Working in Jerusalem, you get to know all the regular haunts. The tile shops, the lighting shops, the glass suppliers etc. All these are crucial to a successful build but can get a bit repetitive after a while. Especially when you are looking for something a bit different. There are a number of independent artists who make things to order like sinks, lights, tiles, wood cuttings etc that don’t cost a fortune and can really enhance the design.

I am going to share with you a few of my ceramic secrets….

Washing sink….
When searching for the perfect ‘washing sink’ for the lounge/ dining area in the ‘Rechavia’ project, I found lots of beautiful sinks that were ‘almost right’ but not what we were searching for. We happened upon a gorgeous sink in a small Jerusalem restaurant and asked for the details of the ceramic artist, Eran Ophir. He had a studio right next to the framing shop on Rechov Azza. The sink cost the same as those other sinks we were looking at, and added so much more to the design, colour and level of texture of the apartment. It was perfect.

Lighting….
In the ‘STAND WITH US’ project (done together with Shoshana Baumgarten), we were searching for 3 small lights to go over the reception desk and happened upon ceramic artist, Ilana Yarden, from Menoramika at the Jerusalem Lights Festival. Her studio is located in Beit Neqofa (http://www.menoramika.com/) Her lights are unusual, pretty and add a softness to design. We chose the spiral lights incorporating the three main colours of the STAND WITH US office (blue, grey and white).

Tiles….

She also happens to share a studio with a tile artist, Yael Goldsmith, who makes amazing customised patterned tiles

Her tiles will form a ‘wall of support’ in the ‘STAND WITH US’ office as part of a current ‘buy a tile, build our centre’ fundraising campaign for STANDWITHUS (http://jewcer.com/user/swu). Watch this space…..

Any other ceramic secrets?