Twirling in Tovale's from Shenkin Street, Tel Aviv

You'll be hearing a bunch about my trip to Israel in the upcoming week. Quickly, I want to tell you about Tovale's clothing in Tel Aviv. I visited the location on Shenkin Street where Israeli designer Naama Chasin has both her women's clothing and her "Little" line for children. The children's clothing I couldn't resist buying for my daughter. My three year old is obsessed with twirling skirts and dresses and this skirt has enough twirl to satisfy even her. It's all handmade with serious skill and attention to detail. We couldn't step five feet without someone commenting on her outfit yesterday at the Virginia Highland Summer Fest -- and she wasn't even sporting the headband! The outfit was expensive: the whole ensemble cost around $150, more than I'd usually spend on an outfit for my child. About 5x more, actually. Ouch. You can see more of the Tovale's line on their flash heavy website, but unfortunately the 2008 line isn't yet online.

OnOn Surface at the ICFF

The Israeli design firm FAF Design (Forte Air Factory) is exhibiting their textile line called OnOn Surface at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair this week. FAF creates textiles like you've never seen! They create panels of fabric, cut with patterns, to create three dimensional "interactive living" surfaces. Seriously cool and unique. Take a look:

The fabric is Polyester Vellum and some include Swarowski crystals! What would you do with these textured, three dimensional panels of fabric? Here is the list of applications from the On On Surface website:

• Wall Art
• Extended Wallpaper
• Energetic Partition
• Illuminated Surface
• Interactive Window Screens
• Displays
• Artistic Installation
• Visual Merchandizing Applications

See the full OnOn Surfaces catalog here. Panels are custom made to order. I'd bet we will be seeing OnOn in design-forward store displays soon.

Israeli Fragile Salt & Pepper at the ICFF

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair, taking place at the Javits Center in NYC starting Saturday, is one of the premier modern furniture tradeshows in the world.

Isreali design team Mey and Boaz Kahn Design will be there: creators of the 'fragile' salt & pepper shakers.

From Designboom,

When was the last time you emphatically broke something? well, this ceramic salt and pepper shaker set offers you the opportunity to! The design starts life in one piece and by snapping it in half, you make it useful. breaking is an experience of impulsive outburst, but this time is an act that builds rather than destroys.

What's more banal than salt & pepper shakers? Yet the Kahns have managed to create something profound and new in the form and function of spicing our food -- or, more precisely -- they are helping us create something new. How clever.