Wednesday, December 28, 2011

DZion - Designs from Zion

Many  people have been asking us about our name, DZion.

Firstly, the name DZion is not intended to reflect any political or religious connotations; we are an apolitical self funded business promoting home grown Israeli designers and products, without bias of ethnicity, religion or gender.

The DZion logo is a combination of two letters, the letter "D" in English and the letter "ז"(pronounced Ziyne) in Hebrew. Voiced together they wittingly articulate the word Design!

Sharing with you a more personal anecdote, I envisioned the DZion mission when I first found out I was pregnant, which at the time the song, Zion, by Lauren Hill, was endlessly played on my iPod, in my car, and I even posted it to my personal blog to note the very special period in my life.

In addition, according to Wikipedia, Zion (also transliterated Sion, Tzion or Tsion) is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem and generally for  the World to Come, a better world or a paradise to come in the future.

In Kabbalah the more esoteric reference is made to Tzion being the spiritual point from which reality emerges.

In the Rastafari movement, "Zion" stands for a utopian place of unity, peace and freedom.

For some, Zion symbolizes a longing by wandering peoples for a safe homeland. 

For others, it has taken on a more spiritual meaning—a safe spiritual homeland, like in heaven, or a kind of peace of mind in one's present life.

So combining all the pieces together, with a spiritual optimism, a personal tie and with sincere design orientation in mind, this is how the name DZion honestly came to be.

It was great sharing with you, we hope you take good care and happy holidays everyone!


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Israeli Olive Associations

In an attempt to connect the Hanukkah holiday spirit with design, we found the Olive Chair, created by Israeli designers Adi Tasa and Yoav Avinoam, the perfect choice!
Hannukah…Oil…Olive…get it? :)
The Olive Chair  was created using a molded polyester-based textile which when heated forms the shape. Adi Tasa and Yoav Avinoam designed a basic structured chair but with a very unique three dimensional surface, originating a new olive shaped texture that makes you want to desperately touch, feel and sit in! Source




Saturday, November 26, 2011

TLV Fashion Week Web Publicity

The Tel-Aviv Fashion Week received so much publicity we thought we may skip posting about it…But such a historical event cannot be and should not be overlooked. The international fashion week held in Tel-Aviv after 30 years is an accomplishment worthy of celebration! So here is a list of just some of the articles written about the event, read more about it: 

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Re-branding Israel with Design

Five international notorious design bloggers have been touring Israel this past week, and we will finally get to meet them this evening! Dezeen, Designboom, DeTnk, Booooooom and WeHeart bloggers, were invited to Israel by Kinetis, a nonprofit apolitical social organization dedicated to generating domestic and global awareness of Israel as the creative energy capital of the world.

Seeking to re-brand Israel’s world image, 37-year-old lawyer and start-up entrepreneur Joanna Landau founded Kinetis (Kinetic Energy + Israel) in 2009. "People are not interested in Israel beyond the conflict because we haven't given them a reason to be interested” says Landau. What is needed is a paradigm shift, a change in the conversation, "What we want to do is celebrate the things that Israel has to offer that are interesting on a global level," she says for Haaretz.

One of three Kinetis projects, VibeIsrael, brings together individuals, groups, business people and bloggers to personally experience a more creative dynamic and energetic side of Israel, opening up new conversations to share online and off.  The first VibeIsrael all-expenses-paid tour, invited 5 Mommy bloggers from around the world to meet and feel the country first hand. This time, it's all about the design blogosphere! We hope the group enjoyed their busy week here in Israel. Be sure we will personally ask them about it tonight!  

As we share similar missions, DZion is excited and obliged to participate in the VibeIsrael project and is looking forward to more great initiatives by Kinetis! 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Exploring textiles, Inventing textures

It was a pleasure and a privilege meeting Tamar Branitzky, a talented eccentric Textile Designer working and creating in her studio in Tel-Aviv. A Shenker graduate of Design Engineering, Tamar explores and invents textile design techniques involving printing, hand painting, embroidery, sawing, burning and collage making sometimes all on one piece made up of layers of different types of materials. Tamar loves to combine handmade practices with industrial techniques, developing unique fabrics and textiles while offering distinctive and tailored designs to artists in various fields. Like works of art, her pieces are sold in a limited edition, until the artist creates anew!
Tamar is a promising rising star, collaborating with fashion professionals, interior designers, industrial designers and artists from all over the world, developing and creating new and innovative textiles never seen before in the market. Respectfully, her work was exhibited in the "Salone De Mobile" in Milan, April 2011 and in "Promise Design" - "Designer Days" in Paris, June 2011.


We wish Tamar lots of luck and progress to come!
Tamar's "Stained Journey" scarf collection can be purchased on the DZion website.





Thursday, November 3, 2011

Sotheby celebrates Israeli design

"There's outstanding creativity and talent in Israel- the work is very fresh, original and independent " explains  Janice Blackburn, co-coordinator and curator of Sotheby's  design selling exhibitions which took place in London last May, in Tel-Aviv this Tuesday at the opening of the Tel-Aviv Museum of Arts new wing, and excitingly soon in December  in New York!
Senior vice president at Sotheby's New York, Sonya Bekkerman realized how much home-grown talent Israel has, and so visits the country around five times a year to find new design pieces. Sonya said, "We realized there’s extraordinary talent here, it’s fresh, it’s innovative, it’s really exceptional and there isn’t a platform for it. We do sell some Israeli art and Judaica in New York but we decided to give both emerging and established talent a platform at Sotheby’s.”
The Financial Times article by Nicole Swengley, quotes Mel Byars, a design historian, when he said  "Israeli design is the world's best kept secret".  Finally Sotheby gives the world the chance to discover.
Tel-Aviv Museum of Art New Wing- Opening Event

Thank you to Shiri Batsry for her personal photographs

Monday, October 31, 2011

Global Sustainability Jam in Tel-Aviv 2!

This weekend a Global Sustainability Jam took place in over 6 continents and 42 cities, including Tel-Aviv, Israel. The jam brought together passionate people in various fields of interest, joining together to brainstorm and create brand-new real-world ideas that can better the planet!

The design-based jam was not about talking it was about doing. Participants bounced ideas off one another and built on whatever bounced back, eventually turning their ideas into concrete designs, objects, projects, and action plans to be further developed in the future. Seems like they also had lots of fun too!
This energetic dedicated weekend brought on some great ideas but most importantly furthered the awareness for more sustainable design, products, ideas, initiatives and creative thinking to better the world we live in!Great initiative, great work guys!

In Tel-Aviv there were about 28 participants working together in 4 different groups. See the output of one creative team and pictures from the TLV jam:
































For more pictures and partcipants visit the TLV Sustainabilty Jam facebook page.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Culturally Designed

Michael Tsinzovsky is an Israeli industrial designer who dares to challenge sensitive and complex issues like politics, culture and ethnicity through his design and technique. For example, The Little Night Lamp was created from a bomb shelter light switch as a gesture to the citizens of Sderot, Israel who have been living under siege for years. Other examples, are less provocative, however still ignite question and thought into how we define and express Israeli culture and design.

For his graduation thesis at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, in Jerusalem, Michael Tsinzovsky plays with local icons, crafts and materials, attempting to catch the essence of Israeli design. Michael draws on the traditional German wood and carpentry techniques immigrants brought to Israel after World War II, acknowledges and uses influences from Islamic art, patterns and ornaments, while wisely utilizing contemporary production methods developed in the Israeli high-tech manufacturing industry. These mixed styles intertwined create a variety of distinctive furniture prototypes in which East meets West and old meets new, successfully capturing the soul of Israeli design.


 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Celebrating with Free Gifts!

Hi everybody! DZion is giving away a free gift for the holiday! The Eco-friendly 2D Vase, designed by the Israeli designer Limor Yaron, is made of wood and reuses small plastic bottles you have at home to place flowers that need water. The vase arrives flat, in 2d, and can be easily assembled into a smart ecological 3d vase. For more about the product visit our site
To enter the raffle simply Like or Comment the competition post on Facebook, here. The winner will be announced next Thursday 27, 2011, 20:00. 


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Materia goes 3D Printing

For inspiring creative professionals out there, Materia, one of the leading material libraries in the world, has initiated an international 3D Jewellery Competition, “Materia goes 3D Printing”. Winners are selected on the basis of innovation and aesthetics in their design and creative use of the 3D technology. Winning projects will be 3D printed and exhibited in the Materia Inspiration Centre. On top of this, winners are rewarded with prize money, ranging from Eu 500 for the best project, Eu 300 and Eu 100 for 3rd place. For more information, download this pdf or visit the Materia site

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Bezalel MA Industrial Design Corrections

The annual theme "Tikun", "Correction" or "Under Repair", emerged from the shared notion of the Bezalel faculty of the Master of Industrial Design "About Design" Program, as an idea that continuously echoes in our time. Examining the term in depth, Tikun Olam as a Jewish – Kabalistic concept, restoration as artistic repair, technological mechanisms of damage and repair, design in a repairing context and social repair, brought on very profound projects developed throughout the year. 

Three projects specifically intrigued us, the works of Evgeniya Tseitlin "False Identity", Noa Zilberman "Wrinkles Jewelry" and Liran Elbaz "Writing Erasing Pen".

False Identity by Evgeniya Tseitlin begins with a personal investigation of childhood memories and experiences in Russia. Evgeniya arrivies at the "Babushka" a distinct visual symbol of Russian culture and a part of her own personal story, and under the contest of "Under Repair", she utilizes the attributes of the doll to bridge between her identity without relinquishing the layers of the past. The sophisticated mobile coffee kit that has emerged out her journey, embracing her love and enjoyment of the Israeli ritual for picnics and coffee in the outdoors, combined with characteristics of the symbolic "Babushka" of her past: dismantling, assembly and containment.
   
Wrinkles Jewelry by  Noa Zilberman examines the aging process of the human face. Noa created a series of "Wrinkles Masks", jewelry for the face, neck and decollate, which stresses the questions of repair and impair, the blurring lines between beauty and ugliness and the function of the object as jewelry. 


Liran Elbaz observes the way of Chinese Daoism, allowing for everything to follow its own path and place in the world, Liran creates the Writing Erasing Pen, emphasizing the desire for the Chinese "inaction": doing without interfering, repairing without impairing.  
Brilliant projects that raise questions and ignite thought, we very much appreciated the Bezalel graduate exhibition this year, recommend visiting, opened until Sat. Oct 15th.  

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Unique Sukkot Decor



















Something different for the holiday…design and create unique lanterns for your Sukka this year! Thanks to Ruffled for the great idea, using only balloons, glue and twine, below are instructions on how to easily make these beautiful decorations for special occasions. Enjoy and Chag Sameach!


Instructions:
1. Inflate the balloon to a medium size so the shape is a little rounder.
2. If you’re looking to make a lampshade out of the string chandelier, use a sharpie to mark around the knot on the balloon.
3. Before you start working, we recommend using a tarp.
4. Mix corn starch, glue and warm water together until it has a smooth texture.
5. Smear the vaseline all over your balloon until it is completely coated so th twine wet with glue won’t stick on the balloon after dry.
6. You can start a little assembly line with friends by one of you feeding the yarn through the glue mix and giving to another person to wrap it around the balloon.
7. Start wrapping the balloon vertically, slowly changing to wrapping. For a seamless look, tuck the ends of the twine under one of the wrapped strings.
8. Wait 24 hours until the balloon has completely dried before popping the balloon.
9. Spray the string chandeliers with clear fast drying spray paint et voila!

Thursday, October 6, 2011

“How much sugar?”

“Two Sugars” designed by Stav Axenfeld, a graduate of the Department of Visual Communications Design at the Holon Institute of Technology. Stav’s “sweet” design - a sugar cube in the shape of Roman numerals- was exhibited at the Designboom Mart at Designers Week in Tokyo last year. Smart and humorous, challenging the most common question, “how much sugar?” J We love the idea and wonder is he is selling?



Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Promising Designers of Jerusalem





Yesterday we visited “Designers in the City” of Jerusalem. Just recently opened, “Designers in the City” hub is situated in the back area of the “Gallery – Café Boutique” in 7 Bazalel St. (walking proximity from the market) and is home to 20 selected talented Israeli designers.





Established by the Design Center in the Jerusalem Development Authority, by means if the “Ariel Municipal Company Ltd.”, the initiative is dedicated to the growth of Israeli design and designers, encouraging designers to personally develop and find the best direction fit for their success. To us, the idea that designers not only sell their products but also work and create their art in public is what makes these designated areas so unique: a window view into the craftsmanship and creative work of contemporary Israeli artists today.






































We recommend visiting this creative fresh spot soon!
Sun, Mon, Wed, Thur. : 10:00-14:00, 16:00-19:00
Tues., Fri : 10:00-14:00

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The London Design Festival Showcases Israeli Designers

Before The London Design Festival comes to an end, we would like to pay tribute to two leading Israeli born designers presenting at one of the world's most important annual design events: Arik Levy and Eyal Burstein.
Arik Levy, originally from Israel where most of his time was dedicate to surfing and his graphic design studio. In 1988 Levy moved to Europe and in 1991 completed his studies in the Art Center Europe in Switzerland where he gained a distinction in Industrial Design. Levy currently works in Paris with his 20-strong team of designers and graphic artists forming L design. Under the vision of Levy and his associate, Pippo Lionni, the firm also produces brand identities, packaging, signage, exhibition and interior design.
The Molteni Group, one of Italy’s leading furnishings companies, has devoted its Covent Garden Flagship Store in the London Design Festival, to Arik Levy. The design collaboration between Molteni&C and Levy, called “in power10”,  takes inspiration from the film produced by designers Charles and Ray Eames in 1968, which focuses on the relative scale of the universe in factors of 10, from minute to infinite.










Eyal Burstein, an Israeli, Berlin-based product designer attended the London College of Printing in London in 2001–2004 and the Royal College of Arts in London from 2004-2006.  In 2007 Burstein founded Beta Tank, a Berlin-based conceptual product design practice which creates objects based on cross-disciplinary research that explores new technologies and social commentary. Read the full interview with Eyal Burstein.  
Beta Tank is showcasing the “Scaffolding Brut” in the London Design Festival Tunnel entrance. The installation presents a variety of porcelain scaffolding, focusing on the artistic medium of their aesthetic structure and form, while posing the question "If scaffolding systems are so impressive without design specifications, how utterly magnificent could they become if the need for beauty was attributed to construction?" 


























If you’ve visited The London Design Festival this year, we’d love to hear about your first hand experience! 
For more information, visit The London Design Festival site here