A Hanukkah Letter from the Netherlands

While most of our work is sold in the US, we do have fans and customers all over the world.  Here's a great letter from someone in the Netherlands:

Dear Gary,

Wow it arrived and on the last evening of Chanukah ! We have just received the parcel and I have just returned from presenting it to my daughters teacher who is thrilled with your dreidel and just adored your work .What a lovely gift you also included for my daughter she was very touched by your generous gift, there are two very happy people in the Netherlands thank you!!!!!!!

With very good wishes and a happy Chanukah.

Raquel Drukarch

This year's Hanukkah

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable Hanukkah and was able to give the gifts they were hoping to.  We're still shipping out menorot and dreidels for those of you who have put off gift shopping until the the eighth night!  This has been a good year for us and I do think that a rising economy is definitely in the air, which is good for all.  Around this time of year I see our name popping up all over the place and I just wanted to share a couple more.

We fell for the earthy brass leaves, copper flower and glass bead in this fluid contemporary piece that’s part of Judaic sculptor Gary Rosenthal’s newest collection, Tree of Life. $185 at Dashka Roth Contemporary Jewelry; 332 Chartres St., 504.523.0805; Dashkaroth.com

From NOLA.com:

We fell for the earthy brass leaves, copper flower and glass bead in this fluid contemporary piece that’s part of Judaic sculptor Gary Rosenthal’s newest collection, Tree of Life. $185 at Dashka Roth Contemporary Jewelry; 332 Chartres St., 504.523.0805; Dashkaroth.com  

From Paper Airplane Design Blog:

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Gary Rosenthal Menorahs

Gary Rosenthal is an artist who welds metals and glass together to create beautiful Judaica art. I have a friend who spent a summer interning in his studio, which is how I first heard of him. In honor of Chanukah, which begins tonight, here are a few of his interesting menorahs. Check out more here.  

Another Tzedakah Article

Happy Hanukkah to all!  I hope everyone's holiday is an enjoyable one.  I'd like to share another article the features Gary talking about the importance of Tzedakah as well as the history of Tzedakah boxes.

Charity Boxes Coming Into Their Own for Hanukkah

Boxes for charity remain workhorses in Jewish life but have come into their own as gifts

The Associated Press

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press

November 30, 2010 (AP)

Invited to a Hanukkah party? Consider a charity box as a worthy gift that goes straight to the core of Jewish life.

...The Torah promises that by giving tzedakah, "a person's mind and heart become refined one thousand times." Beautifying the performance of the fundamental command through a keepsake tzedakah box can help revive the practice of charity collection in Jewish homes, said Gary Rosenthal, an artist who has been creating pieces of Judaica since the 1970s.
Menorahs, dreidels, cups for Sabbath wine and seder plates for Passover have been popular gifts for decades, he said. Tzedakah boxes for home use are a relatively new addition.
"Twenty years ago I tried to make a tzedakah box and nobody would buy it," said Rosenthal, in Kensington, Md. "Everybody did it at synagogue but it wasn't something for the home. More Orthodox and traditional Jews had them but there was this lost generation after World War II when tzedakah boxes just fell off the radar."
Rosenthal often works in copper, brass and steel adorned with glass to create ritual items and Jewish gifts. He expects to sell nearly 6,000 tzedakah boxes worldwide by year's end, including a limited-edition streetcar with a portion of proceeds going to the Jewish community in New Orleans. He also has a line decorated with pink glass mosaics designed by people touched by breast cancer to support their cause.
"I like to combine art with doing good, when the purchase is actually an act of tzedakah," Rosenthal said.
More contemporary designers like Rosenthal have delved into Jewish life in recent decades, said Stacey Zaleski, director of merchandising for The Jewish Museum in New York City...

The full article is interesting as well and can be read here.

Tzedakah and Hanukkah

A nice little AP article via Yahoo features a few of our tzedakah boxes, including the New Orleans street car and custom wall piece:

Tzedakah wall box from Gary Rosenthal

This product image courtesy of The Gary Rosenthal Collection shows a tzedakah wall box from The Gary Rosenthal Collection. Gifting a tzedakah box in fun or fancy form is more closely associated with weddings, awards and Bar Mitzvahs than the eight-day festival of lighting candles, spinning dreidels and eating fried foods. That, said purveyors and creators of Jewish gifts and ritual items, doesn't mean a charity box wouldn't make a positive reminder come Hanukkah time.

Happy Holidays!

Every year at the GRC we have a great holiday party, celebrating Hanukkah for those of us who are Jewish and Christmas for those of us who are not.  Gary makes latkes, gifts are exchanged via secret santa, and lots and lots of food is consumed.  It's always a fun time at the end of the year.