Congratulations to the General Assembly Raffle Winners!

UPDATE:  I apologize, the phone number listed at the bottom had a typo in it.  If you have tried to contact us unsuccessfully please try again at 301.493.5577.

While in New Orleans for this year's General Assembly the Gary Rosenthal Collection shared a table with Sharsheret and Avodah, two worthwhile organizations.  The three of us held a raffle - Sharsheret gave away a pair of breast cancer awareness Sabbath candlesticks, Avodah had an art deco menorah to give away, and The Gary Rosenthal collection had a New Orleans street car Tzedakah box, all donated by the Gary Rosenthal Collection.  We've drawn names and the winners are announced below!

Sharsheret, Hebrew for “chain”, is a national not-for-profit organization supporting young women and their families, of all Jewish backgrounds, facing breast cancer. Our mission is to offer a community of support to women diagnosed with breast cancer or at increased genetic risk, by fostering culturally-relevant individualized connections with networks of peers, health professionals, and related resources.

The winner of Sharsheret's candlesticks is Carole Neff of New Orleans, LA.  Congratulations!

AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps strengthens the Jewish community's fight against the causes and effects of poverty in the United States. We do this by engaging participants in service and community building that inspires them to become lifelong agents for social change whose work for justice is rooted in and nourished by Jewish values.

The winner of Avodah's menorah is Richard May of Miami Beach FL.  Congratulations!

 

Gary Rosenthal has been sculpting in welded metals for over 30 years. Together with a team of talented craftspeople, he creates one of the most popular and unique lines of Judaic art in the country: The Gary Rosenthal Collection. Combining copper, brass, and steel with brilliant fused glass, the collection has a contemporary style rooted in tradition.

 The winner of The Gary Rosenthal Collection's Tzedakah box is Susan Feldman of Bloomfield Hills, MI.  Congratulations!

If you are one of the winners, please contact the Gary Rosenthal Collection at 301.493.5577 with your mailing address so that we may send out your prize.

Christmakah Party!

Every year we have a Holiday party near the end of the year at the GRC.  We set up the holiday tree, have a gift exchange, and eat lots of good food.  Though Hanukkah is, of course, over already, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and a Blessed new year!

 Nick gets some food ready on the table.

 Gary's famous potato latkes on the stove.

The Christmakah tree with secret santa gifts underneath.

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.

Holy Latke! Is it Hanukkah Already?

An interesting article in which Gary is quoted.

By Leanne Italie, Associated Press

A menorah with tall lit candles in New York. Hahukkah starts early this year. AP Photo

Rabbi Mark Sobel, the spiritual leader of a Reform-rooted synagogue in Burbank, Calif., enjoys "winter" carols come Hanukkah and Christmastime, but this year is a little different.

The Jewish faith's eight days of candle lighting, prayers, latkes and dreidel fun begins Wednesday, before carolers get in the swing and so soon after Thanksgiving there might just be some leftovers still in the fridge.

Hanukkah's on the early side — on the Gregorian calendar anyway — along with other major Jewish observances this year.

Some Jews are looking forward to a little distance between Hanukkah and the Christmas madness. It helps, they said, in staving off the perception that the Festival of Lights is a Christmas wannabe. Others started panicking before their Thanksgiving bird was defrosted.

For Sobel, it won't change the way he celebrates, save a tinge of remorse that non-Jewish neighbors and friends won't yet be in the holiday spirit.

"The feeling of total holiday season is not there," said Sobel, from the independent Temple Beth Emet.

Jewish festivals and commemorations begin on different Gregorian dates each year because they're set by a lunar-based Hebrew calendar adjusted to ensure certain ones fall during certain seasons.

Wyckoff, N.J., mom Caryn Kasmanoff, who has two teenagers and a 9-year-old, notes that Hanukkah is a very minor holiday, religiously speaking, in relation to Passover and other biblically mandated observances. It's nowhere near as important as Christmas is to Christians, but the comparisons can be harder on Jewish kids when the two holidays stand alone on the calendar, she said.

"As Christmas gets closer and children in school get more excited, their 'party' is over," Kasmanoff said. "So yes, as a parent, it's easier for the religions to share the festive feeling."

That can also be true for more secular Jews and interfaith families who will be packing away their menorahs after Hanukkah only to start prepping for Christmas. Or for people who focus on Thanksgiving as the big-deal holiday with barely any time to de-stress before Hanukkah shopping and party planning must be done.

"The world doesn't stop for Hanukkah," said Jennifer Prost, who has kids ages 16 and 12 in Montclair, N.J. "My kids still have tests to study for and papers to write. When Hanukkah is closer to Christmas, the kids are off from school, work schedules slow, evening meetings are off the table."

For the college set, on-campus Hanukkah might mean missing mom's potato latkes, but their family's not-home-for-the-holidays loss could be Ralph Taber's gain. He's the director of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., and a programmer for Hillel, the foundation for Jewish campus life.

"The timing of Hanukkah this year is perfect because it will occur before classes end," he said. "We know that students will be willing to attend more on-campus Hanukkah events."

As a parent, Taber is happy for Hanukkah's quick approach. He'll be done with shopping and celebrations just as Christmas is crowding stores and yuletide travel is clogging roads.

But some sellers of Jewish-related gifts said "early" Hanukkah can mean slow going.

"When it's close to Christmas, it's celebrated much more actively," said Gary Rosenthal, who creates menorahs, charity boxes and other Judaica out of metals and fused glass. "When Hanukkah is close to Thanksgiving it's passed us before we even know what happened. It's not good or bad. It's just the way it is."

Read the rest of the article here.

Another Article

A nice mention here at marconews.com:

Temple Shalom has every kind of menorah imaginable, but the ones I was drawn to were from the Gary Rosenthal Collection.

Rosenthal has sculpted in welded metals for more than 30 years and this menorah ($110) is identical to the one presented to President Bill Clinton. Former President Jimmy Carter also received a menorah from the Rosenthal Collection.

Another one from Rosenthal has a dreidel attached ($120) that sets the tone of the holiday. If you like things neat and clean, this plain silver ($30) one is for you. It is also available in a gold tone.

Original article here

Thanksgiving and Tzedakah Boxes

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already tomorrow!  Where has the year gone?  As we give thanks it's important to remember to give to others as well.  A blog post over at Jeri's Organizing and Decluttering News has a timely theme of various interesting designs of Tzedakah boxes, including one of ours.  Check it out, click this link to read the original article.

We're Still Here!

With Hanukkah being so early this year we have been very busy this past month or so.  Our new A48D limited edition menorah/dreidel combination has become our fastest selling item ever - we've already sold just under half of the 500 being made and are still getting orders!  It's not too late to order one to get it in time for Haunukkah.

Plans are coming along nicely for Gary's new artistic venture, the Howad Avenue Arts Incubator.  The first artist meeting was held to discuss ideas a couple nights ago.  Photos of the night will be posted shortly at the Arts Incubator blog.

It's hard to believe that Hanukkah is really less than two weeks away and Thanksgiving is right on top of us.  Time sure does fly!

If you are looking for some unique Hanukkah gifts, check out our limited editions page where you can purchase discontinued items and one of a kind prototypes!  There are some really interesting pieces there like this piano themed menorah!

Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County Awards

On October 18, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County presented their 2010 Executive's Awards, which we have supplied them for some time now.  Megan sent over some great pictures:

I think the awards we make look really great and it's a shame more people don't realize that we offer them!

Photos by Clark W. Day

The Howard Avenue Arts Incubator

I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to a new undertaking of Gary's that may be of interest to any of you who are local.  Gary is leading an effort to create an arts community here in Kensington, MD.  By creating the Howard Avenue Arts Incubator, he hopes to foster creative works and community, using art as a catalyst for even more.  There are a lot of interesting prospects with this project and I invite you to take a look at the website and add your name to the email list there.  The plan is to have a kick-off festival December 12th, 2010.

In preparation, there has been a lot of renovation going on at the studio as the downstairs gets a makeover and the newly acquired area upstairs is being rebuilt into a gallery.

This wall is soon to be history.

The wall is gone, as is a good portion of the old floor.

You can't really see them in this picture, but in addition to the new purple tiled floor, we built a couple of great walk-in closets that will really help to declutter!

The newly redone kitchen area is sure to get a lot of use!

Headed up stairs.  Once it's refinished, this wall above the landing will be a great place to display artwork!

Welcome to the third floor.

It's still very much under construction, but you can see that this can become a really great gallery space.  A few of Gary's larger pieces were set up as examples for a meeting this past weekend and we had a local artist in to symbolically hang the first artwork on the wall. 

If you're interested in getting involved in classes or gallery exhibitions, or to learn more about all the cool ideas Gary has for this project, give us a call at 301.493.5577!

Discontinued items, prototypes, and limited editions! 

Available to buy directly from The Gary Rosenthal Collection here for the first time!  We're cleaning house so grab what you like before someone else does. 

Quantities are limited - most of the items listed here are the only one available.  All discontinued items are priced at 25% off and prototypes are priced to move as well.

Just one of the one of a kind items up for special sale.  Only one of these will ever be made:

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We would like to extend our support and encouragement to those who are fighting or have beaten this disease and our sympathy to those who have lost loved ones to it. We have quite a few groups participating this year in our FREE Glass Ribbon activity to grow community, support, awareness, and funds for those who have had their lives touched by breast cancer, which is wonderful!  Thank you to all those who are participating this month and beyond!  Visit www.glassribbon.com to learn more about what we are doing to help with this cause and how you can get involved.

NCJW Donor Wall

Every now and again we are commissioned to create donor walls for organizations who want something a bit different than the standard brass plaques.  The National Council of Jewish Women just ordered this one that has a fun, funky design.  The bottom plaque is removable and can be replaced each year with a new one to reflect that year's donors.

This impressive wall hanging measures 31" tall.

Congrats to This Year's Trawick Winners!

Every year we create the Trawick Awards for The Bethesda Contemporary Art Festival.  Check out this year's winners happily showing off the awards and artwork!

 

 

Photos credit Bethesda Urban Partnership.

Need a custom award for something?  Check out our portfolio and let us know how we can help you!

After Katrina

We recently created a large custom menorah for the New Orleans community.  On the 5th anniversary of Katrina there was held a mass Havdalah service at the New Orleans JCC to make the passing of those five years and the healing that has taken place since.  The menorah we made was featured as part of that service as you can see in this great photo:

Stuart's 100th Mezuzah

Wow, it's been a while since I posted!  Things have been pretty crazy around here lately.  What with the New York Gift Show, getting the new catalog ready and off to the printer's, and dealing with some renovations to the building, I haven't had time to update the blog lately.  Once we get some new flooring in here I will try to get some before and after shots of the building so you can see what we've been up to, but for now I have something else to talk about.

A little while back I wrote about Stuart, the mezuzah collector, who paid us a visit and purchased his hundredth mezuzah to complete his collection.  Well, he got the final piece framed and added to the collection and sent us a couple pictures to share:

500 Judaica

For all who are fans of Gary Rosenthal's work, as well as Judaica, check out Lark's newest book in their 500 series - 500 Judaica available now.  In addition to being a really cool book filled with other talented artists, check out pages 57 and 58 37 and 38 to see work from Gary!

New Work From NYIGF 2010

The New York International Gift Fair is coming to a close and it seemed to be a very successful event - not just for us, but for all the vendors in general, which is a good sign for the economy!  If you were not able to attend the show or just want another look, the website is now all up to date with all the new work, so check it out!  For retailers, the hi-res photo packet has been fully updated and now includes high quality images of every single current Gary Rosenthal piece in one easy to download file, and for your convenience we also have a current list of all discontinued items on the product home page.  Be sure to drop us a line about what new work you like!

NYIGF Heads Up

Lots of things have been keeping us busy and me away from updating the blog recently.  Namely, the New York International Gift Fair is just days away!  If you are one of our stores, we hope to see you there!  I've just started editing photos of all the new work being taken and should have it all up on the website before the end of the show.  We've got a really cool new spice box to show you, a new series of gifts for lawyers and doctors, the brand new Miracle Dreidel and a mezuzah unlike any we've ever made before (we call it the Charm Mezuzah, look for it at the show!).  All these items and more, including more mezuzot and menorot will be available at the show along with a show exclusive limited edition dreidel with Hanukkah Gelt dish.  Look for photos and product details soon!

The Hiddur Mitzvah Project and a Special Bat Mitzvah

When Cindy and Greg Goussak, members of Midbar Kodesh Temple of Las Vegas, Nevada, began to plan their daughter Ariel’s bat mitzvah, to make the process especially meaningful they knew they wanted to incorporate a hands-on mitzvah project for her bnai mitzvah class.  The 11 students in the class also happened to include one who is autistic and has been learning how to sign the blessings for the Torah reading and several of the Shabbat morning tefillot. Were he living in Israel, it is unlikely he would be able to prepare for or celebrate his bar mitzvah the way he is doing at Midbar Kodesh unless he had the good fortune to be part of the Masorti Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program for Children with Special Needs. All of which gave Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel, the rabbi at Midbar Kodesh, a great idea.  Rabbi Tecktiel suggested that the bnai mitvah class twin with Masorti’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program for Children with Special Needs, Israel’s only national program to provide Jewish enrichment and a group bnai mitzvah ceremony at a Masorti kehilla for youngsters who would not otherwise have the chance to celebrate this milestone.  The Goussaks, who were helping to fund the project, invited Judaica artist Gary Rosenthal to spend a weekend at Midbar Kodesh as artist-in-residence and to work with the children. Each student made two yads, one for him or herself, the other to donate to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program for Children with Special Needs. These personalized gifts are being finished by the artist and when ready, will be sent to Israel, where they can be used by the special needs children during their bnai mitzvah celebrations.  “The young people at Midbar Kodesh are getting a real lesson in the Jewish values of tikkun olam, tolerance and inclusion, while also making a personal connection to Israel and learning about one of the Masorti movement’s unique contributions to life there,” said Rabbi Tecktiel. “I am very proud of their commitment to this project and especially grateful to the Goussak family for their generous contribution, which has made it possible.”

Original

Update on Stuart's Frame

Just a quick update, I wanted to share a photo of the finished picture frame that Stuart worked on while he was here.  Hopefully when his final mezuzah he created here is finished and framed I can get a picture of that as well.

Glass Ribbon in October

We've had some great responses to our new and improved Glass Ribbon Project and have already scheduled quite a few projects for October - National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Because of this, we strongly recommend that if you are still interested in holding a Glass Ribbon activity that you do not schedule it for October or there may be a long delay before any of your purchased pieces can be sent back to you.  If you want to make the Glass Ribbon Project part of breast cancer awareness month we suggest that you hold the event in September - that way you will receive any finished pieces in October, in time to be sold as a fundraiser, given as support gifts, or simply enjoyed as finished pieces of art.

We thank you for all the support you've shown so far for this special program and hope to expand it even more as more people hear about it!

A Visit from a Mezuzah Collector

A few days ago we had a special visitor at the studio.  Stuart, from New Jersey, had originally contacted Gary about a replacement tube for a mezuzah.  It turns out that Stuart is an avid collector of Mezuzot, framing them as works of art and he has quite a few of Gary's work in his collection.  He was looking for something special to top off his collection at 100 mezuzot - one thing led to another and soon he made a trip down to help custom make his final mezuzah.

Stuart and Greta look over mezuzah designs.

Pressing the metal.

He tries his hand at the torch.

Shari helps Stuart put together the glass that will be part of a frame.

The finished glass after firing.  Stay tuned for photos of the final work.  Here's a photo of one of Gary's pieces as a framed item in Stuart's collection: