Artfully Elegant — Handmade Jewelry & Handcrafted Gifts

Itzchak Tarkay was born in 1935 in Subotica on the Yugoslav-Hungarian border. In 1944, Tarkay and his family were sent to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp, until Allied liberation freed them a year later. In 1949 his family emigrated to Israel, living in a kibbutz for several years. Tarkay attended the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design from 1951, and graduated from the Avni Institute of Art and Design in 1956. His art is influenced by French Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism, particularly Matisse and Toulouse-Lautrec. His work was exhibited at the International Art Expo in New York City in 1986 and 1987.

His art is focussed on almost dream images of elegant women in classical scenes which draw you into an imaginary world.

Isaac Maimon has a lifetime of practice bringing beauty to his work, exhibiting a love for art and for its creation since his youth in Tel Aviv, Israel. His love for la vie Francais was likely inspired by his French-speaking parents, who supported his artistic ambitions since soon after his birth in Israel December 15, 1951.

Maimon has devoted the majority of his life pursing a career in the arts and developing his style as an Expressionist Painter. He attended the Avni Institute of Fine Art in Tel Aviv, Israel’s most prestigious academy for the arts. This is where his initial interest in the Paris school was cultivated, and he truly began to adore the work of such famed French painters as Henri deToulouse-Lautrec and Henri Matisse. Maimon also found motivation in the work of his fellow Israelis, taking additional inspiration from painters Haim Kiva and Moshe Rosenthalis during his studies.

Josh Hunter is an award winning American artist, illustrator and muralist living in Southern California. He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and attended the International School of Painting, Drawing & Sculpture in Umbria, Italy.

“For as long as I can remember I have been drawing or making something. Mostly, I drew comic book characters with hand-styled lettering. About six months ago, my mom mailed me a package that included a collection of drawings from when I was 11 or 12. I remember one of these creations vividly. It was a pencil drawing of Batman standing on a ledge. I was 11 years-old and home sick from school. The moment I sat my pencil down that day I remember feeling better because I knew I had created a great picture. I’m motivated by the work or others. Not just other artists, but writers, inventors, entrepreneurs, and musicians. It could be a slice of cinema, a painting from a book, or a tightly designed graphic from a surf mag that’ll inspire me. I think that’s what i find so brilliant about living today – inspiration is everywhere.”

Mark King, a champion of Impressionism and the Ecole de Paris, was born in Bombay in 1931 of British parents. He is the product of an exotic and privileged upbringing in India, where he lived until the age of sixteen during the tumultuous last days of the British Raj. In 1948, following graduation from La Martiniere College in Calcutta, where his focus had been botany as well as art, King sailed to England to attend Bournemouth College of Art, having determined to pursue painting, sculpture, architecture and theatre design. He subsequently spent seven years as Resident scenic designer at the Oxford Playhouse Theatre, but in 1961 decided to concentrate on painting and moved to Paris to study at the Ecole and the Louvre.

King follows in the footsteps of Courbet and the Impressionists, painting what he sees, such as the familiar streets, monuments and quarters of Paris. King never fully defines his seductive faces and figures, which he often shows from behind, as if they too were silent observers like himself. Passionate about horses since his youth, King’s animated depictions of polo and the fox hunt derive from personal experience. His interest in big game dates from India, where elephants and camels roam the streets and tigers and other large cats can easily be seen in their natural habitat. In addition to King’s fascination with the fauna of Central Asia, he has also retained a keen fascination for the flora of the region as well as botany in general, which he incorporates into his compositions. Since his arrival in the United States, as King became more exposed to sports, he capitalized on the drama and visual spectacle of ice hockey and horse racing, as well as his love of the out-of-doors by treating subjects like yacht racing, golf and tennis from a seascape or landscape point of view.

After working many years for other people, Milo and Trixie decided to chuck it all and move to the north woods to start their own business. One day – after trying, and failing, at many different crazy business ideas – Trixie said, “Why don’t we combine three of our favorite things: travel, art and drinking?” Milo quickly agreed, “Genius!” he said, and TRIXIE & MILO was born!

Trixie and Milo believe that gifts and accessories should be useful, authentic and timeless. With that in mind, the couple founded the company in 2011 to make classic American flasks and drink-ware, and hit the road with their new wares. They were an immediate hit! It seemed that everyone wanted a cool vintage style drinking flask. Now, inspired by the hardworking men and women who built America in the last century, Trixie & Milo have expanded their line to include an assortment of vintage styled bags and tools that reflect their love for traditional American craftsmen and their tools.

Bright Beam Goods was founded in 2010 by owners, operators, and makers-in-chief Eve Trester-Wilson and Kristen von Minden. Eve and Kristen are friends who share a background in architecture, a taste for power tools, and a passion for crafting. All Bright Beam Goods are designed and fabricated by Kristen & Eve, along with a small team of talented designers trained in art, architecture, and graphic design. Each member of the Bright Beam Team has a passion for working with his or her hands, and each of our five designers contributes to product design. Initial concepts are moved from round table discussions to hand-drawn sketches to computer-drafted drawings and then undergo multiple iterations of prototyping using our two in-house laser cutters before refining into the final design. Our products are made from materials purchased whenever possible from United States manufacturers. At our workshop, these sheets of plywood, acrylic, paper and cork receive meticulous preparation-trimming, hand-painting, hand-finishing, masking-before they are placed into the laser cutter. Adjusting settings on the laser cutter allows us to determine the depth and character of cut and etch lines. Once parts are removed from the laser cutter, they undergo further refinement: gluing, folding, polishing, stamping, threading, tying, trimming and sanding. When the product is complete, Bright Beam Goods are packaged in our studio, using materials designed and often fabricated side-by-side with their corresponding products. The finished goods, though laser cut, bear traces of the human hand­-these are the things that set our products apart, and the reason we love to make handmade.

Everyone has a story and location usually plays such an important role! State pride is something we all feel (some more than others – looking at you, Texas!) and what a darling way to express it! Julie Godsey made her first state necklace back in 2011 after taking two amazing trips in the great state of California where she lived from 2005-2012. She was feeling lots of love for it and she thought “Hey – maybe I can form the outline of California with my jewelry supplies.” She had no idea how quickly her idea would take off; she just wanted to make one for herself. After posting it on Instagram she quickly realized everyone wanted THEIR state on a necklace and so The Folk began! Julie now lives in Austin, Texas (her home state) and enjoys wearing her mini Texas necklace and when she’s missing California she puts that one on too.

We are a group of friends bonded with art, recycling and skateboard culture who are inspired by the potential of processing raw materials commonly regarded as waste. Not many people outside of the culture of skateboarding realizes that the life of the skateboards in professional use is quite short (sometimes it might be only a few weeks). Every day, thousands of skaters in Europe produce large quantities of wood waste that we decided to collect and creatively use following our passion. Canadian Maple, which boards are made of, is a material that has a lot of aesthetic and utilitarian value. Inspired by this fact, we created BoardThing – handmade products from discarded skateboards.

Currently we are working in the area of several projects to support and promote our ideas, which you will hear about soon. We would like to invite you to cooperation and common popularization of the idea of both recycling and skateboarding. We want to combine the three modes – art, recycling and skateboard culture to spread, in our opinion, important value and provide a valuable product.

Bija Malas started in 2011 in a little corner of Iris Sutalo’s living room. In the years since it’s tiny beginning, we’ve gone from selling handmade mala prayer beads to friends and colleagues, to selling in yoga studios and boutiques across the globe, to designing exclusive products for large well known companies.

Whether you’re a budding bodhisattva, or a newcomer to your enlightenment journey, gemstone malas are an accessible tool for connecting with your higher power and to bring light into your life. There’s a reason why so many people, across the universe, are turning to meditation; it’s one of the best medicines! Today, each piece is still handmade with loving intention, right here in sunny Los Angeles, by happy craftswomen who love what they do!

Brandy Thomason McNair launched Bella Vita Jewelry in 2008 at local art fairs and retail craft shows. Bella Vita Jewelry can be found at 100+ brick-and-mortar stores across the US and in her new retail shop in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Brandy lives and works in downtown Little Rock. All of her jewelry is made by hand in the Bella Vita Studio, which is housed in a beautifully restored century-old building. Bella Vita Jewelry is known for being made in small batches and one of a kind runs of personalized & hand stamped charms, natural stones, hand cast bronze & sterling pendants, and vintage baubles.

When she isn’t tending to her growing small business, Brandy enjoys spending time in the great outdoors with her husband, perusing local flea markets, drinks and dinners out with friends, and cuddling with her 13 year old lab mix, Arlo.