholder (above) for Gaia and Gino is featured in a NYTimes’ Home & Garden slide show on getting your home ready for Spring.

~ Israeli artist Pinhas Cohen Gan wins the prestigious Israel Prize for his artwork (Haaretz English)

~ Fresh Paint launches their English website heralding their first art happening – exhibition and sale – of independent and up-and-coming Israeli artists. Coming to Tel Aviv on March 6th-8th, you can bet your bottom shekel that I’ll be covering this exciting event – and it looks like it’s going to be goood.

~ Industrial design headquarters Core77 announces the winners of its Greener Gadgets competition which include three Israeli designers in their ‘Notables’ winning circle: Atar Brosh, “Postmode”; Oded Shorer, “The Parasolar”; and Roni Baram, “The Handheld Vacuum Cleaner”.

~ This interview with leading British interior and home furnishings designer Tom Dixon in Metropolis magazine about his entry into the US market. Brief shoutout at the end to pioneering Israeli design superstar Ron Arad.

First off, what immediately attracted me was their texture. The woven braids on the cuffs and bracelets seemed so intricate and layered that my fingers literally started walking across them atop the glass just itching to cop a feel. Then, reading the artist’s statement, I realized they were made of cardboard – egg crate cardboard to be more specific! That’s right, not what you first think of when you hear of textural jewelry or think of coveted bracelets. Berkovich cuts diamond shapes into the cardboard and when rounding them into the bracelet shapes generates a 3D effect – what I thought originally was a woven pattern. Berkovich’s overall technique aims to recycle used materials into beautiful accessories and challenges users to rethink the beautiful and the possible in what we casually throw away.

A little ways away in the same glass case, Israeli jewelry designer, Yael Friedman, also got my fingers itching. A delicate pewter-metal blend gold Hanukiyah or Chanukah Menorah presented the neatest little DIY project that just couldn’t go wrong. A one-dimensional page of metal provided cut outs of semi-circles – each with laser cut decorations – that can be slotted together to form a fully functioning eight-plus-one candle holder. The details gave some light and delicacy to the metal material and the adornment was reminiscent of jewelry techniques. And the idea of being able to mail someone a flat DIY Menorah in time for the holidays? Opens a whole new world of holiday card options. Now if I could only get my hands on these items…

~Crossposted to ModernTribe~

Designed by Anat Safran as part of her creative line of ‘container items’ from purses to passport and ticket organizers to business card holders to change purses. The pita pocket is everything Israeli/ Middle Eastern without the politics of identity, religion, ethnicity or just plain politics. Everyone loves pita, everyone eats pita. It’s the quintessential Israeli/ Middle Eastern staple. Food and eating are the fabric of our society and culture and, punningly enough, reprinted here in detail on the pocket’s fabric. Each one is handmade and printed, rendering each pita pocket unique. As Safran explains, “Instead of falafel – small change. Instead of fried eggplant – an mp3 player.” The pitapocket surely offers those missing Israel a pleasant alternative to those cheesy tourist items. Plus, it evokes the amazing flavors of Israel without drenching your purse in tehina.

At the Designed in Israel 08 exhibition, Pita pockets fresh from the oven

Read more about Safran’s design background and interesting source of inspiration – a discarded French dictionary? – here on her infobag English site.