A graphic designer, you live in a pretty apartment that you keep neat and clean. You love simple and straight lines, with just a touch of femininity. Pink? Of course! As long as it paired with black, grey, or brown. You drink your soy latte by the computer while clicking away on your mac with browser tabs open to Pinterest, Instagram and all of Adobe Suite.
You're getting your Masters in Philosophy, tending to write your papers from the comfort of your bed. To you, design is just another way to make your nest a cozier place. After all, you love snuggling. You prefer hot chocolate, even more when you add a marshmallow. You love your laptop, but also the sound and smell of pencils on paper.
A writer specializing in historical novels and avid collector, while traveling to European capitals to visit archives searching for new materials, you'll always look out for little antique shops on the small streets. You drink your Espresso with a small glass of Soda, while in front of you four large crumbling books lay open, two of which were given to you by a questionable British acquaintance.
A busy lawyer, your home is the one place you can relax. Your crazy and stressful schedule makes you look for blissful harmony between your four walls. You drink your tea with your eyes closed, taking time to breathe and listen to the voices from the quiet street below your house between sips. A bird chirps, rain drizzles on the roof, wind blows, a child laughs, a car drives by. Silence.
It's been a week since I came back from participating in the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and I'm so happy I can finally share my experiences with you!
I've got to say, I thought about all of you lovely readers quite a lot while I was there. Normally when I travel I don't take many pictures, but this time I took a ton of photos! I kept thinking - maybe I can show this on the blog/ this might interest my blog readers/ what a great photo to share...
Let me start from the beginning, for those of you who looked at the title of this post and said - wuh?!
ICFF is the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (sounds fancy, eh?). Located in New York, it takes place every summer. They feature mainly Furniture Design, but also some accessories from well established firms as well as young designers mostly from the US. I came to exhibit there through Designboom - a website for Designers and Architects from all over the world. They feature works, offer courses, organize competitions- lots of good stuff. And they also host what they call Designmarts in different cities across the world. These take place during Furniture Fairs and Design Weeks in cities like Tokyo, NY, Stockholm etc. Young designers apply, and designers who get accepted take part in the fair and sell there designs. So you get to meet buyers, press, and design enthusiasts coming to the fair - and also sell your items to cover costs. People attending the show often describe it as one of the highlights - Cool, right?
I always wanted to go, it seems like such a great opportunity, but never felt quite ready. Then this ear whrn they had a last call for designers, I decided I am ready - my collection is complete, the production is sound - let's do this!
So I applied, got in, freaked out, designed some postcards, packed, freaked out some more, and flew to the beautiful and amazing city - New York (this would probably be the time to thank my husband, who stayed with our kids who were of course both sick while I was gone).
I was to sell the Stretchy Bowl and Candlestick Stacks, but I brought the rest of my line to show people who were interested, and eventually sold those samples too.
So if I had to describe the experience, I would say it was a success. But that's not to say there weren't any difficulties. On the contrary, there were quite a few. When I arrived at the Javits Center where the fair took place, my heart sank. They had moved the Designmart to a different hall far away from the main area. Even I had trouble finding it! I knew something had to be done- but what? And although English is my father tongue (Thanks, Dad) I felt so Israeli in the way I wanted to handle things. You see if something like that would have happened here in Israel, I would have made such a stink. It's completely normal to yell at people you don't know here and make demands, it doesn't seem odd to anyone - this is a warm Midlleastern country after all. But I felt over there I had to be very polite, and that was tough, b/c of how upset I was... I ended up finding some allies in a couple from Venezuela and a girl from Barcelona - and together we went to the main office to complain a couple of times. Eventually they put out more signage and the traffic got better, but I can't help thinking what would have happened if we were in the main hall.
I decided to regroup and manage my expectations, which turned out to be a smart thing to do since it allowed me to actually enjoy myself. Any entrepreneur gets knocked down again and again, what makes a successful entrepreneur is the ability to pick yourself up and start over again.
The other designers were pretty awesome, and came from all over the world - Spain, Italy, Thailand, Germany, Japan - cool! And turns out what every designer has in common (especially the European ones:) is there love of alcohol, especially the free kind. People were filling empty Starbucks cups with the wine that was being handed out at various events. There was a very good vibe, I can tell you that.
So let me introduce you to a few of my new friends, and show you there designs.
This is my new stylish friend Gab, from Montreal. She designs reusable vinyl stickers to mark your wine glass - they look like lipstick marks - so cute. You can see more at Gab Design.
The next designer is Carmen from Labyrinth Studio in Barcelona. She and her partner Doron design coasters shaped like miniature pallets and salt and pepper shakers shaped like safety cones. Carmen and I had a good connection and I was so glad I met her.
Next is Lee from i-clue in Korea. He was selling lots of cute stuff, including little silicone people in a yoga position -to rest your phone on. He said he designed them for his daughter, and after meeting her I can tell you she is super cute.
These cool wood additions designed by Carolina and Mathias for Combolab (originally from Venezuela, now they live in the US) transform regular plastic crates into awesome stools. They are stackable too, allowing for all kinds of different heights.
The lovely Rita from Lithuania (currently living in Berlin) purposes old basketballs into small bags and wallets. These are one of those designs I wish I had thought of. You can see more at Bal Design.
And if you'd like to see the entire list of Designmart exhibitors, you can do that here .
Here's a more detailed optimistic list of the actual results:
I am currently in negotiation with a couple of large scale stores and distributors.
A design I'm working on got shortlisted in a contest (fingers crossed) for a big company to manufacture (cross them tighter:)
I had a couple of orders I actually sent out while still in NY
And some pretty fancy reporters will hopefully write about the studio in a fancy publication.
I hope for some of these to follow through, and you know I'll keep you posted.
I am very proud of myself for taking on this adventure. It was definitely fun to be on vacation, even if it was work, in one of the most amazing cities in the world.
I'm an industrial Designer. This is my trade. I took me four years in Bezalel Academy (a big art school here in Israel) to get my diploma. A lot of you already know this. But what you don't know is how long it took me to accept this was what I do, and even love it, and that that's OK.
Every year at Design School, as the semester would come to an end, I'd apply to the University to study Psychology. Every year for four years. I kept saying to myself (I talk to myself a lot) - Elisheva - how is it possible that all of your friends are studying such important subjects that actually help society ( Education, Medicine, Social Work, Physiotherapy - I have a pretty cool group of friends) while you sit on your chair in the studio at school, at 2 am, playing around.
"folding chair" - 3rd year studio project, Bezalel
I went to school with some amazing people (a ray of light in what was otherwise some dark 4 years), and we'd often find ourselves upset, tired, stressed out, and running late. And all of this, for what? It's not like we were saving lives or anything. We're not changing the world. So why are we working this hard? Why are we taking school this seriously?
"Felt and String" Soft Materials, 3rd year project, Bezalel
The great people who went to school with me shared a common trait - dedication. They were all so dedicated to doing there best - and they'd spend time, money, energy - anything really, for an amazing project. No one just slid through it. And trying so hard and putting so much effort into school while not really being sure if it's actually important or means anything - was the hardest part for me.
So how did I end up finishing school? What helped change my mind?
"Countertop", 2nd year studio project, Bezalel
My Mother.
My Mother is a women with exceptional taste. Growing up our house never looked like my friends houses. It was always so pleasant to be in, every object was personal and carefully chosen. Whatever she couldn't buy - she made.
So on one of the occasions where I applied (yet again) to the Psychology department - I told her how horrible I felt when I compared myself to my friends. It's hard for me to deal with nonsense in such a serious matter, I told her. All of my friends are doing something far more important.
And that's when my mother told me something that changed everything.
She said she wouldn't want to live in a world without beauty. Such a simple sentence that allowed me to finally embrace what I had been doing all this time.
For me, beauty isn't just about aesthetics. It's when the objects around us allow and help us to live the life we always dreamed we'd have.
In my eyes, a beautiful home is one that makes me smile as I walk in, that hints to me who lives in this house, and that get's me excited about what is yet to come.
Do you know the feeling when you're invited to an event, and you really don't want to go? But then you find a perfect dress, and all of the sudden you're really excited and happy about going?
That's what I want to create as a designer. That anticipation for having people over at your house, the Beautiful surroundings that make us want to create memories in.
And the more I understand that's what I want to do, the better I am able to express myself clearly as a designer, and really understand my pont of view. Designing pretty items, modern and subtle, that hold a smile and a promise, that you can move and build and change.
