Tchochkes

Lucky cats are kind of cute.  Here they all are waving their luck your away…

These cats are considered to bring luck into homes and businesses in Chinese and Japanese cultures.  If the paw is mechanical and can move, this is even more auspicious.  The waving motion is said to bring a homes inhabitants wealth and prosperity.

Symbols:

Left paw up: Invites friends into home

Right paw up: Invites money and fortune

Both paws up: (Stick um up!) Protects the home

The bib and bell: Material abundance

I like these cats for their positive expression.  You don’t have to be Chinese or Japanese to enjoy their positive energy… why not invite one or two in to enhance your home, they don’t eat much!

Amazon.com ships this cat internationally.

Moss Online is a store that features high end luxury goods which cost an absolute ridiculous price. However, they would cost even more if you bought them in Israel, and they ship here. So, if you feel like taking advantage of  the strong sheckel / falling dollar, and you are in the market for something insanely priced but exclusive as well - this would be the place for you.

Honestly, I while I love their goods I have to admit that I think it’s downright silly to pay… well, you’ll see that rant after I show the item…

Tord Boontje makes a stunningly beautiful chandelier, there is no denying that one. He also charges an arm, a leg, half of a head of hair, and an ear for them. The small pink Blossom chandelier above, made from Swarovsky crystals, costs $22,500. A lamp that costs more than a new small car. A small lamp that costs more than a small new car. And the lamp doesn’t drive.

I love decanters. Crystal decanters filled with exotic liquers - or pretty colored Koolaid for all I care. I don’t drink liquer or Koolaid - and both have such nice colors. As this is a decanter from Moss it is crystal and designed by Rudolf Eschler in 1934.  Because I know you’re wondering, it cost $525.

This ridiculous looking chair is made out of clay on metal skeletons. As clay is fairly easily broken I would recommend using this more as a conversation piece than an actual chair. Plus it doesn’t exactly scream comfort.

Moss takes themselves quite seriously. Their description of the chair: ‘Clay Furniture address the issue of form-giving in industrial design, revealing, literally, the designer’s ‘hand’ in this intimate process, today normally concealed through the use of a computer (but there, none-the-less).’

Really. Gosh, I feel so enlightened and arty suddenly. I think I’ll go put on some glasses and a black turtleneck.

This silly red chair was designed by Maarten Baas and costs $2,900

The rant begins here: Stop reading if you are not interested.

The Witches sticks above cost $770 and are made in an artists something or other by underprivilaged people in Guatemala. The price of this item pisses me off. The average salary in Guatemala for a non-urban area anywhere from $13 - $14 a month to $100, depending on how rural and run-down the area.

‘The average income for families in San Andrés is about 700/month/household (about $94).  In villages around the town of San Andrés, the average income drops to about $13-40 per month/household.  Conditions in surrounding villages are much more severe as they usually lack running water, electricity, stores, and most importantly, employment’

Let’s say that they are paying an artist to make this by hand and it costs them about 1 month to make a set (this is extremely unlikely). Let’s say they pay this artist around $50 for the work. Let’s even say that the wood is rare and expensive - another $20 for materials. Where do they get off charging $770 for 6 kitchen utensils? I don’t care if it’s a Tord Boontje - someone is making far too much money off of this and I can guarantee you it isn’t the poor sod in Guatemala. I am all for helping the underprivilaged and giving work to those in need. I just think they would be able to sell more and give those same artists more work if they priced the item in a range that doesn’t alienate your typical consumer.

Plus they look like they just stepped out of Hogwarts, literally. He even calls them witches kitchen. Please.

I was inspired to write about collections after visiting a tiny apartment on the second annual ”House Tours” event here in Tel Aviv a few weekends ago.  Nothing else about the apartment was outstanding, but the way the collection was managed made an impression on me.  I come from a family of collectors… it can be a blessing or a curse depending how the collection is displayed.  Around my house we say “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”.

Here’s the collection that I saw on the house tour.  This guy had a fetish for action figures and small stone figurines.  I think he did a nice job on the display shelves which were in the center of the apartment and could be seen upon entering.

Here’s another collection of action figures, this one has reached it’s maximum capacity. This looks like a store display, but it’s not! 

Collectibles can be found in the most unique places.  There are also fairs and markets all over the world that only sell collections.  A friend of mine just made a special trip to Amsterdam for “Queens Day”.  On Queens Day, the residents of Amsterdam put their “junk” out in front of their houses and sell it for cheap.  She had a ball!

My 10 year old is a collector of sorts.  She recently reorganized here collection shown here.  At least they are the small ones…

When we moved to Israel 2 years ago we shipped six boxes filled to the brim with these Beanie Babies. The shelves were a good solution to house this collection.  After collapsing twice, they had to be specially reinforced. 

Salt & pepper shakers are a popular collectible.  I chose a few that I thought were cute.  You would be amazed at how much information there is on the web dedicated just to collections, I know I was.

I had to show this apron collection, it is a real hoot.  I can’t believe someone would even go there, however I do think that the solutions for display here are very resourceful.

These aprons are hung so conveniently,  you could just grab one on your way out to the BBQ!

Tips for displaying a collection:

* Display the collection against a neutral background, the collection adds the color.

* Choose one area in the home and confine the collection to it.

* Limit the collection to a specific theme.

* For maximum impact, group the items in the collection by color or theme.

* Display cabinets and shelves are great solutions for housing collections and keeping them safe.

Once again Artlook has found a hot item.  Shown here, Doggy Bank is very similar in style to a sculpture by the popular kitsch artist Jeff Koons; featured last month in the American magazine Elle Decor.  This looks like a case of “the copy cats” to me but I’m not talking… 

No one can deny that Sygalle Giveon-Leshman’s pottery is colorful. Her patterns are lively, her technique strong, and those colors - it’s a rainbow on every pot.

She used to share a gallery in Zichron Yaakov with Nava Abel, my sister-in-law. Her website only has a fraction of the work that she does on it - and in my opinion it doesn’t show some of her best stuff. She does light covers, sinks, tiles, plates, vases, and more.

When you see her work en-mass it doesn’t look as chaotic as the examples given on her website. While her work is colorful and lively, it’s not overwhelming. I think the examples on her site are an extreme of her style.

A while back a reader complained that Israeli pottery is dull. It lacked the color and vibrancy of the ceramic artists from her original land. I made a mental note that day to track down the colorful artists I know and prove that person wrong. ‘Israeli’s are colorful’ I insisted. ‘You just don’t know where to look.’

Then life got in the way.

Tonight I remembered the complaint when I was contemplating what to write (I actually have 3 homes ready to be reviewed for house tours, but I need to re-size the photos and for that I need some software - the first should be up by next week).

Ceramic Artists Association of Israel has a website featuring a huge collection of ceramic artists and their work. I have to admit that the bulk of the work didn’t help my arguement any. In fact, the pieces you see in this post were the most colorful functional pieces I could find. However, these are not all of Israel’s ceramic artists.

The first and last pieces in this post are from Hizi Raya, a Tel Avivi artist who loves to make pots. I like her use of color and pattern.

The green and blue cannisters above are by Hakkert Sara, a Haifa artist who prefers to focus on functional pottery. This is more the type of thing I prefer in my kitchen. I like to use the art we collect.

Bell Julian created the vase and bowl, above. I like the fading color - but I will admit this is more subtle in it’s color.

Ok, I’ve given weak arguements for the color debate. Even though the red plate above is gorgeous and glossy, there was only one on the site out of a lot of artists. The problem is that some of the best artists live on moshavim or small cities and don’t do computers. Michal Beckman in Beit Lechem Ha Glilit for example or Galia Jackson of Zichron Yaakov.

Wait… there is one… and that will be my next post in 2 days…

Imagine an online store in the world of Salvador Dali, where picture frames bend with corners and shirts cover tables. details - produkte + ideen is a store for the surrealist in all of us. Katrin Sonnleitner, of sock on a rock fame, sent me an email letting me know that she’s selling a puzzle doili (below) there.

The tableshirt (above) is by Fernando Brizio and costs 128 Euro’s. I would put a long thin vase with a single flower in the center of the neck.

The product selection is not especially wide. Mainly small tchochkes and some chairs. All of the pieces are clean and have a dramatic irreverent appeal.

Up the cups (below) are by the Icelandic designer, hrafnkell birgisson. I just looked at his main site, and this guy has done some very neat stuff. I hope to get some jpegs of his work, so I can write more about him soon.

The prices are what one would expect for small runs industrial design by artists. This is not your Philip Stark at Target, this is your future Philip Stark before he or she becomes a household name. The pieces have been well chosen and the style is consistent. Everything had a functional value set into the design.

Yvonne Schroeder did the corner frames (below). The prices start at 198 Euro’s.

What a great way to show off a panoramic picture.

Mind you, The Pecker by Patrick Frey & Markus Boge, (shown above) had the best name and simply had to be mentioned.

The shop is in English and German, and they ship worldwide. The shipping cost depends on the weight of the item.

Crayon sculptures. Teeny tiny sculptures created from crayons -  wax crayons. Easily destroyed by small children crayons. Not even the fat chunky crayons, but the normal, thin, 64 in a box crayons.

Crayon sculptures for $199 each. Easily destroyed wax crayon sculptures created with a deft hand and a carving knife cost $199 each. A box of 150 crayons, pre-sculpture, in a neat tower package costs $12.99 on Amazon.

 Diem Chau is the artist of the crayons, and while I think her work is quite beautiful, I also think it’s very silly. Caveat emptor, keep away from windows and heat - or your $199 just might melt away.

Chess is a beautiful game. The structure of the pieces, the layout of the board, the mind gymnastics needed to play, the elegance of the sport.

Julie Feldman has designed a fantastic chess set. The metal is industrial and modern, the lines are simple and elegant. The gray on gray is classic and clean and would fit in the most casual space as well as a formal one.

I’m simply in love with this set.

Based in Los Angeles, Julie is mainly a handbag designer, but she also does sculpture, art, and tarot readings. (I’m not going to think too hard on how all of these mesh together.)

Artlook is an online store which carries small modern accent pieces for every part of your home. What I especially like about Artlook is that they show which designs are Israeli based.

Their prices are reasonable and the site is easy to navigate, even for someone with no Hebrew skills. Just keep clicking the links on the right and look at the pictures.

The mezuza is lazer cut metal on a colored background and costs 390 NIS. Different designs are available with different colored backgrounds.

The Extra Vergine (yes, that is how they spell it - take it however you will) lamp comes in a selection of colored lampshades, but this one was the only one without extra embelleshment at the bottom (the designers seem to have a real thing for fringe and beading).

There was even a louffa sponge lamp with a metal frame that defied explanation.