{"id":27092,"date":"2017-12-01T03:52:04","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T11:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=27092"},"modified":"2017-11-29T22:56:45","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T06:56:45","slug":"judaica-in-metro-vancouver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/12\/01\/judaica-in-metro-vancouver\/","title":{"rendered":"Judaica in Metro Vancouver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among the items featured in Buchan\u2019s Judaica section is a set of six hammered liquor cups on a pomegranate branch from Yair Emanuel, for any Shabbat or holiday table. (photo from facebook.com\/BuchansKerrisdaleStationery<\/a>)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a new menorah or some cool Chanukah gifts over the next few weeks, you\u2019ll want to target your search to three stores that have become the only hotspots for Judaica in the Lower Mainland. Sure, there are items here or there that you can find elsewhere, but not with much selection. And, you can shop online, but the problem with click-and-purchase is you don\u2019t get to hold the weight of an object in your hand, to see the real symmetry of a piece from your screen, how it will fit into your home. Here\u2019s where to go if you\u2019re in the market for Jewish objets d\u2019art.<\/p>\n

Buchan\u2019s Kerrisdale Stationery<\/strong><\/a> sits right next door to Garden City Bakery in Richmond, the Lower Mainland\u2019s number one challah maker. The store has had a small selection of Judaica for several years but, when Inna Vasilyev took ownership a year ago, she decided to up the ante and significantly increase the variety. Vasilyev, who also owns the original Buchan\u2019s Kerrisdale, on West 41st Avenue in Vancouver, aims to please everyone in her product choices. You\u2019ll find 99 cent Chanukah candy, inexpensive wooden dreidels over which small kids can drizzle candle wax, fancy hand-painted dreidels and the plastic ones that disappear into the corners of a house each year. Buchan\u2019s has Chanukah games, gelt, colouring books, tea towels, napkins with Jewish designs and menorot.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Beth Tikvah\u2019s gift store offers several different styles of menorot and a host of other Chanukah gifts, including shaped cookie cutters, games and books. (photo from btikvah.ca\/support\/beth-tikvah-gift-shop<\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe have designer pieces by well-known designers and a good selection of candles, too, from simple ones to deluxe ones that burn for ages and smell beautiful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Vasilyev also stocks non-Chanukah-related Judaica like mezuzot and candlesticks. For shoppers averse to crossing the bridge into Vancouver (or into Richmond), this accommodating store owner will transfer product between the stores to make life more convenient. She\u2019s in the throes of updating her website and hopes to eventually display all her products on it.<\/p>\n

Also in Richmond is one of the Lower Mainland\u2019s longest-lasting synagogue stores, the gift shop at Beth Tikvah<\/strong><\/a>. Vicki Northy has been the manager and chief volunteer for the past seven years.<\/p>\n

In the hours the office is open, office staff will gladly open the store to shoppers and handle the transactions. Northy buys new products every year, choosing a variety of fun items like bagel spreaders and mensch mugs, functional items like Kiddush cups, candlesticks and challah boards, and Judaica art by well-known artists including Yair Emanuel, Gary Rosenthal, Lily Art, Adi Sidler and Agayof. The store will be open 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 and 10 this year to accommodate Sunday shoppers.<\/p>\n

Olive+Wild<\/strong><\/a>, the gift and home d\u00e9cor store at 4391 Main St., is quite possibly Vancouver\u2019s only retailer selling Judaica. Owners Simon and Bella Zaidel have 18 different menorah designs in stock right now, ranging from menorot that will get your kids excited about Chanukah to artistic beauties in brass, silver and glass.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Olive+Wild has some 18 different menorot from which to choose, as well as Judaica for Shabbat and other Jewish holidays and occasions. (photo from oliveandwild.com\/collections\/judaic<\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe stock Judaica designs by Namb\u00e9, Michael Aram, Yair Emmanuel and Carrol Boyes. And, given the demand, we\u2019ve expanded our collection with various price points to make our products available to all different budgets,\u201d Simon Zaidel said. The store opened last September and the response from the community has been \u201cincredible,\u201d he added. \u201cSince Temple Sholom\u2019s gift store closed down, there\u2019s a limited availability of Judaica in Vancouver,\u201d he noted. \u201cWe carry Kiddush cups, Shabbat candles, tzedakah boxes, Havdalah sets, challah covers and boards, kippot, tallises, mezuzahs, hamsas and Judaic jewelry, most of the products made in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the sugar-rush from the combination of Chanukah gelt and sufganiyot has worn off and the aroma of frying latkes is leaving your kitchen, you\u2019ll want to begin \u201cthe Great Menorah Cleanup.\u201d If there\u2019s candle wax on your glass surface, it\u2019s a relatively easy job involving a dollar store scraper and a hairdryer to melt any stubborn excess wax. Candle wax on silver candlesticks can be harder to eliminate without scratching your metal. Experts suggest placing your candlestick holder or menorah in the freezer for at least 20 minutes and then using your fingernails to flick off the frozen wax. A cotton ball with silver polish or rubbing alcohol can also be a useful resource to swap the area until it\u2019s clean.<\/p>\n

Lauren Kramer<\/strong>, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond. To read her work online, visit laurenkramer.net<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Among the items featured in Buchan\u2019s Judaica section is a set of six hammered liquor cups on a pomegranate branch from Yair Emanuel, for any Shabbat or holiday table. (photo from facebook.com\/BuchansKerrisdaleStationery) If you\u2019re looking for a new menorah or some cool Chanukah gifts over the next few weeks, you\u2019ll want to target your search […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[781],"tags":[1976,7637,2517,6823,6822,5700],"class_list":["post-27092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holidays","tag-beth-tikvah","tag-buchans","tag-chanukah","tag-judaica","tag-olivewild","tag-shabbat"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}