ORBIS city intelligence
Jerusalem Buyer's Guide — Buy Ceramic, Silver, and Books by Name
Jerusalem's reputation can make a painted plate feel like proof. Reverse that order. Establish which house painted, silvered, embroidered or stocked the object, and on which street, before allowing the city story to deepen the purchase.
Tiles: three workshops, three names
At Balian Armenian Ceramics of Jerusalem on 75 Nablus Road, at Jerusalem Pottery on 3 Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Street, and at Garo Sandrouni on 87 Armenian Patriarchate Road, the object is a hand-painted tile, plate or vessel whose painter can be named. The sibling cards Balian — Armenian Ceramics, Karakashian — Jerusalem Pottery and Sandrouni — Armenian Ceramics are the same three houses.
Ask which workshop painted the piece, whether the design is a house pattern or a tourist motif, and whether the work was done in this room. Karakashian is the house behind the bilingual street-sign ceramics. Balian is the Nablus Road studio. Sandrouni is the Armenian Quarter room of Garo and Sonia. Do not let "Armenian ceramics" stand in for a maker. The Karakashian card still says Via Dolorosa. Confirm the Patriarchate street before you walk. The Sandrouni card still says New Gate. Confirm Armenian Patriarchate 87.
Hold a house pattern and a tourist motif in the same size. The difference is line, reverse, and whether the painter will put a name on the work. If you are commissioning a mural or a backsplash, write the room, the tile count, the delivery date, and the packing. A tile bought because the alley was pretty is not a commission.
A coloured glass vase filed under Hebron Glass (Natsheh Glass & Ceramic Factory) is a Hebron object. The factory sits at Ras al-Jora, at the northern entrance of that town. An olive-wood nativity filed under Bethlehem Star Olive Wood Factory is a Bethlehem object, on Old Caritas Hospital Street. Neither is a Jerusalem walk-in.
Silver: metal and method
Write sterling or plate, size, engraving, and date. If those four words cannot be said, the piece is a souvenir with better lighting.
Books: buy the stock, not the table
Educational Bookshop at 19 Salah Eddin Street stocks Arabic and English books on Palestine, Israel and the region. Pomeranz Bookseller at 5 Be'eri Street stocks English-language Jewish religious texts, fiction and academic work. Sefer ve Sefel at 2 Yavetz Street is the secondhand English room. Koren Publishers Shop at 10 Ein Gedi Street, Talpiot, is the publisher's own shop for siddurim and Tanakh editions. Name the subject, the text, the author or the edition before you pay.
Steimatzky Jerusalem at 33 Jaffa Street is a chain door. Use it for a Hebrew bestseller. Do not let it replace the four houses.
Embroidery, spice, paper, perfume
Sunbula — House of Palestinian Crafts at 15 Nablus Road, Sheikh Jarrah, sells tatreez and other crafts from partner cooperatives. Ask which group made the piece and which stitch. The house is explicit that it does not embroider in-house. That is the useful fact.
Sea of Herbs on Al-Attarin Street in the Old City spice market sells za'atar and blends from a named stall. No house number is published. Ask the blend and the grind. Buy a bag you will use.
Yad LaKashish Gift Shop at 14 Shivtei Israel Street sells jewelry, textiles, Judaica, paper and toys made in the next room by older artisans. Ask which workshop. Do not confuse it with Jerusalem Toy Workshop, whose last checkable wooden-toy street is a different shop at 13 HaZfira, or with Toys R Us Jerusalem at Malha.
Perfuniq (Mahane Yehuda Perfumes) is a custom blender attached to the Mahane Yehuda walk. The official Jerusalem line is 12 Ben Sira Street, marked under construction. Ask whether they are receiving. Do not invent a stall number.
Bread and the mall door
Ne'eman Bakery at 34 Jaffa Street is one official city-centre door of a 64-branch chain. Buy bread you will eat today. It is not a workshop.
Castro Jerusalem, Fox Jerusalem, iDigital Jerusalem, Samsung Store Jerusalem and Toys R Us share Malha Mall at 1 Derech Agudat Sport Beitar. Fox Home Jerusalem, Laline Jerusalem, Bug Jerusalem and Renuar Jerusalem have sourced Mamilla-edge units. Home Center Jerusalem is at 9 Hauman, Talpiot. KSP Jerusalem is at 17 Hauman. Opticana Jerusalem is at 23 King George. They are useful if you already know the brand. They are not the identity of this page.
The eight former unsigned brand cards now have last streets. Treat them as pointers, not as Jerusalem workshops. Clinique Jerusalem is official Zahav Mall, 21 David Saharov, Rishon. Maskit Jerusalem is official 14 Hatzorfim, Jaffa. Moroccanoil Jerusalem is official 1 Moshe Levi, Rishon. Home Boutique Jerusalem is official Topaz Street, Ashkelon. Macadamia Jerusalem is brand HQ at 5850 Granite Parkway, Plano. Lavido Jerusalem is a published stockist at 33 King George, Or LaTeva, not a brand shop. Aldo Stationery Jerusalem is official shoes at Hadar Mall, 26 Pierre Koenig. Do not invent a mall pin for any of them.
The written test
Before you pay, write four lines: house, street, method, care or edition. A Balian tile should carry Balian and 75 Nablus. A Karakashian plate should carry Karakashian and the Patriarchate street. A Sandrouni bowl should carry Sandrouni and 87 Armenian Patriarchate. A Shevach cup should carry filigree and Mamilla 16. A Nadav menorah should carry silver or aluminum and 18 Shlomzion Hamalka. A Sunbula panel should carry the cooperative. A book should carry the shop that stocked it. A za'atar bag should carry Sea of Herbs and Al-Attarin.
If those lines cannot be written, leave the object. Jerusalem will sell you another copy of the city before lunch. The workshop will still be there if you come back with the right question.