Simply put: this poster box,

which holds this poster,

also becomes these alphabet cards and card box.

Israeli designer Oshrit Ben Gal, the brains behind Gugu Design, strives to create aesthetically engaging and mentally challenging games for children and babies that also contribute positively to our shared environment – as in less wasteful packaging and more pleasing repurposing. I personally love how her aesethtics are sweet and modern without overly childish commercialism or cheese, making this a great gift for any design-savvy parent looking to decorate their kids rooms with a bit of Hebrew and lot of pretty. If you have trouble with the site’s all-Hebrew-ness, contact Oshrit directly to order. (And if you still have trouble, contact me for more help.)

Discovering Barbara Shaw’s gift shop on Bezalel Street in Jerusalem was like finding the perfect present pitstop for friends and family in Israel or abroad. With graphics that combine kitchy fun with contemporary abstract, Barbara’s textiles, pottery and glassware offer a wide range of gift giving options for that special man, woman, baby, child, friend, coworker, dinner host, parent or family member in your life – yes, the gift options are just that good. And – AND! – they’re all reasonably priced, under $50!

Below are a few of my favorite selections from Barbara, favorites that Id love to give or receive this Chanukah, or click to her English site – complete with an online shop – to peruse her complete collection yourself (and make someone very happy this holiday season

This pillow will adorn my couch one day. I love the Jaffa Orange retro-meets-Warhol print/ pattern.

Budding artists, kids included, will enjoy this portable pencil roll up with patterned notebook. There wasn’t a good pic to download but on the site you can see the opened roll with all the pencil slots. From the Seven Species collection.

UPDATE: If you’re in Jerusalem, Barbara is hosting a pre-Chanukah party at her store, 2 Bezalel Street, on December 15th. Enjoy live music, drinks, nibbles and good cheer as you stock up on some Chanukah presents for friends in Israel or abroad (with enough time to send by post). Details here.

It’s more than taking time to stop and smell the roses. Now you can curl up with a good book and rest your head on a cushy pillow, right under your favorite flower or plant. Israeli design team Studio Libel bring the outdoors in with these unique pillow planters for your home.

Gives new meaning to the range of green or eco design options for your home – or perhaps just a more literal one… And now, starting at $40 USD, you can purchase a pillow (or two) from the Studio Libel Etsy shop. What a great, natural way to kick off this season’s Shop Israel Gift Guide! Hmmm, that gives me some ideas.. stay tuned for more

via::Inhabitat

Special thanks to Design Milk, design blog gods, for this amazing roundup of the most current, modern and design-y menorahs (or chanukiyot) on the market these days – many available online for international or US shipping. With the first night of Chanukah starting tonight, start modernizing your ancient holiday traditions fast! Happy Chanukah – and holidays – to all!

Above: Last Match Menorah by Kathleen Walsh available at Unicahome.

First, is Avishag who sells jewelry from the Negev (southern) region through her Shoogi shop. The combination of vintage, secondhand, handmade and overall personal touches in neckalces, broaches and earrings nearly had me buying my own gifts – and burning my credit card. Take this lucite rose and vontage glass bead necklace which won my top spot for presents this year (hint hint, dear family members who read this).

Industrial Designer Shlomit Ofir, from Tel Aviv, brings an organic and natural touch to earrings, necklaces, hair clips and more with her range of branch, leaf and flower-inspired pieces. This silver branch necklace was just the right blend of interesting, modern and aged.

Also from Tel Aviv is graphic designer-turned- jewelry maker Anakim who’s blend of natural materials from Israel with precious metals and stones is at once handcrafted and industrial, personal and universal. This lava bead and organic silver pendant necklace from popular seller struck an interesting chord with me, both modern and timeless, subtle and eye-catching.

There are plenty more Israeli jewelry designers on Etsy, some of which I hope to continue featuring during Chanukah, but I invite you to send me emails or comment below with some of your Gift for Her suggestions from Etsy. I’ll be posting about gifts for him, babies, and the home as the holiday festivities continue. I encourage you all this season to shop loca, support independent artists and buy something that’s personal for your loved ones. Happy Chanukah and enjoy the miracles of family, friends and lots of fried food – for the first night at least

The Designist Dream All-December All-Holiday Gift Guide
(of items in, by or from Israel)

Because let’s face it, just because these gifts are from Israel doesn’t mean they can only be given on Hanukkah! Certainly on Christmas, even on Kwanzaa and why not on New Years – give away! And to celebrate the gift-giving spirit, I’ve found a slew of unique and (mostly) reasonably priced Israeli-made gifts for you, your loved ones, and maybe even a few on-loved but obligatory ones as the holiday seasons near. And I’ll reveal some great shopping sites for buying Israeli-made gifts in Israel and abroad.

And, as a bonus, Designist Dream will be teaming up with Modern Tribe to give away a fabulous present on Hanukkah to one luck reader! Jennie promises it’s going to be a really nice Israeli-designed item! So stay tuned for details on that early next week.

And, as if things couldn’t get any more exciting around here, on Hanukkah itself, December 22nd – 29th, I’ve decided to spend a bit time of time giving to others: I’ll be highlighting non-profit organizations here in Israel that use the arts to help people. It’s something I feel very strongly about and am excited to share with you all.

So let the good holiday times roll in December!

Above: A modern, cubic puzzle-piece style Hanukkiyah by Israeli designer Shlomi Schillinger available at Modern Tribe.

All eight postings (that is a total of 32 gifts!) of the Hanukkah gift guide can be found here for your convenience.

Or alternately you can find each day listed here:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8

Well Hanukkah’s finally here and the Gift Guide is officially reaching its final day of amazing Israeli design gift ideas. As a reminder for the non-Hanukkah-observing readers, these gifts will also make someone happy this Christmas! Here’s to wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday season. And now for the last time in 2007, clockwise from top left:

Now, I’m not telling you to become June Cleaver, but wouldn’t it be nice for your man to have his own chair to welcome him at the end of the day? A place for him to kick off his shoes, put on his slippers, and fold out the day’s paper? Ok so in today’s world, it’s more like rip off his Pumas and open his laptop to catch up on his blogs, but you get the picture. Legendary Israeli designer and architect Ron Arad‘s Ripple Chair offers a contemporary and beautiful alternative to the Archie Bunker chaise of yore. Made of a pliable polypropylene that melts open as the sitter reclines, it seems to clean and inviting. Like a pure sitting experience awaits. Of course this is also suitable to purchase for a woman, but when I saw this I just blurted out, “Man, this is a beautiful chair” and so into the men’s category it went. It would also look great in my man’s office and since we share it, everyone wins. Hooray for unisex Modernist design! Available here through the MoMA, NY shop.

What first struck me about this amazing leather notebook holder from Israeli fashion accessory designer Nivi Concept was how much I wanted one. Although the design is quite abstract, the golden leaf pattern jumps right off the black leather background, making it more textural, natural and personal. It seems somehow like the perfect gift for Everywoman. It’s sophisticated for business women – even the corporate ones. Creative for poets – even the most bohemian ones. Nature-inspired for the hippie set – but it is leather so it depends how vegan they are. Trendy in gold, black and leather for the fashionistas. And handmade for the artsy crew. Oh, and also the perfect gift for the girl who has everything, cause something like this isn’t available everywhere. But it is available here.

Decorating the nursery – or redecorating your child’s room – is one of the most fun things a parent can do for a kid, I think. Mostly because up until a certain age, the parent can just live out any and all room decorating fantasies he or she ever wanted without the kid having any opinion or say in the matter. So enrich your child’s exposure to non-commercial art and characters with this original handmade print by Israeli artist Shirae on etsy. I love the retro simplicity of her characters – young girls and boys enjoying their toys. Featured above is one scene from a set of three prints: one girl playing with a hoola hoop, one girl playing with a marionette and one boy playing with a toy car. Sweet and simple, from their clothes to their toys, with no background to distract your eye from the purity and joy of the central scene. The bordering elliptical frame almost serves as a peephole into another world. One where Dora the Explorer and Teletubbies have yet to make their (terribly pervasive) mark. Available here on etsy.

Way back when I first started this blog, I had just become a mother which didn’t exactly bode well for my free time, I wrote about an exhibition of new Israeli designers at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in NY. Nineteen contemporary Israeli designers working with all sorts of media and techniques were on display for the first time in a major US museum. Each presented his or her approach to the subject of useful things – they questioned what we use, what is considered useful and how does how we use things determine how things should look. Wait, is that even a question? Point is, many of the items – from Assaf Warshavsky’s inside-out radio to Chanan de Lange’s anything-but-straight book shelves – are not only humorous but challenging and exciting. So leave this exhibition catalogue front and center on your coffee table and make your guests wait for you to return with the latkes and coffee. Impress them with your art and design savvy and show them a bit about what they may be missing in the world of contemporary Israeli design. Available here through the Cooper-Hewitt Museum shop.

Well tonight’s the first night! So if you haven’t ordered or purchased your Hanukkah gifts yet this year, you’ve got a full eight days to make it happen! And as the holiday gift guide winds to a close, above are four more incredible gift ideas and four more chances to show your love for Israel art and design, give friends and family some awesome presents and look cool yourself all at the same time!
(Clockwise, from top left)

If you lived in Israel, I would not advise buying your man these adorable asimon cuff links. Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re pretty cool and old school neato. It’s just that no one really gets that dressed over here – a suit is certainly suitable for most weddings, but be warned that many an Israeli groom dons a white mandarin collared linen shirt and jeans on his special day. And don’t even get me started on what the guests wear. So for all you dressier folk out there, please consider these retro Israeli public phone token cuff links to smarten up your man’s suit. The long-lost asimon of yore has sadly left Israel’s everyday life. Even the public phone cards are soon becoming obsolete in our on-the-go-techno-4G world. But luckily the asimon tokens are still in our vernacular, as the saying still goes, “And then the asimon fell in my head” which translates into: what? *clink* oh I get it now. So recycle an old token and turn it into a meaningful reminder for your man: call me or find me a pay phone! Available here.

So I found these totally awesome personal hygiene cases for women are by Israeli artist three green apples on etsy and it really was like an asimon falling into place. At first I thought the title was a typo – Pursonal Hygeine Case – but then i realized it’s a purse meets personal thing. Smaht (that’s Bostonian for smart). I then I was like, “Ohhhhhhh. Awesome.” I mean, how many women do you know could totally use one of these? Nearly all of my female friends and family. Because when you have to lug some gear to the powder room it requires a bit of improvising – up your sleeve; down a pocket; or into a makeshift tote. But now three green apples offers a range of funky patterned, discreet and functional pursonal cases! Almost makes you want to show it off however inappropriate that may be. Each Pursonal Case has 1 slip pocket and four tampon pockets. Available here on etsy.

Israeli artist Galia Chai has specialized in creating handmade cloth dolls for children and babies since 1995. The beautiful Angel doll featured above is hand embroidered and sewn from high quality fabrics. The colors are muted – not brash and primary – so that the entire doll has an ethereal presence that, included with its optional hanging string, makes for a magical guardian or imaginary friend for your child. For me, holiday times mean family times. And being away from most of my family is very hard, not to mention thinking about family members who are no longer alive. If I could give my daughter one wish this season, it would be for all the angels looking over her from heaven to be able to come down and kiss her, meet her, laugh with her, play with her and just make more memories with her. What an amazing gift that would be – or at least something I could tell her about in a story as Galia Chai’s protective angel us snuggled under her arm as she sleeps. Available here.

Israeli designer and optical illusionist Shahar Peleg does it again: another death defying feat of design for your home. This set of five magnetic vases appears to float above your table since the bottom half is hidden beneath your table. The vases can hold water and are suitable for both real and artificial flowers. Five aluminum vases and five metal bases per pack. Super cool – even appropriate to give a man as a housewarming present for his bachelor pad. My only problem with them is that they seem so delicate both in material and balance and I’m so clumsy sometimes that I just know I’d be knocking these over non stop… I mean, I fell face forward down my best friend’s wedding aisle. It was funny. Much later. But if that’s not in your book of embarrassing moments then these magnetic vases are for you. Available here.

Well, Hanukkah is almost here and I think I’ve both lost count and let life get a bit in the way, so just to finish off my 8-day gift guide extravaganza, I think I’ll take some artistic license and feature the final Day 8 ideas during the holiday. That way, those of you who are behind with your shopping have a chance to catch up.

Otherwise, back to the countdown and four more amazing gifts for you to bestow upon loved ones:
(clockwise from top left)

Don’t let your man forget anything with this super snazzy cartoon wipe board from Israeli designer misfits Monkey Business. Humor and graphics reign supreme in this “Captain Memo” design; a perfect reminder tool or organizing trick for your man’s office or play room. On a side note, I’m really impressed that Monkey Business is now available through Target. Who knew their aesthetic was so accessible that it is now being sold to mainstream America? That is, if mainstream America is a bunch of big-bosomed-female-super-hero-loving comic book fans. Oh, so now I’m starting to understand the universal appeal… or why we’re going to be ordering one of these this holiday season. Available here.

It is no secret that every woman needs a room of her own for contemplation, inspiration and rejuvenation. What you may not know though is that buying your woman a beautiful handmade print – like the one above – to help consecrate her space will make her forever grateful and deeply moved. “All things girly” by Israeli etsy artist Leiaka features a woman’s precious, girly items – lipstick, dress, pearls, heels – it’s over the top and very curly-cue feminine. But even for the most staunch Feminist this print is a sweet touch in one’s bathroom, dressing room or even entranceway. It seems like the perfect piece to match an old Hollywood mirrored vanity set like this one. You know, lounging around in my fur tipped silk robe with matching heeled slippers. Available here on etsy.

With all the toy recalls from China and backlash against plastic, let this Hanukkah season be one of more simpler presents – ones that also give back to the community, not just to your children. Pastel Toys are beautiful handmade wooden toys created in Israel through the Kishorit non-profit organization that as part of its mission, created a kibbutz-style community wherein people with learning, adaptive and functional disabilities receive specialized care that includes health care, residences, educational and enrichment activities and therapeutic programs. Their amazing toys are produced as part of a physical rehabilitation program for residents that includes woodworking, designing and painting the toys (with milk paint). I love their simple abstracted design. And the delicate colors, carefully rubbed out edges to give it that used and loved look. They feel like an old wooden toy that either could gave been or could still be handed down through generations. The “Billy Train” selected above is both a toy train with a cargo carrier and a set of blocks. The perfect gift for youngsters that carries its own message of good will toward others. Available here.

Rated by interior design gurus at apartment therapy as one of the top 10 accessible storage systems for your home, this innovative cubic storage unit from renown Israeli furniture designer Doron Lachish is a generous gift that will solve all – or most – of your storage woes. The Cubitec plastic colored units can be custom linked to fit your exact space. Multiple units can also be joined together to fill out any blank or odd wall space you can’t figure out how to maximize. And recent additions to the Cubitec system include deeper shelves, invisible joinery, and optional doors and back panels. As a bonus, you can choose from a range of colors including translucent white – which lets you build up wall space without closing the rest of your room in. A neat trick not possible with the heavier, wooden or MDF storage options. Available here through NY-based design authority, DWR.