Having met in high school, Erel and Ben Natan draw their inspiration from architecture, nature and everything in between, using ready-made and specially-constructed materials, to explore the impact of structure on lighting. Lightexture also strives to incorporate energy efficient principles while creative other-worldly atmospheres, all by hand, from their Brooklyn studio.

For more on this dynamic duo, including more on their creative process, check out the video below.

“Go, get it yourself,” never sounded as good as when Lior and Tal from Chunt Designs told me that their ‘By the Book” night table will be available for purchase at this weekend’ s HaSalon home furnishings fair in Tel Aviv. Now in it’s second year, HaSalon – meaning the living room, parlor or sitting room – is a home design fair celebrating Israeli smaller studios and independent designers from the hardworking to the handcrafted. Some of the designers listed to present are so new, they don’t even come up (yet) on Google (imagine that) while others like Shahar Peleg and Ototo are more established and sold worldwide. The products range from lighting, clocks, to shelving and furniture and back to wall and table accessories. Incidentally, the top left looking trivets by Ototo caught my eye at the Designed in Israel exhibition a while back. The trivets double as napkin rings and look super cool as white porcelain jax – so they’re multitasking the aesthetic with the purposeful. And right on your dining room table. Cool.

HaSalon is open this Friday April 4th, 10am – 6pm, and Saturday April 5th, 10am through 9pm, at the Comfort Club, 13 Comfort Street in the Florentine neighborhood of Tel Aviv. For those of you abroad kicking yourself that you don’t live in Israel and therefore can’t share in the home design fun, have no fear, I shall take upon myself to bring you coverage of the best and brightest from the fair. That is, whatever I can manage to write down in between my shopping extravaganza!

In no particular order of preference (Mom):

1. I like being organized, but even straight bookshelves have a way of being so… boring. But not with one of these (red please) super cool Bookworm bookshelves by superstar Israeli and international design legend Ron Arad. Sooo cool, I’m drooling (not cool).

2. These beautiful bowls and vases by Israeli ceramicist Marcelle Klein. I love how they reflect the texture and feel of nature despite a smooth marble-like exterior and abstracted organic shape. Simple and clean yet evocative and dreamy. My favorite.

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3. Usher in the age of enlightenment with these gorgeous pendant lamps by (one of) my favorite Israeli designers Arik Levy. The ‘minishakes.mgx’ designed for materialise are similar to Levy’s Shaman pendant necklace. Both are made of epoxy and rendered in a deep amber-brown color. To me, they seem sensual and casual. Arranged in a cluster of three (like in the photo) at different heights it’s an interesting twist on a chandelier-style lighting fixture for a bedroom no?

4. I love the layering of these gorgeous gold ‘Four’ rings by Israeli jewelry designer Orit Ivshin. A modern design within a handmade aesthetic. And it’s four rings in one – practically a beautiful bargain.

5. This amazing pop-goes-digital-references-an-older-classic-work-and-is-awesome print by my friend and Israeli artist Mike Darnell. A redux of the classic and ubiquitous sheep artwork by Israeli artist Menashe Kadisman. This sheep makes me smile.

Fun things are afoot at the Circle K as this week looks to be an exciting one. For starters, I’ll be visiting the Designed in Israel exhibition in Tel Aviv (at the fairgrounds again through Fb. 16th) and checking out the newest and most daring furniture, lighting and jewelry designers coming out of Israel. “Design works” (as the event poster above says) is being run by the Israeli Design Center with The Marker business journal, the exhibition is accompanied by a conference and key lectures focusing on Israeli design and its potential impact in the international scene and market. I know I’m definitely curious to learn more about it – and I hope you are too. I plan on scoring some revealing interviews with student and professional designers on-site and sharing pics of the great works on display. So look for that as we head into midweek.

First though, I’m thrilled to announce that I’m going green – and not with envy but with environmentalism! I always thought I was a visionary but now it’s official: I’m becoming a prophet and joining the esteemed ranks of Green Prophet contributors. I’ll be covering Israel’s eco-friendly design beat which I’m happy to share with talented Greenprophet founder and eco-inspired writer, Karin Kloosterman. Aside from tackling tech issues together, Karin and I are also talking about joining forces for a great giveaway next month, so keep your eyes peeled for that later on. But first, head on over to GP and read more about how to make your life more eco-conscious, in Israel or wherever you are. The poster above is by Israeli graphic designer Aviram Meir for the Designed in Israel exhibition and I think it’s incredibly catchy and memorable – and hopefully will make an impression on some to conserve water or reuse rain water in this case, a process which some cities in Israel, including my home town of Modiin, is trying to put into practice.

And finally, but ironically most immediately, another side project that I’m also excited to tell you about is now taking off over at Modern Tribe. Modern Tribe sells great modern Judaica and Israeli design products from the US and the blog covers everything smart and savvy from new Israeli music to creative Shabbat candlesticks to these cute aleph-taf (or A to Z) Hebrew alphabet bookends. Jennie and I seem to share the same appreciation for cool things so I’ll be piping in with some posts about the latest in Israeli design, fashion and home decor over on MT – or at least pointing you to some great stuff to buy. And she’s kicked off the DesignistDream crossposting bonanza with an interview with yours truly over at Modern Tribe. So head on over and check it out though I’m not sure about the picture… But enough about me, tell me more about you, what do you think of me? (Sorry but I couldn’t resist that one) Looking forward to a great week!

PS. If anyone in Israel wants more information about the exhibition but can’t read the Hebrew-only site, feel free to contact me for info.

To me, it all begins with Ron Arad. He is thee most successful and revered Israeli architect and designer to have broken out of Israel and, more importantly, one of the most influential designers of our time. After finishing his studies at the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem, he left Israel in the 70s to study architecture in London and opened a design studio in the early 80s. His playful and sculptural furniture designs quickly took off and additional studios were opened in Italy by the mid-90s.

A self-taught furniture designer, Arad challenges conventional notions of sculpture, design and practicality. He also explores materials from both formal and functional perspectives. Or, in simpler terms, he plays with materials to great effects – twisting steel, etching plastic and bending wood. Arad’s works fetch big prices these days and can now be found in the collections of such leading museums as Metropolitan Museum in NY, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the V&A in London and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.

Arad’s addition of volume to sculpture has led to his collaboration for such well-known design companies as Alessi, andMorosso. He hasn’t abandoned his architectural interests however, and continues to contribute to large-scale international projects, including this hotel in Madrid which in which no less than 19 of the world’s leading designers and architects are involved.

Arad’s most recent project Bodyguards Milan 2007 combines the ethereal with otherworldy as transparent wing-like shapes extend like curtains from metal chair frames, while bulbous polished chairs seem to have been dripped into a chair-like existence from vats of melted steel.

Most recently and locally, Arad is designing Israel’s first design museum which is next to the Israeli design center in Holon. Still under construction, Arad’s voluminous shapes take on larger-than life presence as they guide 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 this amazing artist.

Works by Ron Arad featured above: Ripple Chair for Moroso, Victoria and Albert Collection Sofa for Moroso, The Big Easy Armchair for Morosso, Bookworm Bookshelf for Kartell

Researching contemporary Israeli artists and designers for the recent Hanukkah Gift Guide, I came across some pretty wacky but exciting stuff. One such designer, who got my jaw to drop to the floor in utter amazement, was Ayala Serfaty of Aqua Creations. It’s almost like an acid trip gone underwater for furniture, lighting and interior design. What really tickled my design fancy was her design for the Red Sea Star Project, an underwater restaurant in Israel’s port city of Eilat. Situated 20 feet below the sea, the restaurant features sea anemone bar stools, jellyfish lights suspended from the ceiling, coral reef tables and even shadow plays of schools of fish swimming next to the real fish outside the restaurant. Serfaty further explained that she made most of the horizontal surfaces in the room reflective so the ceiling would float into the floor – so you’d get that real deep sea feeling.

I’m not into theme rooms. You see them mostly on the quicky DIY design shows and they rarely come out looking stylish, smart or anywhere near well done. So although I’m interested in visiting the Red Sea Star restaurant (haven’t been to Eilat in more than 10 years!) I feel it’s kitsch factor in full effect. And although I’m blown away by the quality of execution and overall organic aesthetic of Serfaty’s lighting and furniture items, I’m not sure how I’d incorporate them into a room without seemingly inserting a themed item that stands out in a bad way.

It seems to me like these works are created for a certain contemporary aesthetic. Take the MSS multi stalbet system by Serfaty for example. It’s a social couch, stalbet is Hebrew for “total relaxation”, that not only looks like an amazingly comfortable blog of a circular couch/lounge but it also has a hydraulic coffee table in the center that rises at the touch of a button, storage space for small items, and self-balancing trays for food and drink. I guess it better have a lot to offer since it seats up to 15. So to me, something like this would only fit a souped up bachelor pad or high-end Elle magazine contemporary white room.

So I can’t tell if I like Serfaty’s work or just admire her for her aesthetic aspirations. It’s very different, natural and even magical the way the jellyfish or shelf lamps (featured) curve around and glow like they’re alive. But does anyone have any ideas on how to incorporate Serfaty’s work into your average design-fan’s home?