Marilyn Ambach

Fabric & Form – Fashion and Israeli art

March 15, 2013June 4, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Being from Antwerp, I must have been born with a sense of fashion, style and design. Being a blogger, it was about time for some fashion. Of course there will be a broad Antwerp Fashion post by Josephine, but today is about the Tel Aviv scene. And not to be underestimated. Yes the country is barely 65 years old, yes we still have a lot to learn and yes I could go on about all we are lacking in the field of fashion and style. But I’d rather share the good news and focus on those pioneers paving the way for the Israeli fashion, design & art industry. Thursday night was the opening event for “Fabric & Form: Fashion & Art exploration” – the Cutting Edge of Israeli Fashion, Art & Design initiated by TLVStyle. The first ever 3-day interactive and creative journey into the world of Israeli designers and artists. The event opened for the Tel Aviv Arts Council community with an exclusive gala at the historical and charming Lili&Bloom. An audience eager to discover the intricacies of Israel’s fashion world and get up close and personal with Israeli designers, artists, stylists, and bloggers. The curators (Galit Reismann, Deborah Shahar and Rei Dishon) are exploring the relationship between the garment as an art and the art as a garment.

During the weekend (Friday from 10am & Saturday till 09pm) Lili & Bloom will be open to the public, free of charge, for a celebration of Art, Fashion and Tel Aviv’s urban style. The collective of designers includes 10 fashion accessories designers and 6 fashion designers: Northern Star by Nadav Rosenberg, Adam Gefen, Michal Basaad, Maria Berman, FROG by Einat Burg, Daniella Gelfer, Tamar Branitzky, Inbar Shahak, Sailor by Efrat Shahar, Avital Coorsh, Sharon Vaizer, Osnat Har-noy, Liza Arjuan, Michal Ben Ami, Toosh JUDTLV and Studio SFOG. Among the artists: Danit Peleg, Katerina Nevler, Gidi Smilansky, Hadas Malin, Ben Gal, Eleonore Millstein, Jonathan Goldman and Signor Gi.

All photos taken with Canon EOS M

Judaism · Tel Aviv

Purim Parties

February 25, 2013June 4, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays of the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a clash of civilizations, a time where the Jews in the ancient Persian empire were saved from extermination. The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther (the Megillah, meaning the scroll containing the biblical narrative) in which Haman, royal vizier to King Ahasueros, planned to kill all Jews. Thanks to Esther and her step-dad Mordecai, the plans were foiled. The word “Purim” means “lots” and refers to the lottery that Haman used to chose the date for the massacre. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing.

During Purim, it is customary to hold carnival-like celebrations, to perform plays and parodies. Americans sometimes refer to Purim as the Jewish Mardi Gras. For Europe it’s Carnaval. According to the Talmud, a person is required to drink until he cannot tell the difference between “cursed be Haman” and “blessed be Mordecai,” though opinions differ as to exactly how drunk that is. There are a few explanations to the origin of the tradition of disguise. One of them is Venahafoch Hu, meaning ‘the opposite happened’. The light atmosphere of Purim gave rise to an abundance of jokes, clowning and humor, based on the Megillah’s words Venahafoch Hu. Another explanation is God hiding his identity in the Megillah of Esther. Or it is a tribute to Mordecai dressing up as the King to save Esther. Also, since charity (Mishloach Manot) is a central feature during Purim, it allows the givers greater anonymity which preserves the dignity of the recipient. Or as Yoram Ettinger writes: “Purim is the holiday of contradictions as well as tenacity-driven-optimism: annihilation replaced by deliverance; Esther’s concealment of her Jewish identity replaced by the disclosure of her national/religious identity; Haman’s intended genocide of the Jews replaced by his own demise; Haman replaced by Mordecai as the chief adviser to the king; national and personal pessimism replaced by optimism.”

In Tel Aviv, Purim means 4 days of parties; and for everyone, including babies, pets and even statues. Here are just a few of the events of the last weekend:

“Crazy Purim Party” with YoYO deejays Mark RonsonSeb Chew, Leo G.@ HaOman17

photo by N8n

“Superfly” party @Hangar11 Federation Hall

photos by Yaki Zimmerman

Morfium-Mendelimos-Rubi party @ Hangar11

photo by Eyal Marilus

Purim weekend on Rothschild Street

photos by Marilyn – Canon EOS M

the annual Tel Aviv Purim Street Party

photo by Adi Ezra 2012

Food, drinks & great vinyl – Friday afternoon @ Port Said

photos by Marilyn – Canon EOS M

Music · Tel Aviv

theAngelcy – cry on our shoulders

February 14, 2013June 4, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Time for a musical discovery. While recently watching “Not in Tel Aviv” by Nony Geffen (full post about the film following soon) I fell in love with a song called Giant Heart by Rotem Bar Or. Rotem is a musical emperor leading a 6-headed band called theAngelcy. He started playing guitar to impress girls, so did Leonard Cohen. The band is in the starting-blocks of a promising international career. Their first single Dreamer was an unscheduled-overnight-radio-hit and with barely two years of performances throughout Israel, they have conquered our souls and acquired a devoted following.

On Tuesday, 12-02-2012, they performed at the Tel Aviv Barby for over 700 people. It was the last show before their maternity leave, the recording of their first album. On stage, Rotem knows how to interact with his audience and keep them hooked. His songs are mostly about love but his lyrics can be violent, cruel and even sadistic. Despite prophetic loneliness and emptiness, the audience feels comforted by the music. What would Freud say about the ambiguity of those figures he sings about: the motherlover, the baby boy, the fighter, the rebel angels, the big bad wolf… It was a delight to see this eclectic-folk band live on stage, they have sweet stage dynamics and a good instrumental balance. The show ended with Rotem’s solo version of a new song called ‘Secret Room’…which just left us all yearning for more…

For optimal listening experience: 1. start with Giant Heart if you feel hooked, it’s ok, you may use the repeat1 button 2. then listen to Dreamer (also on repeat1 if needed) 3. by then you’ll probably have bought the EP “Beginner’s love” and will subscribe to all their channels to stay tuned for more: Facebook Bandcamp YouTube MySpace

all photos © Marilyn Ambach – thanks to Canon EOS M

Antwerp · Photography · Tel Aviv

Best of both worlds

February 7, 2013June 4, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

One of my favorite things about morning errands in Tel Aviv is what one sees along the way. With my music* and my camera** I walk around town and I observe, think, compare and analyze. I often look in contrasts. Antwerp vs Tel Aviv. Europe vs the Middle East. But, what is the Middle East and what defines it? I could write a full post about Israel’s geography: which continent are we? Asia. Then why do we participate in the Eurovision? Oh here I’m deviating from my subject, let’s just call it Mediterranean for now and let’s go back to comparing the two cities I know best.

Israel has always been technologically advanced – they had cellphones here before we even knew about them, remember those dinosaurs – and was already a free-WiFi-friendly place. The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality Finance Committee has recently approved a 1,5 million $ budget for a city WiFi Network that will be spread in parks, city shores, main streets and commercial centers (on top of cafes, restaurants and bars and my favorite: the airport).

Another great thing is the 75% discount the city’s residents get on various well-located parking lots. The city also makes sure to keep the city green and often involves citizens in their opinion about the design for certain parks, sidewalks and fountains. And how about getting around town in the monit Sherut? And all those 24/7 restaurants, going from breakfast at Benedict till burgers at Moses at any given time of the day. And the delicious cappuccino (hafuch). And if you like dogs, it’s a dog friendly city too. Between gay beach and the orthodox beach there is a dog beach. Also, besides having the ugly usual graffiti, there are some incredibly talented anonymous artists doing street art.

So let’s teach and learn from each other. Tel Aviv should urgently start separating trash, fining honking vehicles, french shower the smelly street cats, improve the supermarkets, get decent bike lanes and what not. Bekitsur, (in short) best of both worlds (and one of Robert Palmer’s best songs)

*currently listening to an Israeli band called theAngelcy – remember their name, it will live forever **yes I have just replaced my broken iPod touch with a Canon EOS M, Generation M(arilyn). Yes it was named after me. Aren’t you wondering how I took this picture then ->

Architecture · History · Lifestyle · Photography · Restaurants · Tel Aviv

Tel-a-visitor

January 23, 2013June 4, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Sometimes I want to write about Tel Aviv. Sometimes I just want to show it to you. Christina Marien is a big fan of Tel Aviv , a loyal visitor, a returning customer. Luckily she always has her camera with her. Proud to introduce her as our guest photographer for this post. Here are some random TLV pictures. Thanks Christina.

Lilienblum Street

Brasserie Top class French food open 24/7 – Ibn Gvirol Street

Coffee & Snacks on Rothschild corner Maze

Coffee & Snacks on Rothschild corner Herzl (oldest kiosk)

A common sight, wedding photos on Rothschild Boulevard

Delicatessen Yehuda Halevy Street 79/81

Sunset happens everyday

Another common sight in Tel Aviv: hot guys

Fresh fruit juice on Shenkin Street

Israel has the best watermelons in the world

Habima Theater

Joselito

Famous Dizengoff Square Fountain by Yaakov Agam

Tel-O-Fun

Crafting · DIY · Knitting · Lifestyle · Tutorial

Winters are more fun with Life on Mars

January 17, 2013June 4, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Have you ever given up something or someone and replaced it by something much better? You’re talking about your last boyfriend? I’m talking about trading cigarettes for knitting needles. One of my best decisions ever. I quit smoking in October 2010 while on tour with Leonard Cohen in Poland and taught myself how to knit. Being a Gemini, I may be an autodidact but patience is not my strongest asset. I spent hours pausing and playing YouTube tutorials and after a few disastrous pieces of holed rags I made my first scarf.

And then, slowly but surely I started learning more about the wonderful world of knitting. There’s so much to discover about yarn, fibers, needles, techniques, stores etc. Then came the “Life on Mars” labels. Mars is my nickname since childhood, didn’t choose it, never really liked it but as it’s here to stay, why not use it well, right? I mostly knit scarves but I also love to adventure myself in new projects: socks, cowls, dolls, pillows and lately sweaters. My favorite yarn is Worsted Cotton by Blue Sky Alpacas and my favorite stitch is the brioche stitch (tutorial on Newstitchaday)

Knitting is much more than just a craft. A creative process in which every step can be delightful: from thinking and cooking the idea in your head, to finding the right yarn, feeling the fibers, imagining the colors, the actual knitting and until the final result. There’s great satisfaction when you wear your handmade creation or see someone else with it. Is there any sexier gift for your man than a handmade scarf around his neck? Lately, and when my real-job-working-schedule allows it, “Life on Mars” has been expanding to sewing creations like pouches and other accessories. Those items and some of the scarves below are still for sale, contact me for purchase inquiries (or for knitting advice).

I believe there’s also a deeper lever and power to knitting; call it therapy, meditation, whatever. Waiting becomes a different experience, meaning less stress and more zen. While others get nervous standing in lines, you go like “Yesh, I have that much time to do that many lines and finish this or that project”. The repetitive movements and the sound of those bamboo needles rock me into the utmost comfortable well-being.

Shalom… or to my Flemish readers (doe je) Sjaalom…

Food · Lifestyle · Tel Aviv · Uncategorized

Ottolenghi – food for thought

January 10, 2013June 4, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

In Flemish they say ‘Liefde gaat door de maag’ – literally translated ‘Love goes through the stomach’ – and yes you can cook your way into capturing love. Wintertime is cocooning time and that means time for new culinary challenges. As Israel’s population consists of 76% Jewish people, Christmas is not as widely celebrated as in the rest of the world. While recently traveling to New York and London, I kept seeing that same cookbook in shops and homes called Jerusalem, without giving it too much attention; until I got my own copy as a Christmas gift.

Yotam Ottolenghi is a culinary star in London, overseeing four restaurants, writing vegetarian columns for The Guardian and a familiar face on BBC tv. Born in Israel not long after the 1967 war, Ottolenghi grew up in Jewish West Jerusalem. After some time in Tel Aviv, he moved to London, took a cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu without any intention for professional cooking; and there he met his later-to-be business partner and co-chef Sami Tamimi. Tamimi grew up in the Muslim neighborhoods of East Jerusalem around the same time. What are the odds: a Jewish Israeli from West Jerusalem, an Israeli Arab from East Jerusalem, meeting in the UK, sharing a passion for the same food despite cultural dissimilarities and together manage to successfully create their own brand of Meditteranean based cuisine. Ottolenghi and Tamimi’s story is inspiring; a sign of hope and a symbol for peace.

Jerusalem: A Cookbook is their third book and was already a bestseller before it even came out. I wanted to prepare diner with a few typical Middle Eastern for my Belgian guests. So we started the preparations: it can begin with sewing your own apron first (yes maybe I’ll post a tutorial for it one day) but let’s stick to shopping for this one. We went out to the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv, where they have the best fruit & vegetables at the best prices. We also got some spices, tea and herbs like Za’atar (Hyssup), Cinnamon, Cumin and Curcuma (Turmeric). In the little streets of the Shuk (market in Hebrew) one can find great food spots for authentic Hummus, Tehina & Shakshuka like at Shlomo & Doron, to cement the stomach. And then it was time to cook; out of 120 recipes in the book I picked a few: I made roasted cauliflower & hazelnut salad (replacing some of the ingredients to my own taste). Then we had stuffed aubergines with lamb & pine nuts (I used minced beef meat instead) with Mejadra (ancient dish with rice, lentils and fried onion). I also added a plain sweet potato puree and some avocado salad. And some fruit for dessert. בתאבון – شهية طيبة

Maybe one day, peace in the world will come through the stomach too…

Press

Blog of the Month on Elle Magazine Belgium

January 7, 2013June 4, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

We are very proud to be “blog of the month” for Belgian’s most read fashion & lifestyle magazine! Check it out here!

Music · Tel Aviv · Uncategorized

De Standaard Magazine

December 29, 2012June 5, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Food · History · Judaism · Tel Aviv

Hanukkah, a festival of lights

December 13, 2012June 5, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Every night, we light the candles of the Hanukiah to commemorate and celebrate the miracle of Light: the Jews only had enough oil to create light for one night, but the miracle made it last for 8 days…

Jewish family spirit, Tel Aviv December 2012 – photo by Sharon Erde www.twitter.com/sharonerde

Being a secular Jew doesn’t mean I don’t honor values and follow rituals of the Jewish holidays. Families always gather around a big food table. Family & food. Celebrating the miracle of oil also means eating fried food. While some of us yearn for Sufganyot (they’re like doughnuts and come in various shapes, colors and with many different fillings); some rather eat Latkes (Yiddish word) or Levivot (Hebrew word) which are a kind of potato pancake. Here’s my favorite recipe for you to try at home – thank you Ameloush and thank you Doda Anny from Belgium…

Ingredients:

5 potatoes (big red ones preferably)
1 onion
2 eggs
3 tablespoons self-rising flour
salt, pepper and white pepper
canola oil to fry in

Preparation:

1. Heat +/- 1 to 2 cm of canola oil until boiling and ready to fry
2. Meanwhile, start peeling and grating the potatoes (feel your muscles?)
3. With your hands, squeeze out all the water from the potatoes (very important!)
4. Add the shredded onion, eggs, flour, salt&pepper and mix with a spoon or with your hands
5. Make flat round shapes with your hand/spoon and fry till golden brown 6.Before serving, make sure you use a lot of paper roll to remove as much oil as possible.
7. Bete’avon, you can eat your latkes with sugar, mustard or whatever other weird family ritual you have.

Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah Song, part. 1; there’s also part 2 & 3 if you want more…

Lyrics:

“Put on your Yamakkah, here comes Hanukkah… so much fun-Hakka to celebrate Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the festival of lights… instead of one day of presents, we get eight crazy nights. When you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree, here’s a list of people who are Jewish, just like you and me.

David Lee Roth lights the Menorah, So do James Caan, Kirk Douglas, and the late Dinah Shore-ah. Guess who eats together at the Carnegie deli, Bowzer from Sha-na-na, and Arthur Fonzerrelli. Paul Newman’s half Jewish; Goldie Hawn’ss half too, Put them together–what a fine lookin’ Jew. You don’t need deck the halls or jingle bell rock, cause you can spin the dreidl with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock-both Jewish!

Put on your Yamakkah, it’s time for Hanukkah… The owner of the Seattle Super Sonic-ahs celebrates Hanukkah. O.j. Simpson- not a Jew… But guess who is…hall of famer Rod Carew-he converted! We got Ann Landers and her sister dear Abby, Harrison fords a quarter Jewish-not too shabby! Some people think that Ebenezer Scrooge is, Well, he’s not, but guess who is: all three Stooges.

So many Jews are in show business… Tom cruise isn’t,but I heard his agent is. Tell your friend veronica, it’s time you celebrate Hanukkah…I hope I get a harmonica, on this lovely, lovely Hanukkah. So drink your gin-and-tonic-ah, and smoke your mara-juanic-ah… If you really, really wanna-kah, have a happy, happy, happy, happy
Hanukkah! Happy Hanukkah!”

Happy Hanukkah…may the light shine… in and around you….

General · History · Lifestyle · Tel Aviv · Uncategorized

Tel Aviv Alive & Kickin’

December 6, 2012June 5, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Let’s start this post with a little note to my fellow Belgians or should I say Europeans. I wouldn’t be discussing the recent tensions in the Middle East as this is certainly not a political blog. But as apparently everyone seems to own the conflict, I guess I do have a say. Maybe the media are the first to blame as they should stand for “impartial” and “objective” reporting? At university they taught us the media is the watchdog of democracy. Not what I see when I watch Belgian news about Israel. And as for the people’s opinion: maybe I wouldn’t know better either if I’d just watch your news and read your newspapers. But at least I won’t feel I have the right to preach, convince nor judge. I live in Tel Aviv since six years and I still feel I have no right to judge. Because I do not know war. I did not grow up with terror. I did not go to the army. So why do Europeans feel they have the right to? Most of them have probably never even been in Israel. Yes I’m bothered with that hypocritical solidarity. That being said; my blog is about my life, my life in Tel Aviv, both as a stranger and an insider. And I decide to focus on the bright side of it, the creative, the stimulating, the talent; what makes us wake up in the morning and smile. And I can tell you this: Tel Aviv is alive and kickin’. Towers still grow like mushrooms, people going to the beach, party in clubs, eat and drink 24/7, real estate is still unaffordable, there is still no parking and too much traffic, three new boutique hotels just opened around my corner, and the sun still shines…

All photos by me & my broken Ipod touch – maybe soon I’ll get a real camera…

Life is good @ Delicatessen: my Filofax, the blackberry, some sun, a knitting project and a “hafuch” or two or three Old versus New on Mazeh Street

Old versus New on Mazeh street

New boutique hotel Alma

Yarn Bombing on Nahlat Binyamin Street

TLV view from Jaffa

Electric art on Pines Street, Neve Tzedek

Sunset at Fortuna Del Mar @ Tel Aviv Marina

Kalisher Street

Sunset at Topsea Beach

Super Jew is Coming soon – Drawing by Julien Roux

General · History · Lifestyle · Tel Aviv

Lady Godiva in Tel Aviv

November 4, 2012June 5, 2013 by Marilyn Ambach

Thank you Theodor Herzl for having created Israel in Israel. Did you know that here we have 300 days of blue skies a year? It’s fall and we reach the 30°. Yes, that is a big deal for a Belgian. And no, I’m not only here for the good weather. What is it that makes this country so special? Why do people leave behind their good lives in far away countries to start over here? It’s loud, it’s chaotic; life can be rough and tough. Welcome to the jungle? It’ll take more than this post to explain the phenomenon and many have tried. Books have been written about the success story of this tiny little country, like this one: Start-up Nation. The book addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel – a country only 60+ years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources—produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? How is it that Israel has, per person, attracted over twice as much venture capital investment as the US and thirty times more than Europe?

In Israel there are about 7 million inhabitants of which 76% are Jews, 16% Muslims and about 2% Christians, Druze and other religions. Tel Aviv has around 400,000 residents of which half are under the age of 35. How does such a young country create its identity? I can only share with you my perspective. Who are we and who do we want to be? We Wonder, We Wander. Tel Aviv has European and American influences yet is it is Middle-Eastern and Meditteranean. The population consists of immigrants from all over. Ashkenazis, Sefardim, so many roots and cultures mixing in. On a sociological level, many try to define that Israeliness. What is typical Israeli? What does “Rak be’Israel” (only in Israel) really mean? By locals is it mostly used for the bad side; I’m all about balancing it up.

Why is it so difficult to just stand in line here? Because we are ‘The Chosen People’? Why do cars need to honk all the time? What’s with the Chutzpe? Israel. The only country with Katiushes coming from Lebanon, Scuds from Irak, bombshells from Syria, Suicide bombers from Gaza but a bedroom apartment in a dump building is more expensive than in Paris, London or NYC. The only country in which we can build computer programs to fly drones and high technology, but to get a technician for the tv we wait a week and he might show up between 11 and 6. Israel Post. Packages I send/receive in the mail hardly ever arrive. Fed Ex Israel does not deliver packages at all. Making aliyah, going to the bank, dealing with bureaucracy definitely confirm the ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ slogan. And why don’t cars let ambulances pass? Some men go to the beach in their underwear; wtf? Politeness, aesthetics, style, finishing are just not always priorities here (yet?). My daily encounter of having to explain to Israelis I’m not French but Belgian. Why give me an english menu while I just spoke Hebrew with the waitress? Maybe I will always be considered a foreigner here. And in my country of origin. Everywhere. But all by all: I’m in love with Tel Aviv and I do feel at home here!

I used to have a little radio item called Lady be Tel Aviv in a show by two journalist friends Attila Somfalvi and Raz Shechnik on 102fm in which we would discuss these ‘Rak Be’Israel’ items. Every week I’d share some experiences like the above . We’d talk about semantics (and how there is no right translation for certain words like stam, titchadesh, bekarov etslech, baktana) or the advantages of dating an ‘olah chadasha’ (no fighting for family diners) with an accent (quite impossible to have a serious fight). Listen to the Purim item (08-03-2011) or live in the studio (25-03-2011).

“Fragments of Tel Aviv” photos by our special guest photographer Kara Bieber from London. Backed by the Anglo Israel Association, Kara is in Tel Aviv undertaking a major photographic project highlighting the very best of creative talents in the country. Aimed at showcasing Israel’s image as a hub of creativity and innovation, the completed body of work will form an exhibition and possibly an accompanying book which will be launched in London in 2013 . Visit Kara’s website – Facebook page