Friday, March 10, 2017

Fair Trade Judaica

Did you know that Dunitz & Company offers a small fair trade Judaica collection? If you are a buyer from a synagogue gift shop you should be logging into our wholesale catalog. If you are looking for you, you should check out our store locator to find a shop near you that carries items from this collection or visit our retail catalog. We're always changing things up, so check back often.
Perhaps you are wondering how a fair trade jewelry company begins selling Judaica? It's really quite simple. It seemed several years ago at the wholesale gift shows, especially in New York, Judaica buyers were determined to find new and different designs for their shops. Each and every season for many years, I'd be asked "Do you have any Judaica?"  And season after season, I'd say no.... I wish I did. And then it dawned on me why not?
For many years Dunitz & Company had been employing crochet artisans and sisters, Barbara and Concepcion. (That's Barbara in the photo!) They were making jewelry components for some of our best selling designs in the 1990s. (Before I'd met them, they crocheted the best hacky sacks you could find in Guatemala.) It made perfect sense for them to crochet yarmulkes too. Our Judaica line was born. Since that time, we've designed several styles in several colors. There definitely was a learning curve. When I first launched the line, we offered kippot in "fashion colors". We learned quickly that the Judaica shops did not want 'coral orange' for Spring and 'burgundy' for Fall.  Since that time, we pared down our offerings to those our client's preferred in more subdued colors. Ivory and black have always been the most popular.  Barbara and Concepcion continue to make are kippot...and crochet jewelry components.
From time to time we design other items for those interested in Judaica. We've created a stunning collection of mezuzah's for inside use comprised of glass beads and ribbons.  Want one for your living room door? You can find them on our website. Several colors are available. We have also launched several designs with the familiar Star of David symbol. One of our favorites, our Star of David Cuff can be found on our retail site.  Perhaps our strongest selling Judaica jewelry has been our necklaces and bracelets featuring Israeli coins and metallic colored glass seed beads. We adore this sophisticated collection and you'll find it in many temple gift shops. We actually offer identical styles comprised of assorted world coins. Order them for your shop... or order them for you. Most of all, we are thankful to have several excellent retail partners for our Judaica - online. Fair Trade Judaica always has an excellent collection of our kippot available for sale. Check out Judaica.com and the Tallis Lady too.-ND