AWID Members Gallery - Sharon Geller Metal

An accomplished product designer, Sharon Geller Metal is known for her ability to express timeless Jewish tradition in a modern vocabulary. A strong design identity runs through her work, melding a simplicity of line, respect for materials and a rejection of the extraneous.

Ms. Metal's design career began in 1972 at the Jewish Museum in New York City, where she studied at the museum's Tobe Pascher Workshop under renowned master silversmith Moshe Zabari. After earning a Masters of Industrial Design degree from Pratt Institute in New York City, Ms. Metal became a founding member of the Association of Women Industrial Designers, promoting the work of some of the most creative and innovative industrial designers working today. A multi-talented designer, Ms. Metal has written and illuminated countless ketubot, worked extensively in book jacket design and the fabrication of theater props for Broadway shows, including "Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera."

In her design work, Ms. Metal displays a practical knowledge of Jewish ritual and strives to conform to standards of Jewish law. Her Hebrew calligraphy is a signature design element in many of her pieces, from ketubot to tallit and tefillin bags, challah covers and ritual hand washing cups.

" As both a trained industrial designer and an Orthodox Jewish woman, I have always strived for a synthesis of use and beauty in both Judaica and product design.

The concept of 'hiddur mitzvah' (enhancing of the performance of a commandment) encourages us to beautify those objects which we use in observance of rituals.

When designing a piece, I first consider what Jewish law requires of the activity and then analyze it in terms of how it is actually used in the contemporary home. My goal is to merge contemporary design principles and common sense to create beautiful works of Judaica."

See Gotham Judaica