from the Micha'l’s Tefillin website: “Shalom and welcome to Michal’s Tefillin, an online magazine for Jewish women. Our philosophy is a simple one – to promote and nurture an environment of superlative creative talent and to encourage the diversity, the strength and the chutzpah of Jewish women from all walks of life.” Sounds like something the readers of the EtsyChai blog would enjoy! Read on and enjoy this interview with Basia Ellen, Editor-in-Chief!
Who is/are the founding members of Michal's Tefillin? Myself, Basia Ellen and Hevel Cohen. I am in charge of all creative content in the capacity of editor-in-chief, Hevel is the webmaster.
Where are you located? We are Europe/Israel based. Most of our readers are in the US and Israel but we have readers in Singapore, Spain, Malta, the UK and just about everywhere Jews live. Maybe even in Kabul ;)
Do you have a mission statement? Our mission is to develop and promote creative talent among Jewish women and to give them a stage on which to display their talent. Artists, writers, photographers, poets, designers - there is a wealth of immeasurable talent out there that is really very humbling and awe-inspiring
What do you love to do or what are you passionate about? I am passionate about Jews! I am researching the history of the Jews in Spain and especially regards to their contribution to world food. So many things we take for granted as being Turkish or Greek or Mediterranean are actually thanks to the Jews of Spain. It's thanks to the Jews of Spain that people cook with olive oil - everyone else used animal fat of some sort. We made the world healthy! I am also researching the lives of the women who surrounded King David for a novel.
Do you do any crafting/cooking/teaching? I am a baker, I love to make bread, challah is my specialty, and I also try to modernise recipes I find from the 12th century for modern day Jewish women.
Have you heard of Etsy? I LOVE Etsy! The talent there is phenomenal, there are people on Etsy who should be world famous millionaires. Every time I browse the shops, I'm in awe. It's especially great to see so much Judaica and designs from Jewish women on a world stage.
Anything else you'd like to share? We're very excited and thrilled to come to the attention of the EtsyChai Jewish St. Team blog readers and we'll be looking out for talent to promote on Michal's Tefillin. If anyone would like to be featured, just drop me an email at michalstefillin@gmail.com.
Submitted by Linda B.
Another web sighting … this time a feature of Mark Kaplan on the beautiful blog of Kaelin Design- Tales from the Studio.
My favorite quote from Mark in the web interview:
“I mostly just listen to my inner self and don’t really care too much what others think anyway…”
What an interesting guy. I couldn’t resist pulling this picture from his flickr pool - (click picture to visit there):
And of course, he has an Etsy shop!
You get a feel for his work right in his shop announcement:
“I care about where I live, so all my precious metals are made from certified 100% recycled material (not mined)...”
And is work is thought provoking and beautiful:
And check out this great new Treasury, viewable only until it expires on the date shown on the lower-right of the image:
Etsy Sellers, Want to Join EtsyChai? Membership is temporarily closed, sign up for email updates at this blog to find out when we'll re-open.
I’m going to keep this one simple instead of repeating what’s already been said, just give you some teasers and the link to read more….
I loved reading the interview and learning new things about our team-mate, as well as finding out about the other groups she’s involved in online:
There’s always something interesting and sometimes, surprising, to learn!
What are your favorite blog features to read about?
