Arik Kastan
Designer Arik Kastan launched his jewelry line Kisufim in 1997. His interest and experience as a goldsmith began at the young age of 14 where he worked as an assistant to a local goldsmith in a small workshop. Arik honed his skills by creating hand made jewelry and developing detailed craftsmanship with hand-etched finishing. He now has his own line of fine jewelry featuring his signature rose gold look with vintage inspired designs.
Anat Sapir
Anat earned her BFA from Bezalel Academy of Art & Design. She started her career as a textile designer and then became a toy designer for toy company "Tiny Love" in Israel. All the while, Anat satisfied her continued passion for everything art by taking courses in ceramic and glass design. It was while working and designing with glass that she discovered a new passion. She was immediately drawn to the playful combination of light against the color and transparency of the glass. Each one of the lampwork glass beads in her bracelets and necklaces are individually handblown. Anat's favorite part of glass bead jewelry design is allowing for the unexpected discoveries along the way and to the endless possibilities for her creative expression.
Efika
Efika is the label launched by handbag designer Efrat Baruchi. Efrat launched her career designing children's shoes but then shifted gears by launching and designing a handbag line, Kisim. She has since left Kisim to launch her own namesake label, Efika. While Efika's bags are now well known throughout Israel for their effortless style and amazingly soft leather, in 2006, Efika just launched its first season in the U.S. The name Efika is inspired by the nickname given to her by some of her closest friends. Her handbags are not only made with the highest quality of craftsmanship but solely use the highest quality, buttery-soft leather in order to ensure the perfect softness to the touch. Efika's designs are for the confident woman-on-the-go--comfortable, functional yet luxurious and feminine. Her handbags are designed to flow on the body much like a favorite outfit would. Efrat graduated from Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in 1998 with a BFA in Jewelry, Fashion & Object Design. She has participated in many exhibitions in Israel and Italy.
Golan Bitan
Golan Bitan is a chef by trade. He views his work in design with recycled materials, as a conduit that reflects the human spirit. His inspiration is derived from his years of travel in developing countries. He was struck by the prevalent use of recycled products and the creative spirit behind creating so many things, from daily necessities to decorative art. All of this could be created from what would otherwise appear to be junk. After returning home to Tel Aviv with this inspiration, Golan began his craft of transforming empty pickle and olive cans into artistic and decorative planters. He gets pleasure not only from the final result, but from knowing that in a fun and creative way, he is also hopefully encouraging others to think about ways that available things around us can be put to creative uses.
Hadas Shaham
Hadas is a modern jewelry designer who learned her craft by earning a BFA from Shenkar College of Engineering & Design. Her unique jewelry designs are inspired by geometric shapes, architecture and urban landscapes. She creates her jewelry by juxtaposing unexpected and bold pairings of materials such as silver, gold, rubber, leather and concrete. All of her work is carefully crafted by hand. In 2004, Hadas joined forces with her father, a furniture designer, to establish Workshop, a studio shop which showcases their work and is located in Old Jaffa.
Idit Friedberg
Idit Friedberg's textile designs are unique, one-of-a-kind works of art. Idit handcrafts textiles in a way that is playful and carefree. She likes to bring together combinations of color and texture to invoke feelings of warmth and youthful memories. In this way, the objects she creates are meant to be conduits of memories, warmth, wear and numerous hours of love. As Idit puts it, "I practically make objects from memories." Her designs are traditional and fun but with a sophisticated and modern aesthetic. Idit, a graduate of Shenkar College of Engineering & Design, is also a professor at Shenkar in the Textile department. She has participated in several distinguished galleries and exhibitions and she is a member of the Israel Designer Craftsman's Association.
Michal Oren
Michal Oren is a modern jewelry designer whose artistic passion is defined by the dialogue between objects and space and between jewelry and the organic living body. Michal has participated in several jewelry exhibitions, including in 2002, the "Chain Reaction" Israeli Jewelry Exhibit at the Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. In December 2005 she participated in the International Jewelry Design Symposium in Mersin, Turkey. Michal's delicate work is inspired by minimalist art of the 20th century. Her jewelry is meant to follow the natural curves of the body, flattering it and following its form. Michal works with precious metals such as gold and silver because of their softness and harmony with the body. Her designs primarily have a matte finish to best express the correlation of the jewel to the color and texture of the human skin. Michal has a BFA in Jewelry & Metal Design studies from Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, Jerusalem. While continuing with her passion for jewelry design, she is currently also pursuing her Masters Degree in Art History at Tel Aviv University.
Mishi
Meirav Ohayon has designed accessories under the Mishi label since winter 2003. Mishi's bags and clutches are colorful, young, edgy and innovative. Meirav is a graduate of Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in Jerusalem and earned a BFA in Jewelry, Accessories & Object Design. Prior to starting Mishi, Meirav was a stage & costume designer for theatre production in Israel.
Neta Sade
Neta's approach to designing her handbags starts by first turning away from the traditional structure and design of the handbag. Neta re-defines the bag she is creating by introducing her own creative inspiration and unique interpretation of its shape and construction. Neta has always loved to work with leather and honed her skills during her graduate studies at Bezalel Academy of Art & Design. As a designer, Neta always first decides what leather pallet she wants to work with, while seeking to incorporate elements of fashion and style with nature. Her forms attempt to mimic nature, whether she is designing an overall handbag shape that is reminiscent of the falling leaves or creating stitching that ever-so-subtly reminds her of shining rays of the sun. Wherever function permits, she allows the natural leather to remain exposed, giving the handbag a more organic feel.
Ototo Design
Ototo Design Studio was formed in 2002 by partners Dani Gassner and Ori Saidi. The two derive their inspiration for product design from their daily surroundings - creating functional products out of the unexpected. In many of Ototo's pieces, they succeed in innovatively shaping 2-dimentional materials into 3-dimentional objects. Ototo has received awards and high accolades for their design achievements and has participated in many design exhibits. Ototo recently represented Israel in a designers' expo in Moscow (2003) and participated in the Domus Academy exhibition in Milan, Italy (2004). Ototo continues to participate in exhibitions throughout Israel. Currently, both Dani and Ori are lecturers at the Escola Design School in Tel Aviv.
Racheli Rotman-Gergi
After receiving a BFA from Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, Racheli formed her independent Ceramics studio in Karmei Yosef. Her ceramics work is exhibited in shows in Israel and throughout the world.
Racheli's work is intended to inspire a tranquil and calming feeling such that the person can create their own personal association with her art. All of Racheli's designs are created in limited editions to maintain the handmade, unique aesthetic and immediacy of each piece. All materials used are non-toxic and are safe to be used with food.
Sharon Brunsher
Sharon Brunsher is a lifestyle designer whose collection can be found in high-end boutiques throughout Israel. Her refreshing designs form a unified home fashion collection using comfortable shapes, clean cuts and working with the highest quality textiles. Sharon Brunsher' current collection of luxurious throws, robes, tunics, pajamas, and more was inspired by her warm feelings for the city of Paris. Sharon Brunsher is a graduate of Tel Aviv Design Institute. Her designs are displayed and sold worldwide in high-end boutique shops, hotels, and museums.
Shelly Freiman
Shelly Freiman graduated from Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in 2001. Her design work has received much recognition in Israel and abroad. She has been selected to participate in exhibitions around the world, including UNESCO, Felissimo Design House in New York and Japan, and Periscope in Tel Aviv, to name a few. She runs her own independent design studio through which she works on interior and industrial design projects and develops her own line of home accessory products.
Studio T - Tamar Chomski
Tamar Chomski graduated with honors from Bezalel Academy of Art & Design with a focus in Corporate Identity. She started her career as a graphic designer working on package design and developing corporate logos & identity. Tamar was instrumental in various branding campaigns for several high profile Israeli companies. She has been a professor at Bezalel Academy and Shenkar College of Engineering & Design for the past 8 years. Tamar believes in the influence of interweaving various disciplines during the design process. She enjoys experimenting with eclectic materials and playing with color. What captivates Tamar as an ever-evolving designer is the design process itself. She is captivated by the transition from idea to a developed concept and ultimately, a tangible and artistic form of expression.
Zoe Designs
Zoe Designs is a collaboration of husband and wife team, Gabriel Wasserman and Dafna Manor. Gabriel & Dafna create things that are fun and that they themselves enjoy. Their products are always great gift items that they love to create and to share with others. Their philosophy is that good design is always part of the gift. They derive pleasure in their design process by giving extra attention to all of the details, from concept to the final form. This level of care carries from the aesthetics and functionality of the design through to the final presentation and packaging. For them, it is equally exciting to create and design as it is their pleasure knowing that others are enjoying and making use of their creations.
