Up until now i’ve been used to visiting graduate shows back home in Israel each and every year I get super restless and can’t wait to see some really exciting and original designs. This year I won’t be able to do so BUT I have an opportunity to explore the ones in San Francisco and I’m up for the challenge. Going to unfamiliar territories, experiencing different perspectives and above all getting to know some new graduates. Over the weekend I began my 2013 Graduates journey and first was the California College of the Arts. I’ll tell you all about it but for now let me leave you with some of my favorite projects.
{Photos by Me}

50×70 are not just the dimensions of your average poster. It’s a lot more than that! It’s Israel’s most exciting and brand new online store which is all about celebrating the mad talent of some of Israels best illustrators and graphic designers. I think that being one who can illustrate his way through the world is one of the most incredible gifts you can get and that is why I started my very own Illustrated Break in the first place. Although the site is Hebrew friendly, the language of art and design is universal and so all you have to do is start browsing and click on each and every link you can put your mouse on!
www.5070.co.il

Usually whenever I bumps into a new shoe catalog most of the time they all feel the same. The shoe is always center stage, usually on a white background and sometimes I spot an actual foot here and there. BUT this time it’s different, really different! The girls behind UnaUna (Almog and Mira) turned to some of their favorite artists and designers and asked them to create a compatible piece of art that will accompany each and every one of their summer 2013 collection aka Reaction. The outcome is refreshing, beautiful, sensitive and intriguing all at the same time.
{Photos by Guy Gilad}
www.una-una.com

Since I first met Lital Gold a lot has changed. Lital has moved to Philadelphia where she works as a textile designer for Free People (!!!) and I… well you know where I am. I’ve been following her ink-y foot steps for more than two years and one thing hasn’t change, her ability to put a smile on my face the minute I stumble into one of her colorful and lively illustrations. I won’t exaggerate if I say that I wish for one of her magical illustrations to appear in my instagram feed whenever I open it. Lately she re-designed her site and it’s a perfect opportunity to show you some of her latest dreamy yet complicated work.
www.litalgold.com

Whenever a friend of mine shares with me one of his/hers designer/artist friends I get super excited because it means that they think of me as a blogger (I still can’t believe that this is my day job!) Anyways, apparently Kukula (aka Nataly Abramovich) is a well known name worldwide and it happens that she is an Israeli among other things. Nataly’s look alike dolls are not your average dolls. She puts so many emotion and pain into their facial expressions and body language. I bet there is a lot I don’t know about the behind the scene process but I sure do would love to!
{A DesignBreak by Nophar Haimovitz}
www.kukulaland.com

When my friend Noa first shared with me Roni Reuveny’s meat fruits I didn’t know what to make of it. I LOVE my fruits and I eat them like crazy but… There is something quite disturbing about these very much realistic fruits made out of polymer clay. A lot of emotions and associations come to mind when it comes to meat and so… Roni was thinking about Adam, Eve and the apple when she began working on these bleeding fruits.
This project is part of an exhibition that explores the relation between meat and the culture of BBQ in Israel.
{Photos by Noa Kedmi}
You can get in touch with Roni at:
ronireuveny {at} gmail {dot} com

Ever since I first discovered Batia Malka’s ceramic world, almost two years ago, I can’t get enough of it. Usually Batia deals with lots of difficult and sensitive matters but for some reason that’s exactly why I’m mesmerized by it time after time. All these baby heads and body parts assembled together feel like a pretty crazy state of mind and I’m sure that one day I’ll have to set up a coffee date with Batia and ask her lots of questions…
{Photos by Eran Turgeman}

www.batiamalka.com

Thanks to Sivan Askayo, my super talented friend and photographer, who loves to take pictures of graffiti and street art, I became more and more aware of all the cool stuff that is waiting to be discovered in the street of TLV. However, this Keen Screen installation was found when I stumbled upon Hagar Ben Yishay’s instagram feed. Don’t know what about you but I feel like these super colorful and happy pixels will brighten even the saddest and darkest alley out there!

www.pixelsninja.com

When you love to eat, you also love looking at food and foodie pictures. At least that’s how it works for me…
I guess this is the only explanation I have for my instant connection with Ana Dominguez’s Bread series. Stacking baguettes, ciabatta, rye and other fancy kinds of bread never looked better. I feel like buying some and building my own version ;)
FYI, this is an Apartamento magazine production with the help of Omar Sosa.
{DesignBreak found Ana here}
{Photos by Nacho Alegre}
{This is a Spanish Break}

www.anadominguez.es

Yesterday I visited an intriguing exhibition at the Benyamini Ceramics Center. It goes by the name Donkey, but “focuses on the grave situation of ceramics as a medium in the field of Israeli art. It strives to touch upon life and death, upon the intertwined physical and mental dangers threatening practitioners of art and ceramics.” As I walked up and down between the three floors, I spent quite some time staring at Uri Shapira’s salted fields and Hila Amram’s green lab… These two know how to touch a soft spot inside me time after time, and it’s always a pleasure finding out more about their work.
{DesignBreak found the Donkey here}

“Bactus is an attempt to raise Jewelry in biological means. Embedded in glass containers are bacterias and fungus that are growing and evolving constantly.”
What do you think about this crazy idea? At first I was’t sure what I was looking at and if I wanted to take a second look. BUT, there is something quite fascinating and enchanting in Coral’s rings… I’m happy to explore but at the same time I’m grateful that all these crazy creatures are behind glass doors ;)
{A DesignBreak by Gregory Larin}
{Photos by Amit Gosher}

www.coralcohen.com

Paper, graphite, paint, glue, plaster, brass and stainless steel… They all come together in beautiful harmony.
And to think that the core of Attai Chen’s line of work is based on recycled paper!
Don’t know what about you, but I sure do want to know a lot more about this impressive designer or more accurately artist in this case.

www.attaichen.com

Only a crazy person can be behind for all this beauty, and I mean that in a good way! Lital Mendel, the designer who is responsible for my love of folded rings, knows that I’ll follow her till death do us part or till she stops folding piles and piles of paper, whichever comes first. Her latest adventure goes by the name Just One More… and by the looks of it, Lital keeps saying this phrase over and over again.
Can you imagine yourself folding hundreds of units? I can’t! Thank god Lital has a knack for this kind of thing.
{Photos by Noa Kedmi}

www.litalmendel.com

As I was on my hourly break, on my never ending Instagram feed, I saw the most brilliant paper rings by Yael Friedman on Shira Shoval’s stream… and you know me, I immediately wrote her, needing to know more. That’s when I entered into Yael’s super versatile world and found a lot more rings. Leather rings, paper rings, fabric rings and basically all things rings!
So, as I meant to write about Yale’s paper rings, I fell in love with her animal rings. It almost feels like when wearing it, you carry your very own favorite doll with you in a very stylish and unique manner. I’m hooked! There is no other way to put it.
www.yayo-design.com

Whenever you look up, you probably see this sweet little creature, around the streets of Tel Aviv. It was chosen as the face of I am an Other, The Sixth Exhibit of Israeli jewelry at the Eretz Israel Museum. I haven’t been there yet but I feel like this little guy has been following me around… The one behind this super sensitive creation is the young jeweler, Tehila Levi Hyndman. I need to do my thing and find out a lot more about her! I’m sure I’ll be writing about this exhibition once I visit but in the meanwhile I had to share this part gecko part butterfly mixture.
{Photos by Igal Fredo}
You can get in touch with Tehila here:
tehilalevi {at} gmail {dot} com