5 Israeli brands that ship internationally

My favorite interiors are those that manage to incorporate different styles, inspirations and materials seamlessly. I always prefer the eclectic and the surprising to the predictable, love to mix and match items from different brands and shops and always try to avoid creating a look that resembles a catalogue and lacks personality. That’s where independent and innovative designers and brands come in to play. As a designer and creator I am always on the hunt for new discoveries. Cool product, textile, furniture, lighting and graphic designers, as well as artists and cute little shops. Discovering innovative designers excites and inspires me and I absolutely love incorporating their creations into mine. Usually those are the items that capture the viewer’s eyes straight away and add variety, depth and character to the space.

Supporting designers, creators, artists and entrepreneurs was always important to me. Naturally, the current pandemic in addition to the known ecological and social effects of the big corporations, makes supporting small businesses even more important. But like I wrote above, I am all about combining both worlds to achieve a good and functional design within the given budget. When it comes to ordering items from overseas, I prefer to choose really unique designs that I can’t find anywhere else. I wouldn’t carelessly order anything from anywhere, because that could affect the timeline and budget and goes against the environmental guidelines that I try to uphold.

Having said that, coming here from another country, I have this urge to tell the world about some of the amazing talent I encountered in Israel. Like Israeli food (which is amazing, by the way), the Israeli design scene utilizes inspiration from different places around the world and incorporates it with technology, craftsmanship and creative new points of view.

For this post I chose five designers and brands that I personally really love and that have also branched outside of Israel and ship their creations internationally. I have met most of those designers in person, interviewed them for my blog or for other magazines and bought their designs for myself and/or for my clients.

Mika Barr

Mika is an Israeli textile designer. She graduated from the textile department in Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art, where she started developing her unique 3D printing technique. She launched her brand in 2012 and since then has been creating various textile items, such as throw pillows, lighting fixtures, throw blankets, wall art and much more. While working in Israel, coming to her studio has become one of my favorite stops for home styling projects. Mika’s amazing patterns and the variety of beautiful colors and fabrics allow much creative freedom to mix-and-match according to the color scheme and style of the space.

Check out her online shop here.

Glyphs

The Israeli brand designs and manufactures amazing design and art pieces, all made out of metal and iron. It was founded by Meirav Ringel and utilizes different techniques, such as laser cutting, in order to create versatile accessories and wall art. Her set of flying geometric birds was hanging on the wall behind our dining table in our last apartment in Israel, and it made me smile everytime I looked at it. Choosing photos to display here, on this post, was so difficult because everything on their collection is oh-so gorgeous! I especially appreciate how delicate and soft the items seem, even though they are made out of a strong and “cold” material.

Make sure to stop by the online shop here.

1of135

Irit Hayun, a graphic designer with a successful branding studio in her name, created this 1of135, a separate brand that offers an exceptional art collection for interior spaces. Her excellent taste and understanding of both the design and art fields, led her to successfully fill in a necessary gap between the interior design and art scenes and the brand quickly became a favorite spot for architects, interior designers and stylists. The collection demonstrates a variety of pieces from all ends of the visual art spectrum - illustrations, paintings, photography and more. They collaborate with talented Israeli artists to create a carefully curated and yet extremely diverse collection. Unlike other online platforms that focus on interior wall art, the pieces are all offered in limited additions. That is actually where the name of the brand comes from - “we are not one in a million - We are '1of135'” - as it states on their website. They create and sell only up to 135 copies of each piece, thus managing to combine uniqueness with affordability.

Check out the entire collection here.

Yahalomis

In my fantasy home, I have a big display cabinet in the kitchen or the dining area, featuring an endless collection of inspiring ceramic pieces. Tel avivian brand Yahalomis, founded by husband and wife team Tal and Roy Yahalomi, will definitely be a part of that cabinet. They create handmade contemporary ceramic pieces, like vases, accessories, tableware, Judaica, lighting fixtures and others. The current collection includes products that are made out of terracotta and basalt rocks, featured in their natural matt finish. It is almost impossible not to fall in love with the clean lines, minimalistic style and beautiful details that each item displays.

Don’t miss the rest of the collection here.

Nomamacrame

When the art of macrame made its way back to our lives a few years ago, I wasn’t sure if the trend was going to last very long. I immediately liked the soft and boho-chic vibes it brings, but seeing its contemporary artistic interpretations really made me love it and want to incorporate it in my home and projects. I first encountered the creations of Neomi Yam-Suf up close when I was invited to participate in a macrame workshop at her studio. Since then I kept following her on social media, appreciating her handmade craftsmanship, hand dyed soft color choices and sense of style. Lately she revealed her new collection, which is absolutely stunning, and features neutral tones and a few more geometric and minimalist pieces.

Click here to view her Etsy shop.

* Main photo - Lighting fixtures by Mika Barr, Photography: Michael Topyol