{"id":34438,"date":"2020-03-13T03:41:13","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T10:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=34438"},"modified":"2020-03-12T17:01:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T00:01:21","slug":"israels-quirky-design-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2020\/03\/13\/israels-quirky-design-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s quirky design house"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peleg Design\u2019s Magnetic Vase is a bestseller. (photo from Peleg Designs)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

From optical illusion flower vases to playful elephant-shaped cutlery drainers, Shahar Peleg wants his products to bring his customers joy, but first and foremost to fulfil a need in their home.<\/p>\n

How does he figure out what those needs are? \u201cSome of the ideas came to us while daydreaming, some in the shower, some we woke up with and some just came to us by email,\u201d reads the website\u2019s Suggest an Idea section.<\/p>\n

People from all over the world reach out, the designer and founder of the brand told Israel21c. \u201cOnce in awhile, we get a great idea and we pay royalties to the designers or inventors,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s really amazing because a lot of people have a lot of ideas.\u201d For example, the Bag Bunny, a magnetic rabbit-shaped tool for easily opening plastic packaging, was inspired by a customer suggestion.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Shahar Peleg wants his products to bring his customers joy, but first and foremost to fulfil a need in their home. (photo from Facebook)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Founded in 2005 and based in Tel Aviv, Peleg Design\u2019s online store offers around 100 unique products that stem from everyday needs, each with quirks, twists or optical illusions that Peleg describes as \u201cmagical.\u201d Nothing, he said, is what it seems.<\/p>\n

The product that kicked off the company\u2019s success was a vase Peleg designed for his own wedding in 2005. These \u201cfloating\u201d vases are anchored by magnetic bases hidden underneath the tablecloth. To this day, the vase set is one of Peleg Design\u2019s bestsellers. \u201cIt was a huge hit,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what really began to generate business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another universal problem Peleg wanted to solve was grime building up at the bottom of a cutlery drainer. His answer was Jumbo, an elephant-shaped cutlery holder that drains water out of its trunk, directly into the sink.<\/p>\n

Peleg said function is key, and design secondary, to usefulness. But, still, he hopes his customers will fall in love with his \u201ccute\u201d designs.<\/p>\n

His newest item, the Egguins, is an example of that cuteness. The penguin-shaped eggholder is not only visually amusing, but makes it easy to remove eggs from boiling water and store them in the fridge. One comment on Peleg Design\u2019s Instagram page calls the item \u201cthe best thing since sliced bread.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of Peleg\u2019s products are made from plastic but they are meant to last. Sensitive to environmental issues, he explained that he wants his customers to develop an emotional connection to the items and use them for as long as possible before discarding them.<\/p>\n

Passion and profession<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up, Peleg dreamed of being an astronaut, but he would eventually find his passion in a different form of exploration: design.<\/p>\n

Peleg studied interior design at the Holon Institute of Design. A class project made him realize he had an eye for creating quirky but useful knick-knacks. He had made a wine-bottle holder that seemed to defy gravity. He was able to sell a few even before graduating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started from selling one product in two or three stores in Tel Aviv,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s now become both my passion and my profession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
The Jumbo cutlery holder drains into the sink straight away. (photo from Peleg Designs)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What began as a one-man show has expanded to more than 30 countries, including the United States, Japan, Peru, France and South Korea. Some designs can even be found at the gift shop of the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art\u2019s gift shop in New York City, where the Magnetic Vase is one of its bestselling items.<\/p>\n

Peleg explained that his products are available in most major economies, excluding those that have no political relations with Israel. He hopes one day that will change, and he says so to the businesspeople he meets from countries like Iran and Kuwait.<\/p>\n

Every now and then, Peleg receives an email from an Israeli customer, with a photo of his Magnetic Vase on a shelf in the MOMA gift shop. They are so happy to see an Israeli designer\u2019s product among some of the world\u2019s best, he said, noting, \u201cThat makes me proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, visit peleg-design.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Israel21c<\/strong> is a nonprofit educational foundation with a mission to focus media and public attention on the 21st-century Israel that exists beyond the conflict. For more, or to donate, visit israel21c.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peleg Design\u2019s Magnetic Vase is a bestseller. (photo from Peleg Designs) From optical illusion flower vases to playful elephant-shaped cutlery drainers, Shahar Peleg wants his products to bring his customers joy, but first and foremost to fulfil a need in their home. How does he figure out what those needs are? \u201cSome of the ideas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2466,8741,9769,4330,9768],"class_list":["post-34438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-art","tag-design","tag-functional-art","tag-israel","tag-shahar-peleg"],"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\/34438","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=34438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}