Barbara's Story
My passion is to artistically present Israel and my Jewish roots in a fresh, creative, and fun way. I love fusing the ancient with the contemporary. I like my ranges to have an international feel, yet with a look that says it could only have been produced in Israel. Some of my greatest influences have been Marimekko of Finland and Ken Donne in Australia.
I grew up in Sydney, Australia and came to Israel in 1986. After searching for gifts and not finding what I wanted I decided to produce my own. I saw a gap in the market for bold, well designed and packaged gifts; items that are practical and beautiful. I started with modest aprons, tote bags and dish towels.
I started the business in 2008 with one seamstress and my son who had just finished school with a line of bold themed kitchen textiles. The line has now expanded to include designs on ceramics, serving-ware, wood, glass, stationary, perspex, baby gifts, a Yiddish line and t shirts.
We now have a very extensive line of products. I work with a large range of designers in Jerusalem specialists in their fields. It gives me a great deal of joy to sell world wide and see people coming back over and again. I do aim to be one of the most innovative Judaica designers in the world.
All products are made ethically in my workshop in Jerusalem. I work with a range of talented designers and artists. Each product has a tale to tell. Our aim is to touch people’s hearts and strike a chord with their heritage and family background. People enter my stores and start smiling, hence my tag line “Gifts that make you smile:)”
I now have two stores in Jerusalem and I also sell to Jewish Museum stores and gift shops world-wide, on-line and on Amazon.
My stores are located at
26 Emek Refaim street in the German Colony phone number is 972 2 5799621
No 1 Shlomzion Ha Malca - Next door to the Interior ministry 0547421815
At Barbara Shaw, my diverse team is committed to excellence on all levels - design, production, fulfillment and customer service. I have a background in Fine Art, Archaeology and Business, which brings flair, design experience and management skills to Barbara Shaw Gifts.
Of late, my youngest son Boaz has joined the company to work on business development. I know he will bring new energy and a sharp head to enable the continued growth of the business.