If I heard someone say they’re seeing things where they didn’t exist, depending on who it was, I’d probably either take their temperature or run the other way. But if Marcelle Rosenstrauch told me she was seeing something that wasn’t there, I’d definitely stay put to watch an amazing thing happen.
She is an outstanding artist who creates Jewish gifts from pewter painted with rich, shiny enamels. Her Quest Collection is one of our most popular lines at Traditions Jewish Gifts.
Marcelle has a knack for looking at an ordinary item – a tree, a doorknob, a chandelier, anything – and, in her mind’s eye, she sees a piece of art. Once she has a vision and lets her creativity flow, the results are always stunning. Her pieces might range from whimsical to elegant, ornate to earthy, or intricate to super simple, but they’re always gorgeous.
Marcelle is a native South African who began working in the diamond industry while in her 20s. She moved to the U.S. 30 years ago to keep her sons out of the South African army – a decision she never regretted.
When I first met Marcelle 10 years ago, she told me a story I’ve always remembered. At age 22, she was inspired by the beauty of particular yellow and white chandelier. So she turned around and made herself a ring of yellow and white diamonds that copied the chandelier’s design. Who but a true artist would think of something like that?
These days, Marcelle works from her design studio in Midtown Manhattan with an outstanding design team to create stunning, one-of-a-kind Judaica gifts. She’s always coming up with new design ideas, making them into samples and showing them to her friends and acquaintances to get their reactions. (Is there any better way to do a market survey?) Her menorahs are some of my favorites of the hundreds we sell, and no one tops her variety of dreidels – which is nice to know just before Hanukah.