Photo: Courtesy of Maggi Feldman-Deutsch
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
My name is Maggi Feldman-Deutsch. I’m originally from Upstate NY and I came to Israel three years ago on a MASA program where I volunteered in an Israeli school teaching kids how to speak English. I found love and also got married during the pandemic. Now I live in Jerusalem. I started a custom signage business during the coronavirus pandemic. I was about five months into Aliyah when the pandemic hit. I was scared and nervous, but I decided that with all the free time on my hands I could start my own business, which has always been a dream of mine.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I got my degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Art has always been a part of who I am. I’ve been drawing, sewing, and creating since I was little. It began with fashion, then I moved into home design, and now I focus on making personalized signs, wall décor and gifts. I love all things homey, decorative and Judaica.
What is your specialty?
My specialty is taking my clients ideas and bringing them life. My business is 100% customizable from start to finish. I work to get the design you want, on the product you want it on! I use a combination of illustrator and procreate to bring my designs to life and to send mock ups to all my clients. We work back and forth until the design is perfect. I mainly sell custom signs. My door signs are the most popular! I also make so many fun quotes and graphics that can be framed and hung as wall art.
How and where do you work?
I’m so grateful to say I work from my home in Jerusalem. I’m based in Baka in an English-speaking neighbourhood. I have a cute little studio in our spare bedroom. It’s full of so many types of crafts and art supplies!
What is the most indispensable item in your studio?
My Cricut Machine! I use a Cricut Machine to make most of my designs come to life. It cuts so many different materials and I brought the machine with me when I made Aliyah. I won the machine in a competition in college and I always knew it was going to serve me at some point. Bringing the machine to Israel was the best decision I ever made! I mainly work with a material called adhesive vinyl. Most people in Israel are not using this to make their designs which I think is unique. The material is cut, pasted, and sealed onto any surface you can think of! The machine is so versatile which makes my business versatile as well!
Where do you take your inspiration? Are you pursuing any themes?
I take inspiration from all around me. I’m so inspired by all the amazing Jewish artists in and outside of Israel. I also LOVE Pinterest! I usually ask clients to send me a Pinterest board so we can get inspired together. If I had a theme, it would be combining trendy Pinterest themes and putting a Judaica twist on them. I love making signs in Hebrew, using Ivy leaves, or Jerusalem skylines.
What projects are you currently working on?
Currently I am making a wedding gift for a client’s brother who had a Covid wedding! She wants the gift to be extra special because she couldn’t be there on his wedding day. I’m here to make sure we create the most meaningful wedding gift possible. We are creating a personalized tray that will be a staple piece for the house, specifically in the lounge area where tea will be served. This will be a special piece they’ll have forever and friends will admire when they come to their home. It’s going to be a line drawing from a picture of them on their wedding day with their family name. I’ll be using methods of digital drawing, machine cutting, and painting. I’m so excited to share the end result!!
What is or are your favourite items in your current collection?
This is hard!! As I work completely custom, I am making new signs every day. I have a few signs that are reoccurring. I’ve been making family name signs that are hand painted with a floral wreath. I haven’t named this design yet, but I’ve sold a bunch of them!
How do you know when a piece is finished?
Once we have the mock-up ready to go and client says yes, I’m really excited to bring it to life. Once the item is done and it matches the mock-up exactly, I know I’m finished! The last step of my process is to seal all designs with polycrylic or modge podge. That’s when I know it’s finally done!
What was the first artwork you ever sold?
My first piece wasn’t just artwork. I also do custom window signage. My first gig was a BIG one! I designed the front windows of a makeup store called Devorah Cosmetics. Though they sadly shut down due to Covid, it was a great experience for me. After that, I made a menu for Craft Pizza Jerusalem. That came out amazing! I used my graphic design skills and used my Cricut machine to bring the design to life. The menu is still there and it looks so great on the wall.
Which project have you enjoyed working on the most so far?
I think my favorite project was making a custom proposal sign. It was a great feeling to help a couple get engaged. My designs are completely custom and they can say anything! I added flowers around the sign and the kala was so surprised. She loved her sign so much that she now has it hung in her home. It was fun being a part of an engagement process.
What do you want to achieve with your work and what are your wishes for the future?
My wish is that I get to do more events. I make all kinds of custom designs. Personalized Mugs, wine glasses, coasters, wedding signs, cocktails signs, welcome signs, party signs etc. I’d like to do more weddings and engagements. I’m also working on an online shop which I hope to be successful. There will be options to customise my designs with family names. Lastly, I hope to increase my social media audience and online presence this year. It means a lot to me to have people who support my business and love watching me create!
Where can we find your work?
I recently launched a website where you can many of my custom pieces and you can learn even more about what I do. My website is www.Madebymaggi.co
I do lots of business through Instagram. My Instagram is really fun to follow because I post all kinds of fun crafting videos and you can see my process and how I create my artwork there. My Instagram is www.instagram.com/madebymaggi
Last is my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/madebymaggi13. Mostly everything that I post to Instagram also gets posted to my Facebook page. Facebook has been great for me as I’ve been able to post into big Facebook groups such as Secret Jerusalem. It’s an amazing way to grow your audience.
Photos: Courtesy of Maggi Feldman-Deutsch
