Creative women

May 26, 2011 - 1:32 PM by Jessica

For some women, the transition to motherhood is an opportunity to rethink their professions. They’re at home a lot more, first taking care of little babes and then transitioning to mothering toddlers, pre-schoolers and eventually, real kids. The question of how to meld career and parenting is a real one, particularly when you have kids out of pre-school at 1 in the afternoon and a limited amount of time to make some money.

There’s a trio of local women I know who have taken their creative skills and made small businesses out of some great ideas.

Kids and their 'doll sling's

My Nooly is a home-based company started by Yael Katz, a mother of two. When Yael was pregnant with her daughter and second child, Ziv, she wanted to sew all of the soft furnishings for Ziv’s room. But, she didn’t know how to sew. After convincing her mother to gift her with a sewing machine, she found a teacher and began her sewing career, making her way through clothing for herself, as well as a crib bumper, diaper changing pad, diaper bag, blanket and pictures. Now My Nooly produces a great range of products, including cozy dolls, doll slings (great idea, right?) crayon rolls, play tutus, car cozies and race tracks to onesies, blankets, kids’ aprons (in great fabrics) and hair doodads for the girly girls. It can all be ordered on-line, and, you can read Yael’s musings and view her skilled photography at her NoolyGirl blog. She also sells regularly at local fairs — including the Friday Emek Refaim fair at the ICCY — and is often experimenting with new ideas…such as white Shavuot bloomers for girls and bandanna shorts for boys.

The charming Liberty-style print dresses and skirts by Bayla Lewis are classical with a kick, say this U.S.-born and Jerusalem-dwelling mother of two. She calls her budding company Buzz & Luna, nicknames for her two kids, and like friend Yael Katz, also didn’t know how to sew when she launched her first sewing project. What tempted Bayla was seeing children’s clothing in the stores that she knew she could make herself. She’s been seamstressing for the last few years and always keeps in mind that “you gotta be unique but you can’t forget about the child, gotta keep it simple.”
For now, Bayla has a Facebook page and will soon — hopefully — be on Etsy.com.

The other Yael, Yael Zisquit Gabbai, is a mother of four and graphic designer who came up with the babyme concept while searching for the perfect gift to give her oldest son while expecting her second child. She created a personalized book for him in which he was the main character of the story, and realized that customization was key. She began creating personalized gifts for her loved ones, and babyme grew organically from that process. Yael produces sweet baby and toddler packages that are customized throughout with the child’s name and photo, if you so wish; all the gift giver does is choose the type of package, design and add the name. Choose a baby basket filled with onesies, bibs, hat and a teddy bear for a newborn; a tee-shirt for a new big brother or sister or personalized bulletin boards, teddies and bags for older children.

Baskets can be purchased in Israel or sent abroad from her website, www.babyme.co.il or through Etsy.

If you’re looking for some gifts, or to outfit your own kids, be sure to check out these budding companies; there’s always something new in the merchandise.

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