Is it already time for another Milan Design Week? I had so much fun writing about all the amazing designers last year! This time I’ll have to see it all once I get back from my trip. I had to share with you the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design 2012 Design Bonanza. If you are among the lucky ones who’ll be visiting the streets of Milan and the corridors of Ventura Lambrate during Milan Salone Internazionale del Mobile, you’ll be able to see at first hand 50 super exciting projects from the students of the Industrial Design Department. BTW, the curators behind it all are: Prof. Ezri Tarazi, Haim Parnas and Galit Shvo.
designbonanza.weebly.com

Back in 2010 I wrote about inSync’s doodle like accesories. Since then, Iris Saar Isaacs, the lady who doesn’t know how to slow down, made not one but two completely different collections. And now, just before a brand new collection is cooking back in Australia, Iris decided to make us feel a little bit more fancy with her goldish LINE COLLECTION. Yep, same minimalist line but a lot more glam!
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On a side note, I just stumbled upon Iris’s interview at klimt02. Thought you would like to know.

www.insyncdesign.com.au

Sometimes I feel like a stalker when it comes to Daniel Zelig’s ceramic jewlery. If it was up to me, I would write her once a week asking for a sneak peek. And trust my words, I would probably receive something different with each and every email.
One of her latest collections is the “STONE” series. It came to life while she was exploring the concept of “inlay”. Daniel enjoys experimenting with “stones” and the outcome is super elegant, minimalistic and slightly different with each ring. I need to arrange a close and personal meeting with this white heaven.

www.danielzelig.com

For his Winter 2012 collection, my favorite shoe designer aka Oded Arama, decided to go back to black with his unisex “emotions” collection.
You all know Oded as the one responsible for the oh so colorful shoes but this time it’s like we experience a more serious side of this super unique designer. Don’t you worry, as Oded likes to spice things up in each and every design, there are still pops of colors. As you all know, I despise winter but with these shoes I think things will be tolerable (I only say that beacuse summer is just around the corner).
In other exciting news, Oded just opened his own ASOS boutique.
www.so-arama.com

If you are one of those people who know how to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, there is a big chance that you bumped into one of Iris Zohar‘s hug mugs. Yep, Iris is the one responsible for Max Brenner‘s super lovable mugs. The thing is, Iris has this unique ability to do it all, from designing for some of the biggest companies in Israel to giving back to society with her involvement with minorities and the less fortunate.
Join me while I dig into Iris’ intriguing world at my Jerusalem Post series.
You can read my “Doing Design: Just a little patience” interview right here.

Communication. Connection. Link. Relation. Relationship. Contact. Bond. Loop. Tie. Knot. All these words are the equivalent of the Hebrew word “Kesher”, which is also the tittle of Lital Gold’s first solo exhibition at the Urban Inc HQ in Philadelphia. I have a feeling it’s not a coincidence that in her first exhibition, Lital deals with lots of emotions about leaving home and moving to the other side of the world, to pursue her dream job as a designer at Free People.
Lital is one of those, who eats drinks and sleeps design. Sometimes it feels like she keeps on illustrating in her sleep and I bet it’s also when all her ideas come to life.
www.litalgold.com

It truly looks like Oded Ezer found the way to mix business and pleasure the typographic way. There is no other way to describe his latest adventure, “The New American Haggadah”. With Passover coming this Friday there is no way I’m gonna miss the opportunity to share with you this typographic masterpiece. But first thing first, none of this would have happened without Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander. The two asked Oded to join them in creating a modern take on the ancient Haggadah, and he managed to outdo himself with each spread looking like a piece of art.
I can promise you one thing, the Seder never looked so appealing in years!

After ParTEA. Such a brilliant tittle for a beautiful collection! Yael Reshef, a 2011 graduate of the Fashion Design Department at Shenkar College flew under my radar but luckily I found her.
Yael began her journey with the English afternoon tea ceremony and the blue glazed porcelain tableware that is identified with it. I’ve already seen porcelain being used as an accessory before, but there is something quite unique and pure in the way Yael used it as her main element. Sometimes you should let the material do the talking…
Speaking of tea time, did you hear about this place? I need to go there…
{Photos by Gilad Langer}

www.yaelreshef.com

When it comes to accessories, I have only one rule, the bigger the better! With that being said, I’ve never been one of those who fantasizes about diamonds or any other precious stones. For a while now, Moran Porat (who a while back, made it to my “ones to remember list” during graduate shows) is playing with the concept of “precious stones”. With her own unique take, Moran only highlights the form of the stone… If you need to see a big shiny rock, I guess you should move on but if you, like me, prefer an uber smart creation hanging on your ears or neck, Moran’s stones are the ones for you!

You can get in touch with Moran here:
moshinski1 {at} yahoo {dot} com

Lately I’m all about Anemones and Buttercups and every Friday I buy a bunch of them.
Shira Keret, graduated in 2010 and since then I see her name all over. When I first bumped into her hand blown glass “Purple Avocado”, my heart missed a beat. I can see clearly how it can be a perfect fit for my blooming flowers. Besides, there is nothing like adding another super chic vase to my never ending collection. PS, “Purple Avocado” is part of Talents Design‘s 2012 “Still Life – Still Alive” collection. PPS, it all began with Shira’s Paraphrase project.
{Photos by Gal Gaon}
cargocollective.com/shirakeret

About a month ago, Galit Barak, one of the most enthusiastic and nicest students I have ever met invited me to the presentation of “Textile Jewelry” at the Shenkar College. One of the projects that excited me the most was the black and white world of Shani Kraset, a third year student at the Textile Design Department. Parts of old watches and leather like fabrics where the setting for dealing with dimension of time, reflection and the element of beauty, using symmetry and geometry. I wish you could have seen this garden of beautiful fossils with your own two eyes!
You can get in touch with Shani here:
shani0411 {at} walla {dot} com

For a moment I felt like it’s the Nir Meiri blog ;) Maybe the fact that I met Nir for the first time after a long email affair, confused me.
Anyways, the fact of the matter is that I’m one of Nir’s biggest fans. You can refresh your memory here, here oh and here too. The fact that he doesn’t know how to slow down makes things even more interesting. Nir’s latest creation is Bamboo version of his super brilliant concrete plates that I love so very much! His clean lines are getting slicker and slicker by the minute! Just a little warning, I’m sure you’ll be reading about Nir once the Milan Design Week approaches. Just sayin!
www.nirmeiri.com

From time to time I enjoy visiting the websites of designers who left an impression on me in the past. There is nothing like revisiting and seeing something you hadn’t expected. This is exactly what happened to me when, this morning, I visited the wonderland of Shir Atar. I’m not sure exactly when but Shir designed, with the help of Elad Pomerants, the most brilliant Snow White Collection.
As we don’t really have a lot of snow around here (thank god for that) I don’t mind experiencing the snow, the Shir and Elad way. Such a simple yet clever idea.
Thumbs up, you guys!
www.shiratar.com

By now you all are probably familiar with my obsession with concrete . Once my eye lays on a concrete design I immediately want to have it… go figure.
I’m not really sure where I first saw Praktik‘s work of art for the first time but one thing is for sure, I need to pay a visit to their studio and the sooner the better. And when I’m saying “their” I’m referring to Daniel Rotmensch, Erez Laniado and Sagi Stern. The fun fact about these guys is that they do it all from branding to industrial design and in between. Fun, fun, fun!
Now, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna keep staring at their concrete lamp.

www.praktik.co.il

Shiri Hyman lives in a world of her own… It’s like she doesn’t need anyone other than her super wicked brain! Seriously, whenever I bump into her designs, I know they all have the Hyman’s magical touch. It’s like she puts her spell on things… A while back I saw her uber chic woodish bags and since then I wanted to share them with you. Luckly for me, just the other day I bumped into them while visiting Marmelada. BUT, the bad news is, shiri decided that it was time to move on to other exciting fields which involve home decor, the Hyman style. All that is left to do is wish her lots of luck while remembering the good times we shared ;)
www.shirihyman.com