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- Written by Silvia Golan
In a world of fast fashion, designer Sharon Chandally Pedrini is a rare breed: a jeweler who extols the virtues of jewelry made with integrity and respect, and an incredibly careful hand.
In the two years since her store opened on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, the New York City-native has emerged as an important figure in the Israeli jewelry scene. Just this year, she participated in the Fashion Revolution sustainable fashion show, was featured on multiple segments on globally-broadcast i24 News, and her store was recently awarded “Best Luxury Jewelry Design Studio and Boutique” in MEA Market’s 2019 Israeli Business Awards.
Nowhere is the designer’s deep connection to her heritage more evident than her intimate shop, which doubles as a studio and workspace. Many of the pieces featured in the store’s recessed displays feature intricate filigree detail, an ancient wireworking technique made famous by the Jewish silversmiths of Yemen. Sharon’s grandfather and great-uncles were amongst them before emigrating to Israel, and the store even features a small museum, where an impressive collection of traditional pieces made by their hands are on display.
Sharon studied Industrial Design before travelling extensively around the world. She visited places like New Zealand, India, Ghana, Benin and Japan, and this experience awakened a deepening connection to her roots. She soon found herself drawn to metalwork, and when her grandfather’s brothers—both in their 80s at the time—invited her to Israel to learn the craft, she jumped at the chance. Sharon apprenticed with them, and the filigree techniques they passed on formed the foundation of her trademark style.
Sharon vividly remembers how her grandfather would sit on his bed for hours, soldering small pieces of silver with a butane torch over a small table. At his bedside sat a collection of small containers, in which he kept old stones and coins, scraps of silver, and other artifacts he would amass to later integrate into his pieces. His work inspired great awe in Sharon, and she recalls how his pieces seemed like more than just jewelry. For her, they conveyed spiritual meaning alongside their aesthetic appeal. She remains deeply affected by the masterful torch her relatives passed on to her during this time.
With her intimate store as her home base, Sharon is taking strides to ensure the tradition of filigree wirework is carried on, and keeps in step with modern times. Not only does she combine contemporary sensibilities and high karat gold with ages-old techniques, but she also does it as a woman, fearlessly innovating a practice traditionally practiced exclusively by men.
Sharon is also working to elevate the integrity of the art form from the perspective of production, which in many cases suffers from a checkered supply chain. While many consumers are aware of blood diamonds and the importance of understanding where precious stones come from, few are as aware of the mining conditions and practices that affect how fine metals are sourced. By using both Fairmined metals and conflict free stones wherever possible, she challenges herself and other jewelers to make pieces whose origin story is as central to the piece as their aesthetic appeal.
The result of Sharon’s own origin story and unique approach to craft is a body of work that is both exciting and culturally important. Together, Sharon’s pieces walk a fine line between old and new with grace, glamor and a touch of grit, and discriminating customers within Israel and beyond are starting to pay attention.
Dizengoff 242A Tel Aviv
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+972 (0) 55.997.6829
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Photos Silvia G. Golan / Keith Glassman
- Details
- Written by Talma Gotteiner
The Piano Festival is the largest music festival in the country, which for 21 years has already produced several winning combinations and performances that continued afterward outside the festival and were recorded in special albums and video.
This year, the Piano Festival is again taking place at the beginning of winter between November 13-16th, 2019 with a diverse program representing the multicultural aspect of contemporary Israeli music.
The festival's performances will take place in ten auditoriums throughout the city. The central location will take place in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art: Recanati Hall, Kaufman Hall, Asia Hall, Mizna Blumental Gallery, Contemporary Israeli Art Gallery and in the Cameri Theater.
Other performances will also take place at the Noga Hall in the Gesher Theater, Jaffa and the Enav Cultural Center.
Due to the abundance of artistic and musical styles the festival has taken care to balance mainstream artists producing special festival performances alongside indie artists. Multiple musical techniques, a variety of languages, cultural styles, and musical experiments are the foundation of the festival. Spoken, ethnic, indie, pop, rock, and electronic alongside the Mediterranean, beautiful Israeli and Jewish-faith music, classical, poetry combined together for five days of excellent music by the best Israeli artists and creators.
The festival allows artistic freedom to the participating artists and as a result, the audience fills the halls with over 90% occupancy every year! The festival exposes the concert comers to Israeli classics alongside novel surprising productions, special musical formations and even to new musical instruments.
This year, the festival is dedicating a special homage to musician and pianist Alona Turel who passed away in May this year and had been an integral part of the festival throughout previous years. In the concert dedicated to her memory, the best artists who worked with her will perform onstage alongside young artists who were influenced by her. Performers include Chava Alberstein, Nurit Galron, Yoni Rechter, Shalom Hanoch, Dori Ben Zeev, Alon Adar, Meir Yisrael, The Platina, Doron Talmon, Vered Picker, Moshe Levi, Alon Hillel, Miki Shaviv, Alon Olearchik, Yurai Oron, Shmulik Budgov, Nadav Hollander, Ariel Horowitz.
The 21st festival is also paying tribute Nathan Alterman in three special shows: "Ha'Layla Shelach" new songs by Rami Harel and Naama Nachum - a discourse between Alterman and his daughter Tirza Atar, "Magash Haketzev" a special show of Alterman's songs for children and "When Wilensky met Alterman" in which Tzipi Zarenkin and Nathan Slor perform the beautiful hits of Alterman and Wilensky and host Ran Eliran.
Festival Director: Shabi Mizrahi, Deputy Director Culture and Arts Division and Director of the Performance Department
Production: The Department of Performances in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality in collaboration with Hamon Volume and Zappa.
Artistic Director: Etti Anta-Segev
For more details on the festival performances, tickets and prices please refer to the full article on:
https://www.israel-best-trips.com/single-post/Tel-Aviv-Jaffa-A-Preview-of-the-21st-Piano-Festival
Photos by Silvia Golan
- Details
- Written by Talma Gotteiner
The International Mediterranean Tourism Market Exhibition (IMTM) is an international event that brings together Israeli tourists, tourism operators, their colleagues and clients from abroad and the general public, and is the main annual meeting point of the Israeli tourism industry.
The 25th IMTM Exhibition will be held on February 12-13, 2019 at Pavilion 2 at the Tel-Aviv Exhibition Grounds.
This is the second year in which the exhibition is being held in Pavilion 2, following the constant growth in the number of participants and the desire to improve and renew the exhibition's visibility. Pavilion 2 is a flexible space covering a total area of 6,000 square meters and a height of 20 meters.
The international tourism exhibition has gained momentum in recent years and is considered the flagship event of the tourism industry in Israel. Each year, the number of participants and countries that register is increasing. This year 50 countries will arrive, including European countries such as Russia, Romania, Hungary, Spain, Malta, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia and more. Asian countries such as India, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Myanmar, Vietnam, Australia and more. Countries from Africa Botswana, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Latin American countries such as Panama, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Brazil.
In addition, representatives of the Brazilian airline LATAM, who announced direct flights from Israel to Sao Paulo, China Airlines and Azerbaijan airlines, will also arrive for the first time.
The exhibition will also include a medical tourism conference at an international level, where experts from medicine and body health from all over the world can meet.
IMTM is the annual and oldest event of the tourism industry in Israel. It was organized by "Ortra" Ltd. and Israel Travel News, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and is sponsored by the Israel Hotel Association, the Israel Tourist Association and the Association of Travel Agents in Israel.
For more information on the event you are welcome to read the full article on:
https://www.israel-best-trips.com/single-post/A-Preview-of-the-IMTM-HYPERLINK "https://www.israel-best-trips.com/single-post/A-Preview-of-the-IMTM-2019-Exhibition"2019HYPERLINK "https://www.israel-best-trips.com/single-post/A-Preview-of-the-IMTM-2019-Exhibition"
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- Written by Silvia
Over the years, archaeological excavations in the Old City and its surroundings have become an inspiring national endeavor and have generated enormous public interest in Israel and around the world. The Jewish Quarter Reconstruction and Development Company, headed by CEO Herzl Ben-Ari, is working to renovate the Jewish Quarter and make these incredible findings accessible to visitors from around the world.
Trip Itinerary
- A Rooftop Breakfast at the new Ibis Styles Hotel
- Plugat HaKotel Museum (i.e. The Museum of the Western Wall Platoon)
- The Burnt House
- Tiferet Israel Synagogue: Under Restoration
- The Western Wall Elevator: Under Construction
- "Chavayat Hatanach" or The Bible Experience
- Lunch stopover at Hummus Haviv
- The Menachem Begin Heritage Center
Trip Details
A Rooftop Breakfast at the new Ibis Styles Hotel
The Ibis Styles Hotel is the second hotel after Ibis Red to have opened in Jerusalem belonging to the international IBIS hotel brand that is part of the Accor International Hotel chain. The new hotel has a spectacular location. It is located in the middle of the pedestrian mall on 4 Ben Yehuda St. near Zion Square, a few minutes' walks from the Old City, the light rail, Mahane Yehuda market and a variety of tourist attractions in Jerusalem.
The hotel design, led by Aryeh Dvilansky Architects was inspired by the nearby Mahaneh Yehuda Market and is full of cheerful, colorful illustrations. The new Ibis Styles is set in a historic building and has 104 different rooms including standard rooms and family rooms, mini-suites, and rooms with balconies. Children receive a gift kit at check-in and have a children's menu.
On the 8th floor of the hotel, guests can enjoy a restaurant and bar with scenic views, where a large breakfast buffet is served daily from 6:30 to 10:00. You can enjoy the breakfast buffet separately from the accommodation. Every day between 18:30 and 19:30 the hotel has a happy hour in the restaurant. The restaurant itself will be open for three meals after Passover. All meals at the hotel are kosher.
Plugat HaKotel Museum (i.e. The Museum of the Western Wall Platoon)
Around 80 years after it was closed by the British, the Museum of the Western Wall Platoon was opened last year to the public. The museum tells the heroic story of the young members of the Betar revisionist movement who decided to stay in the Old City.
The museum is located inside the original house that was used by the platoon for residential purposes. It tells the story of the young men and women who went to work in the mornings and trained at night in an effort to guard the safety of the Jews who used to pray at the Western Wall. The presentation is about 35 minutes long and tells about their life under the British rule and about one of the most famous heroic activities that they undertook on the Yom Kippur of 1928.
Registration is through the Begin Heritage Center's office.
The Burnt House
The burnt house is the familiar name of an archeological site that is one of the homes of a wealthy Jerusalemite dating back to the period of the Second Temple around the destruction in 70 CE.
The visit includes a view of the house and some of the archeological findings as well as a spectacular film that carries you back in time to the events preceding the fall of the Second Temple. The burnt house has already completed its renovation and the film has been translated into Chinese, Spanish, English, French, and Russian.
Tiferet Israel Synagogue - Under Restoration
One of the landmarks of the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem until its destruction in 1948 was the Tiferet Israel Synagogue. Archaeological excavations began about four years and only recently the restoration work has begun. In the first stage, the construction work is focused on three underground floors that go down ten meters below street level. Once these three levels are complete, the Tiferet Israel synagogue will be restored and is expected to reach a height of 25 meters high.
The Western Wall Elevator - Under Construction
Between the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem are several staircases that limit access to people with disabilities. The Western Wall Elevator project is designed to create a convenient and accessible passage for the entire population. The project covers a total area of about 2,000 square meters and the cost is estimated at 57 million NIS.
"Chavayat Hatanach" or The Bible Experience
The Tourism Department of the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter, in cooperation with the Bible Experience, is launching an interactive game in the Jewish Quarter. The game presents a series of challenges and riddles that lead you through hidden underground passages and excavations in the Jewish Quarter. It takes about an hour and a half and is conducted with tablets and laminated reality technology that generate a fun modern tourist experience.
Lunch at Hummus Haviv
Hummus Haviv is named after the owner Tzach Haviv, an entrepreneur who has managed two other businesses in the Jewish Quarter and the center of Jerusalem. It is the first hummus restaurant that opened in the Jewish quarter in Sept.2018. The kosher certificate is provided by Rabbi Rubin and with which the restaurant is able to serve tourists as well as some of the ultra-Orthodox residents alike.
The restaurant serves vegetarian/vegan food based on fresh raw materials daily with no preservatives. The hummus is served hot and ground thinly, based on a personal recipe together with gluten free green falafel, homemade fries and Chef Moshe's "Father's Shakshuka" that is unique in its intense flavor. The pita bread is freshly baked at the restaurant. The menu also includes soups, a rice and lentil dish called "Majadra", cooked vegetables and salads to complete the meal. The atmosphere is updated even though the building is preserved as an authentic building of the Quarter and seats up to 40 people.
The Menachem Begin Heritage Center (Tripadvisor)
The Menachem Begin Museum is a building dedicated to the 6th Prime Minister of Israel. The multi-sensory audiovisual experience includes rare films, interactive touch screens and a whole set of reconstructions and original items to take you through a journey into the life of one of the most prominent leaders in the country's history.
The museum is divided into four major periods of his life. The first period starts with Begin's childhood in Europe including his arrest for Zionist activity.
The second period is dedicated to his command of the Etzel and describes some of the main activities of the Irgun.
The third is dedicated to his political years in the opposition and the fourth focuses on his achievements as Prime Minister - the peace treaty with Egypt, the Nobel Peace Prize, the bombing of the nuclear reactor in Iraq, and more ...
The museum is an experience for the whole family and is done only by guided tour. The tour takes about 75 minutes with a waiting period of half an hour in-between tours. The museum conducts the guided tours in Hebrew and English, but you can also receive headphones for Spanish, French, Russian and Arabic.
In addition to the tour about Menachem Begin within the building, visitors are invited to enter the archeological park that lies within the museum's compound. The park is part of a necropolis of burial complexes that dates back to the First Temple period, the days of the Kings of Judah. Other findings include remains of a Byzantine church, rock-hewn shaft tombs from the Roman period and burial ground of the 10th Roman legion. The most fascinating find is a burial cave from the First Temple period in which an exciting discovery was made - a silver cylinder bearing the familiar verse from the Birkat Kohanim: "May the Lord bless you and preserve you." This finding is the oldest biblical text to date.
The park has recently been renovated with appropriate signs and walking paths that connect it to a sequence of parks between Bloomfield Garden and the Biblical Hill. Admission to the park is free between 10:00-18:00, Sunday - Thursday, even after museum hours, but requires advance notice.
For contact details to each of the sites, you are welcome to enter the full article on:
https://www.israel-best-trips.com/single-post/Jerusalem-The-Jewish-Quarter-Makeover-Part-1
Photos by Silvia G. Golan
- Details
- Written by Talma Gotteiner
Puzzleland: launch new Games for Hanukkah and Christmas
New games available at Puzzleland an Israeli chain that specializes in puzzles and brain games. In Israel, all the games come with dual-language instructions. The launch took place in their store at Dizengoff Center Tel-Aviv.
Puzzleland is currently launching Thinkfun's thinking games - known as leaders of fun and challenging games. The games are suitable for children and adults.
One of the most prominent games that is a cornerstone among the thinking games are:
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Rush HourTM (sold in three versions - a junior, an adult and a two-player version), which provides skills of planning, strategy, and special perception. The purpose of the game is to free the red car from the traffic jam. Suitable for ages 8+. Consumer Price: 99-119.90 NIS.
To read the full article: https://www.israel-best-trips.com/single-post/2018/11/14/Puzzleland-New-Games-for-Hannukah
Photo Silvia Golan
