Israeli Hallmark

October 1, 2009 - 11:10 AM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: Art, Business, design, Holidays, Israeliness, Pop Culture 

yaelbarIf you haven’t sent out those Rosh Hashana greetings yet — whether in card or email format, or, lo, facebook — never fear. A fantastic Jerusalem collage artist has created greeting cards that will negate all belated wishes, because they’re just so fun and clever.

Yael Bar, according to her bio, is a Jerusalemite who has never lived in Tel Aviv. (Another reason to like her.) After earning a first degree in the history of art and theater, she is now a recent graduate from Bezalel. I think she’s looking for a job, but in the meantime, is making these one-of-a-kind greeting cards that include all sorts of Israeli and non-Israeli personalities, from Shoshana Damari to Leonard Cohen.

Besides the Rosh Hashana editions, which I’m sending to my nearest and dearest, there are cards for all sorts of occasions, from Mazal Tovs and Chag Sameachs to her particular take on Israeli life, with collages lifted from recent newspaper articles, such as Divorce in Modi’in and prime ministers’ ranking.

My favorite Jerusalem gift store, Nisha, was selling the cards, but you can also contact Yael by email and order some of your own.

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Ban the plastic

July 9, 2008 - 4:19 PM by · 4 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, Business, Environment, General 

It could actually happen…the Knesset may actually prohibit stores from offering plastic bags for free, if an amended bill becomes law. The original bill would have completely banned the distribution of the always-present plastic bag; the current bill would allow stores to offer non-disposable bags for sale with NIS 27,000 fines for businesses that ignore the ban.

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It’s difficult to imagine an Israel without the ubiquitous plastic bag; after all, they only just installed the automatic plastic bag dispensers in certain grocery stores within the last year. But despite the convenience of the plastic bag and its technologically savvy dispenser, I, for one, will cheer, as I’ve already mentioned in a previous entry about the not-so-environmental polyester green bags that are being sold at certain grocery stores.

So if you’re looking for a bag with a little more panache, or made of eco-cotton, try one of my favorite gift stores in Jerusalem, Nisha, at 31 Bethlehem Road or 4U Gifts, at 41 Hebron Road. They’re both selling a variety of laminated-lined cloth bags by Jerusalem designer Ruti Ribak, including smaller ones that can be folded into their own little zippered pocket and thrown into your bag. Best of all, they’ve go their own tagline: ‘Tikniyot,’ a Hebrish compound slang for shopping bag.

Ribak began making the bags about a year ago, when she saw that Israelis were starting to catch on to the idea of using cloth bags for their errands. Unfortunately, the ones that say Tikniyot are a little on the small side, just large enough for a carton of milk and a loaf of bread, but you’ll look hip and environmentally aware using it. As for Ribak, she isn’t planning on building an empire out of the line, just some ‘kesef kis,’ a.k.a., pocket money.

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