About
Studio Now is located in Jaffa, inside a beautifully renovated industrial loft that includes a shop, an open studio, and a space for hosting events. The Now brand was founded by ceramic designer and culinary expert Irit Biran and focuses on crafting ceramic tableware and decorative pieces that embody Irit’s love of cooking, entertaining, and aesthetics.
NoW
NoW’s beginning was haphazard. After 20 years of rigorously working as a lawyer and raising 4 kids, I started to feel jaded, and practicing law became harder and harder. I needed a break. I wanted to focus more on my family and myself, so I left the law firm I was working for. I planned to take a year off from my legal career and then return, perhaps with some professional adjustments to restore my enthusiasm. Needless to say, that comeback never happened. With way more free time on my hands, I decided to revisit an old dream of mine — to make ceramic tableware. I was fortunate enough to have Raya Stern — a wonderful potter and tutor — as a first teacher. Raya helped me realize that my story with clay was meant to be. What began as an afternoon a week quickly turned into two, and then into a non–stop practice that necessitated a home workshop. As pottery took over my life, what remained of my interest in the familiar, analytical legal world had waned completely, and I was ready for a change. I started to think of a name for a studio, a name that is disconnected from my previous “self” and yet symbolizes the personal transformation that this new endeavor embodies.
As I began to brand my studio I realized my pottery is inspired by the connection a tableware has with the food being served on it and the people holding the piece or looking at it. This connection makes eating a holistic experience that involves a multitude of senses — taste, smell, touch and even hearing. A connection that embodies nowness, of being immersed in the “here and now”, specifically the sacred ritual of eating and the gatherings it initiates. That’s how NoW as a name came to be, alongside the studio’s slogan of “Hand Made Rituals”. Moreover, I felt the word “now” expressed the personal change I went through and the attachment to my present self. I was off to the races.
Our tableware is completely handmade, one–by–one, and in the traditional methods. Each piece is intimately crafted by a single maker, thus bearing their touch, thoughts, and intentions, and also the surrounding space. These traits eventually become a part of the piece, and so each item by the studio contains a part of me. Our tableware is clean, elegant, and minimalistic, adequate for both daily use and special occasions.
Irit
Studio NoW
Studio Now was founded by Irit Biran in 2015 in Sde Warburg, in the heart of the Sharon. The studio was located right next to Irit’s family home and garden, where the studio’s first events took place — workshops, meals, and also special sales events that combined culinary and cultural experiences.
In 2022, the studio moved to its current location in Jaffa, in an industrial building that was renovated to suit the studio’s needs. The studio was planned and designed by Irit, along with interior designer Keren Offner and architect Moran Palmoni. The space reflects Irit’s aesthetic values of utility, minimalism, and elegance, the very same values embodied in the studio’s items.
The move to Jaffa happened in tandem with a rebrand. During this process, the new space emerged as an independent entity within the Now brand, since the scope of the activities therein is wider than the crafting of tableware. This justified a separate name — Studio Now.
The workshop and its production processes are visible to visitors of the adjacent shop. In our shop, you could see, feel and purchase tableware by Now, alongside various items personally curated by Irit that complement the tableware in creating a holistic entertaining, culinary, and aesthetic experience. The shop is open during the weekdays and it’s the perfect place to find that unique gift to bring joy to yourself or your loved ones.
The studio hosts temporary art exhibitions, accompanied by meetings with artists and various workshops. On the upper floor, the studio’s culinary events will take place. Whether a shared table dinner, workshop, or a festive gathering, these exciting events all relate to food, culture, and human get–togethers and are characteristic of the studio since its establishment.
The Blog
My blog goes hand in hand with the studio since day one. While the switch from a lawyer to a ceramicist might look extreme, many of the qualities I had as a lawyer transferred over to my new chapter as a creative. First and foremost, of course, the creative process itself. Nowadays, it’s tableware, glazes, whole collections, or events; in the past, it was about solving legal challenges. Secondly, writing. As a lawyer, I wrote a great deal of legal documents, so continuing to write in one way or another was a natural decision, perhaps even necessary. I had to let go of the legal writing norms I was accustomed to and move to a more personal, free, and revealing style, which I liked.
And this is how my blog came to be. In it, I share parts of my personal life, thoughts on the design and craft of ceramics, as well as my love of cooking and entertaining. This passion manifests itself through the tableware I make, the events I host at the studio, and also, the recipes I post to the blog from time to time.
The Recipes
I started cooking at a very young age. Cooking to eat, of course, but far from limited to that. Since then, I’ve come to realize that cooking to me is also a creative experience with educating qualities and an outlet for my curiosity; and that providing for other people with my food is a channel for emotional and human connection (first of foremost, to my family and my children). Family dinners are a core part of our domestic life.
Only recipes that successfully endured the trials of my family kitchen get uploaded to the blog. They’re beloved, delicious and justify any effort required to make them. They all incorporate the spirit of my home kitchen and the experience of eating and serving in the studio’s tableware.
My cooking relies on quality, fresh produce. Ideally, local. I take inspiration from my vast, and precious library of cookbooks, from traveling and eating outside. I warmly invite you to cook with me!
Now + You
Although making handmade pottery is a very personal and even isolating endeavor, the studio’s range of activities is based on human connections.
Firstly, the studio’s clientele. A group of people characterized by a shared appreciation of design, craft, and the studio’s work, many of whom, through their recurring visits to the studio and social media presence, become personal friends.
Furthermore, the many collaborations that the studio had over the years with other makers, chefs, and cooks are integral to the studio’s story. Some of the studio’s most exciting and significant moments occurred in those collaborations. Take a look at our events page and related blog posts and see the creative richness of those collaborations.
The studio’s beautiful new space encourages even greater and exciting cooperations. We intend to showcase other craftspeople in the shop’s display, host artists, and further host culinary and cultural events revolving around the studio’s work. If that sounds interesting to you, feel free to contact us.
Press
We’re excited to share with some press coverage the studio received and (a small) part of the culinary productions the studio’s tableware participated in.
