My favorite section at NYIGF - Handmade/Designer Maker

The New York International Gift Fair at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in NYC is AWESOME!  It is an incredible, unique opportunity to meet thousands of vendors.  Although I specifically look for handmade Judaica, there are millions of products in the following categories:

• General Gift
• Tabletop & Housewares
• Accent on Design
• Baby & Child
• Handmade Global Design
• At Home Featuring Home Textiles
• Personal Accessories
• Handmade Designer Maker

It's a miracle! No traffic!

I visited the NYIGF on Sunday, January 29, 2012, but first I have to brag about how fast I got to Manhattan.  I left my house at 10:15 am and walked into Javits at 11:05, which was just amazing!  I don’t think that has ever happened before or ever will again.

Although I love this show and will probably never miss it, the number of Judaica artists that come to this show is limited and it is a challenge to find new artists who make things that I love.  I am very appreciative that I get contacted by artists at least once a week, so hopefully I will always be finding new artists to add to the site.  At this show, I discovered three new artists, and I am very excited about showing you their pieces.

There are two different types of vendors that I buy from – one is the artist that primarily makes Judaica.  The other is the artist who makes beautiful jewelry, and in their entire collection, they have only a few pieces of Jewish jewelry. It’s not really easy to spot these artists because they might have 100+ pieces of jewelry on display, and maybe only a handful of Jewish pieces with a Star of David, a Chai, or a Hamsa on them.   When I’m walking up and down the aisles with limited time, there really isn’t time to study every single vendor’s line.  However, some artists have jewelry that is so striking and so beautiful, I stop to look anyway to gawk, and hope that there is something Jewish there.

Jewelry of Zina Kao

This is how I discovered Zina Kao.  The show was over at 6 pm and I was speeding up and down the ‘Personal Accessories’ section  at 5:45 with only minutes to go to discover someone new.  I stopped to look at her beautiful and simple jewelry.  I quickly scanned over everything in her booth in search of something Jewish, but couldn’t find anything.  So I asked her if she had anything Jewish and she said that she did have a small Star of David, but it was not on display.  She had other small symbols like a peace sign, a heart, a cross, a star, so I was able to imagine what a Star of David would look like.  I then proceeded to design 6 pieces of jewelry, based on her other designs, that would have the star on it.  I can’t wait to see these pieces!  One of the necklaces I got is that peace necklace but with a Star of David.

Island Cowgirl jewelry

Another artist I discovered is Island Cowgirl.  I really discovered her a few years ago, but at that time, she only made one necklace with a Star of David on it, and with minimum opening orders, I couldn’t commit to buying 10 of one piece.  So, I was very happy to visit her booth and discover that her Judaica line expanded to other pieces.  She makes very cool jewelry with a modern look on leather.  It is always a challenge finding nice Judaica for boys and men, and her pieces are great for both men and women.

The last artist I discovered is C.J. Arts, who makes the coolest Judaica out of Jerusalem stone.  I’ve wanted to buy from them before, but large pieces like a Passover Seder Plate, and a menorah, and even mezuzzahs, are very heavy and the shipping fee from Israel is prohibitive.  Now they have jewelry in their collection, and I bought 6 pieces that are really amazing (and much less expensive to ship).  They are made out of Jerusalem stone and come with a certificate of authenticity.  All of the pieces I bought have the Shema on them and are great for men and women.  I hope you love them, too!

Jewelry made from Jerusalem stone by C.J. Art

It was great catching up with the artists who are already represented at Jewish Gift Place.  I visited Emily Rosenfeld, who has a few really nice new mezuzahs, many new necklaces for men and women, and new word bracelets.  I saw Gary Rosenthal and his mom, Ann, who has great new mezuzahs and candlesticks and a new Passover Seder Plate.  Cynthia Gale was there with her daughter and Eduardo Milieris was there with his daughter.  Ilan Baskin and his dad were there and they have an incredibly beautiful new Seder Plate that I can’t wait to add to the collection.  Sara Beames has incredible pieces – I need to add more of them to the site.  Michael Bromberg has great new mezuzah pendants.  Michal Golan has many more hamsa necklaces and wall hamsas I need to add to the site.  Ayala Bar’s Spring 2012 collection is gorgeous and Seeka  has dozens of pieces that are strikingly beautiful that I need to add.  I said ‘hello’ to Whitney and Howard of Whitney Howard Designs, Patrick Meyer, and Steven Cooper.  He makes beautiful Hebrew name jewelry, so I want to get those online, as well.  So, there’s lots to do….

I’ll keep you posted when I get these new pieces online.

The NY International Gift Fair at the Jacob Javits Convention Center

It’s my favorite time of year!  The  New York International Gift Fair and the Philadelphia Buyer’s Market of American Craft back-to-back!  This Sunday, January 28, 2012, I will be making my bi-annual trip to the NYIGF at the humongous (but not big enough at 625,000 sf- they’re looking to expand) Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

It was at this show, 5 years ago, that Jewish Gift Place really crystallized.  Prior to attending this show, I really didn’t have much of a clue how to connect with people who made and sold Judaica.  After many Google searches, I hooked up with one vendor who made jewelry and Judaica that I liked, but I found it really difficult to find products to sell that I loved.  I didn’t even know that gift fairs even existed for buyers only.  Somehow, I found out about the NY International Gift Fair.  Coincidentally, I discovered the NYIGF the week it was in town in January 2007.  It all seemed very rushed to me.  I found out about it, it was in town for another few days, then it wouldn’t be back again until August.  I didn’t think I was at the point in developing my website and business to run out and start buying products to sell, but my husband said, “GO!”  So I went.  And I was awed.

Besides never being in such a massive space as Jacob Javits before, and never being at a convention before, I had never seen so many high quality craftspeople in one space.  Prior to this trip, I had been to many arts & crafts fairs with maybe 50 vendors.  I’m just guessing, but I think there were over 800 handmade crafts vendors, and that’s not including all the other gift categories that were going on at the same time.  Maybe in total there are 3000+ vendors  – probably even more.

The first time there was overwhelming.  This show attracts buyers from all over the  world. People stay in hotels when they come here because it can take days to get through the show.  But with 3 little boys at home, I had to cover a lot of territory in one day.

After seeing hundreds of vendors (although there were probably less than 50 that sold Judaica), I finally made my first big bold decision and the very first vendor I bought from was Gary Rosenthal.  I picked out candlesticks and a menorah and a few mezuzahs.  I bought pieces from Michal Golan and Michael Bromberg.  I bought pieces from Cynthia Gale.  These artists formed the core of what Jewish Gift Place has come to represent – beautiful, unique, handmade Judaica.

I didn’t know that day that I was going to sell handmade pieces only.  I did buy some other pieces, like pot holders that look like matzah, and some other things like that.  I never tried to sell those pot holders because I quickly decided that I didn’t want to sell cheesy Judaica – just fine, handmade, quality Judaica.

So, there you have my sentimental journey back in time.  I haven’t missed a gift show since 2007. This will be my 11th trip there.  It’s awesome and I love this show!  This is where I get to say ‘hello’ to the artists again, and get a big nice greeting from Gary Rosenthal, Steven Bronstein of Blackthorne Forge, and Michael Golan (Michal’s husband), and Emily Rosenfeld, Joy Stember, Michael Bromberg, the glamorous Cynthia Gale, the one and only Eduardo Milieris, Patrick Meyer, Ilan Baskin, Susan Fullenbaum, Jan Lanier of Silk Bijoux, Beatriz Kelemen of K4 Glassart, and Sara Beames.  I get to check out the new pieces they’ve made and I get to discover new artists, which is always exciting.

At the last Javits show I was at in August 2011, I thought it would be fun to take a very short video of each artist saying, “Hello” so you could ‘meet’ them.  Check it out!  Also, don’t miss the interviews with the artists.

Check back next week and I’ll tell you about the show and the new pieces of Judaica that you can expect to see on the website in the next few months.  And then, before I know it, I’ll be off to the Philadelphia Buyer’s Market of American Craft on February 18, 2012.  What I especially love about that show is that, unlike NYIGF, EVERYTHING there is handmade.  That show is unbelievable!

By 2:30 pm, I checked into my beautiful hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn, went next door to the super-cool Reading Terminal Market for a yogurt and chocolate milk made on the farm of an Amish family, then ran across the street to the Philadelphia Convention Center. And entered a world that was like a dream.

Imagine the most creative creations ever made. Imagine colors that you didn’t even know existed. Imagine glass creations that look like an iridescent solar system, or glass as small as a marble with colors of the world inside it, or wine glasses that would take your breath away. Imagine clay made into the most amazing, sparkling, glimmering bowls, and fabric made into the most glamorous scarves and bags. Imagine wood combined and carved into the most unusual spectacular pieces. Imagine metal twisted and welded and mixed into the most breathtaking sculptures, and the jewelry – OH MY GOD THE JEWELRY!!! Watermelon tourmaline, pink gold, green gold, iridescent glass, marbles, stones, clay, plastic, combined, molded, designed into the most incredible pieces of art!!

I would have no problem spending a million dollars at the Philly Buyers Market of American Craft because, if I could, I would probably buy from almost every vendor there. The creations that come from the imaginations of artists is just amazing.

It’s like stepping into Oz. Everything is beautiful. Everything is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. The lights are super-bright, and the colors are so bright and brilliant, blended, and mixed, and forming gradients of color combinations that could only come from a collection of the most creative minds around. Have you ever been to a high quality crafts fair where you walk up and down the aisles and gawk at the beautiful items? Imagine that times 1000. It’s larger than life.

I met my friend Jill there, and it was doubly fun because she has awesome taste and we love a lot of the same things. I think I caught her hyperventilating a few times looking at the art. Actually – I’m pretty sure of it.

I didn’t think we’d make it through the whole place in 3 hours, but we did. We walked up and down – I’d guess – about 40 aisles. There must have been about 800 artists there. The market was displayed with each medium grouped together, so it went like this (from right to left):

• Glass
• Ceramics
• Outdoors
• Kaleidoscopes
• Inspired Interiors
• Wood
• Metal
• Mixed Media
• Wearable Fiber
• Glass Jewelry
• Premier Jewelry
• Jewelry

WHAT A NIGHT IN PHILLY! A GREAT SHOW AND GREAT FOOD

Jill was only there for the day ( I returned the next day). We parted ways and my night of fun had just begun! I relaxed in my room for about 45 minutes, waited for a cab for 10 minutes, gave up, then walked in the beautiful, crisp, night air to South Broad Street, to the Merriam Theater.

Now, I’m not familiar with shows in Philly, so I wasn’t sure what kind of a production “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber” would be. I love all shows – High School, College, whatever (I used to want to be an actress), so I was up for anything. What a surprise! This was the national touring company with stars from the most prestigious theaters on earth. I’ve been lucky to see lots of Broadway shows – I live close to Manhattan, and I’ve never seen a national touring company before – but this show had talent as good as it gets.

I was shocked at the great seat I got for $27.50. Row L Center Row Orchestra. Too bad a tall guy sat in front of me, blocking about 1/3 of stage right. After 20 minutes I went back a few rows, but still, orchestra isn’t as great as it’s cracked up to be. (I’m used to the nose-bleed seats and I like it up there!) Even if a little bit of someone’s head is in your way, you can’t see everything. After intermission, I went back even farther, and had the best seat!

WHAT A SHOW!! What credentials! One of the stars of the show, Howard McGillan, was “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway a record setting 2,500+ times! The other stars were also Broadway stars, as well. Deone Zanotto was an amazing singer and dancer. It was awesome seeing the 30-piece orchestra on stage with 5 violins, a harp, which is an incredibly beautiful instrument, a cello, flutes, oboes, 2 sets of drums, and more.

I knew probably one-third of the songs from Joseph, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Starlight Express, Sunset Boulevard, and Evita, with popular tunes such as “Memories,” “ Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and many more, which totaled 31 songs. I never saw Starlight Express, and I usually enjoy songs better when I’ve heard them before, but this show has awesome music.

It was just a a fabulous production and I think it might be worth returning to Philly, even staying the night with my family, just to see the Broadway quality shows and enjoy the town, which reminds me of a smaller Manhattan. Annie and the Lion King will be there next.

I was going to eat before the show, and figured 45 minutes would be enough but WRONG! It was the Saturday night before Valentine’s Day and each restaurant I went into was packed. So after the show I went to Italian Bistro, and for $20, I had the most awesome 4-course meal (in case you’re wondering – bruschetta, salad, tilapia with a white wine chive-butter sauce, served with grilled zucchini & mashed potato, and tiramisu – MMMMMmmm!!!) And I enjoyed the rest of my night strolling back to the hotel, reading a book, and watching part of “17 Again.”

DAY 2 IN PHILLY

In the morning, I kept to my New Year’s resolution of exercising, and rode a stationary bike in the fitness center for a ½ hour. I felt a little lame about it, peacefully pedaling away while the 3 women next to me were running on a treadmill huffing and puffing for a ½ hour.  (Maybe I should have turned up the resistance?)

After burning off those few calories, I had a great breakfast at the hotel (included in the hotel fee) then I went back to the Buyer’s Market. I thought for sure I’d be there only about an hour – after all, I’d seen in all. But I was very wrong. There were pieces I was seeing for the very first time, and I’m sure if I walked those same exact aisles five more times, I’d be seeing things I’d never seen before. There’s just so much to see and ponder and stare at.

It was on Sunday that I bought things from new vendors that I’m excited to share with you.

WATCH FOR NEW ARTISTS AT JEWISH GIFT PLACE

Sandy Katz – Sandy makes the most incredible mezuzahs made out of iridescent glass. The colors are unbelievable and I’m sure, even if brilliant, sparkly and, bright colors are not your style for your home, you will enjoy just looking at these amazing mezuzahs.

Naturally Wood Creations – Gary Markow makes beautiful and clever wooden menorahs out of different types of wood that can be configured to make your own creative menorah design. He also makes personalized menorahs out of children’s blocks. These are a great gift for kids and even as an engagement and wedding gift. And he makes beautiful Challah boards with the prayer laser etched into the wood. I have a good feeling about all of these items.

Tamara Baskin – I have been admiring her pieces for years. She makes the most beautiful Passover Seder Plates, mezuzahs, menorahs and other incredible Judaica. I look forward to adding her pieces to the site.

MudWorks & Friends– On the fun side, JoAnn Stratakos makes the most clever pottery mugs. Now, I’m biased towards all things pottery. I used to make pottery. Her mugs are very very cool with Yiddish and Hebrew phrases on them, such as Chai Maintenance (with the Hebrew letter), Shalom, Oy Vey, Bubbie, and more. She’ll even stamp whatever name you want on the mugs. These substantial mugs will sell for $25 and will make the perfect gift for a Hebrew school teacher, friend, or anyone. You can’t go wrong with a handmade pottery mug!

M.O. Judaica – Moshe Ozery makes beautiful personalized Hebrew name necklaces and wedding bands that include the standard sayings or create your own.

I met up with many vendors whose works I already sell, such as Gary Rosenthal (the very first vendor I ever bought from), Eduardo Milieris, Steven Bronstein of Blackthorne Forge, Emily Rosenfeld, Gloria and George Gabriel of Infinity Art in Metal, Jan Lanier of Silk Bijoux, Beatriz Kelemen of K4 Glassart, and Michal Golan. They have all added the most creative new pieces to their collections, which I hope to get on the website soon, as well.

REFLECTIONS OF ARTS & CRAFTS IN MY LIFE

For two days I was in Arts & Crafts heaven. Arts & Crafts was my first passion and is a continuing passion in my life. I remember being so excited in the first grade when my painting was chosen to hang in the local bank on Kings Highway in Brooklyn.  Throughout the years, I made beaded jewelry, hats, and woven baskets. In my last year of high school, I did a 6 month internship at New Youth Connections where I was the Arts Editor. During the summers of high school, I was the Arts & Crafts counselor in a day camp. After college, I took classes in oil, acrylic, and water color painting. I took pottery classes, calligraphy, and still enjoy any arts & crafts project. I was thrilled to discover web design 10 years ago, and I have designed over 30 websites.

Now, I think I’ve found my ultimate passion – getting to travel and buy these incredible crafts and sell them to you. This is coupled with another passion – web design and SEO (designing my website and getting it found in the search engines). Every time I add a new artist to the site, or a new piece, and someone buys it – it’s affirmation that someone out there loves and appreciates these beautiful pieces as much as I do.

In a world where it seems like almost everything is mass-produced and attention to detail is overlooked in order to produce a product faster – immersing myself in the world of handmade crafts, where I got to meet and talk with the artists who are so passionate about their crafts – was a wonderful collective meeting of the souls where handmade crafts are not only treasured, but a way of life for these artists.

GOING HOME

Four hours later, I walked the last aisle in the Philly Convention Center, grabbed a sandwich at the Reading Terminal Market, some flowers for my hubby, some homemade chocolate chip cookies for the family, and headed back home to Long Island in no traffic to my wonderful family to celebrate Valentine’s Day together.