My name is Ilona Reifan and I am the owner and the head designer of Ilona Studio.
About me
I should start by saying that I absolutely love my work. The natural colors and patterns always fascinated me. Ever since I can remember, I have been trying to capture the beauty of natural patterns by painting, drawing and sketching. At the age of eight I started to attend an arts school of Kishinev. It wasn’t long before I was interested in making use of materials other than paper and canvas and at the age of eleven I started experimenting with different fabrics.
In the 80’s my family moved to Israel. The move exposed me to the sights of the Holy Land, its history and architecture, it influenced me greatly. My works became more and more inspired by the Jewish traditions. I remember strolling in Jerusalem for days with a camera taking pictures of the streets, buildings and people and then trying to recreate the sights and colors I’ve seen during the day on silk and linen by coloring and dyeing the fabric.
My love of working with fabric directed my career towards becoming a textile designer.
I studied in Department of Textile Design in Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. During my bachelor degree I have gained an extensive knowledge in printing, weaving, knitting and surface design, explored the border between the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional and worked with soft materials, non-woven, fibers, smart cloths, dynamic materials and new geometries. Some of my projects resided in the permanent collections of the textile galleries in Munich and London for a number of years.
After graduation I decided to combine my love of color and interest in the ancient history of Israel with my fabric design capabilities and started working as a tallit designer for a well-known Tallit (praying shawl) producer in Israel. During my work there I have created many of the tallit designs popular today.
About the Studio
In 2003, I established Ilona Studio. My goal was to create a boutique business that specializes in high quality Jewish garments.
My workshop is located in Rishon Le Zion, Israel near the beautiful coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Ilona Studio is a small team of dedicated and talented people where I serve as a head designer.
About our Products
Our specialty is Tallitot. All of our Tallitot are designed and hand made by us here in Israel. We also design and work up a great verity of other textile Judaica products such as challah bread cover, traditional choopa (which became very popular today among Jewish population in US, a kind of “Back to the Roots” thing) etc.. These additional products are custom designed and made to address the specific ideas and requests of our clients.
In designing the garments we draw our inspiration from the breathtaking landscapes and the unique atmosphere of the Holy Land. The combination of natural materials and modern design ideas paired with the ancient garment-making traditions of the Jewish people, contributes to an exclusive hand made product. We pay special attention to the choice of fabrics, colors and techniques to ensure the highest quality of our products and best satisfaction and pleasure of their users.