Shebrew in the City
Shebrew in the City is a podcast exploring all things Jewish. Combining interviews and informational episodes, join Nicole Kelly as she discusses her journey with motherhood, spirituality, and everything from Hanukkah to the Holocaust. Giving a voice to modern Jews and spreading love and joy, whether you're Jewish, Jew-ish, or not anything resembling Jewish at all, there's something here for everyone.
Shebrew in the City
"Color My World" - An Interview with Arielle Zorger
Imagine turning a therapeutic hobby into a successful business. That's exactly what Arielle Zorger of Arielle Zorger Designs did. Join us as Arielle shares her fascinating journey from Baltimore to North Carolina, detailing her upbringing in the Jewish community, her education in Jewish day schools, and her initial career working for big hotel chains. Discover how the warmth and inclusiveness of her new Jewish community have affected her personally and professionally, and learn about the pivotal moment when her passion for acrylic painting took center stage.
Balancing entrepreneurship with mental health is no easy feat, and Arielle opens up about her struggles and triumphs in this area. We delve into the challenges of transforming a personal passion into a full-time business while managing anxiety. Gain practical insights into running an online store, the critical role of community support, and leveraging platforms for visibility. Arielle's story is particularly enlightening for those contemplating turning their creative pursuits into a sustainable career.
Lastly, Arielle shares her expertise in modernizing traditional Judaica to appeal to younger generations. She reveals how customer feedback from social media informs her vibrant and contemporary designs. We also discuss the joys and struggles of balancing motherhood with a home-based art business, the significance of Holocaust education, and the importance of embracing Jewish joy and resilience. Don't miss out on Arielle's heartwarming approach to spreading positivity through her work and social media, and enjoy a special promo code for her beautiful designs.
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https://ariellezorgerdesigns.com/
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Looking for tips and tricks on a new city? Top Dog Tours is the best place to check out walking tours. We are in Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto and New York City. Visit us on topdogtours. com to book your tour today and check us out on social media for discounts. This is Nicole Kelly, and Shebrew in the City and today I'm sitting down with Arielle Zorger of Arielle Zorger Designs. How are you doing this morning?
Arielle:I'm doing great Wonderful to meet you.
Nicole:Yeah, it's nice to put a face to the voice that I've heard. So I'm super excited to talk to you today because, as I mentioned in our initial phone call, my sister turned me on to your products and I think they're very unique as far as Judaica goes and I really want to kind of delve into how that started. But first I want to ask you where you're originally from, where you live now and how you ended up there.
Arielle:Sure. So, originally from Baltimore, grew up in Owings Mills, went to school in Pikesville and went to a Jewish day school for most of my middle school and high school and then went to Delaware for college and then we lived in DC for the last 10 years and now we've relocated to North Carolina.
Nicole:Oh my goodness, how is North Carolina compared to where you've lived before as far as Jewish community?
Arielle:So the Jewish community here is fabulous. I feel like the community is so tight and it's so warm and welcoming and for us, not knowing anybody here, it has been just arms wide open and it's really been like family, because we don't have family here, so it's been really great. Yeah, I feel very, very blessed when we moved to New York because we don't have family here, so it's been really great.
Nicole:Yeah, it's very, very blessed. When we moved to New York we really didn't have anybody, so it's kind of scary moving to a new city and creating a bit of a community. I know North Carolina has changed a lot. My dad lived in Charlotte for, I believe, almost a year in the 1970s and it was a very different place, the kind of place where he got like weird looks, playing pickup basketball with people who weren't white, that sort of type of place. So I've talked to a lot of people about how the Carolinas in general have changed, which is nice to hear, yeah it's breath of fresh air.
Nicole:So you said you went to Jewish day school. What denomination did you grow up in?
Arielle:Reform, conservative, more on the Orthodox side grow up in reform conservative, more on the orthodox side. So we grew up conservative. The school was modern orthodox, but at home we were practicing conservative. Did you guys keep kosher? Yes, we had kosher meat in the house, but we did not keep kosher out of the house.
Nicole:I know a lot of people will do that. I think it's kind of like a happy medium and you know it worked for us. Yeah, do you? Do you consider yourself still conservative? Do you? Are you a member of a temple? You mentioned joining a new community.
Arielle:So we're not members of any temple here yet. We're still about just hitting on the year mark. So we're still trying to figure out where we want to put down roots. But yeah, I mean, we're pretty much the same. Our house is kosher, so we have separate meat and dairy, which is more than I had growing up, so a little bit more, but otherwise we still we're pretty conservative, great, so I want to jump into your business.
Nicole:So what was the initial inspiration for this?
Arielle:So my business actually began in 2019, before it was ever a business. I struggled with my mental health for as long as I could remember and this was shortly after my first was born and my anxiety was just through the roof and I kind of like got a call to paint and kind of never stopped. It was really just, it was a way of therapy for me and it just felt good and all the colors and it was really just a mental health outlet that turned into now my full business.
Nicole:What had you been doing before you? Your daughter was born. As far as work.
Arielle:So before um, before she was born, I worked for Marriott hotels. I worked for them for about 13 years and COVID happened and they no longer needed events and sales.
Nicole:It makes sense Not not too many events happening.
Arielle:Yeah, exactly. So once all of our jobs were eliminated, we were home and I just kept painting because I was painting before this happened. And then I was like I want to just keep doing this. This is what's making me happy, this is what I'm passionate about. And I went to school. I studied hotel management and I love the whole service and hospitality. But I was ready for a change and I kind of just fell into this. It was like, okay, well, I'm going to give this a shot and see where this takes me.
Nicole:If it's you know, if it doesn't work, then I'll go back, and if it works, then were you interested in art at a younger age, or is this something that developed a little bit later on in life?
Arielle:So I was always very creative. I love to do arts and crafts. I would do like family, like gifts throughout the year. But I was never a painter, like I never was an artist. I, when I was maybe seven, my mom put me into like this art competition and it was like the only thing I won in my entire life as a seven-year-old and it was like, okay, that was fun. I mean, like we still kind of like joke about that now, but yeah, this was totally this kind of just found me. I don't know, it was my way to deal with my anxiety.
Nicole:When you first started painting, was it more oils, watercolors? What kind of painting specifically were you doing?
Arielle:So I started with acrylic and I'm still using acrylic, so I've never left the realm of acrylic, but just acrylic on canvas.
Nicole:So I know your business started as an Etsy store. What was it like running that type of business? I've always been kind of curious. I'm not the craftiest person in the world. My mother's super crafty and I've always. You know she used to make. I was in dance team and you know, at the um what is it called? At the championships, it was kind of a tradition that the uh, the team would carry wands and my mom got really specific, really specific about like they would be like themed for whatever our routine was, and she, she's always been very crafty. So I always said that she should start an Etsy store. So what is the process of that? What was that like? What was it like dealing with customers in that capacity?
Arielle:So the Etsy thing was very funny actually. So, as I'm going through this discovery of therapy through art, I probably had 50 plus canvases all over our house because it was like where am I going to put all this stuff? And we were downtown DC, we were, you know, in a small townhome and it was kind of taking over, to say the least. So my husband actually had the idea and was like why don't you put your art on Etsy? Why don't you see what happens? You know, doesn't cost anything to start it up, try it and you know. If you sell one, great, if not, not. So I said okay. So May 19th 2019, I opened.
Nicole:That's my husband's birthday. That's my husband's birthday.
Arielle:It's a good day it's a great day and I kind of was like I was nervous. I mean I didn't. I don't think I shared it much on social that I was doing it. It was kind of like no harm, no foul, and didn't really talk about it. And then it kind of took off and every piece that I had sold, wow, and I was like mind blown and I think I mean the whole experience of like then you become a shop owner and then you have, like you said, we have customers and dealing with, like you know, all the back and forth of the just any customer questions or anything like that. I mean it was just totally just different than what I'm used to. I mean it was just totally just different than what I'm used to. I mean I used to work with customers all the time being in hospitality, so it was similar in that aspect. But being like the owner of a business, like nothing I've ever done before in my life.
Nicole:It's much more responsibility. Oh yes, so it doesn't cost anything to start an Etsy store. How does that? How do they? How does that? How do they make money? I'm curious.
Arielle:Yes, the way that it works is each listing is like 20 cents and then if people buy it, then like the listing can renew and like it's just a it kind of just like automatically updates. If you set it up that way, but there's no fee to join it's, you can just start it and you know you think 20 cents, no big deal, and then all of a sudden it starts to add up no it starts to add up, um, but you know it didn't seem like such a big risk, um, so I did it and I was on Etsy for you know, very long time.
Arielle:I mean I didn't start my own shop until, like my own like website until probably 2021. Okay, so it was a while. I was probably on there for a good two years. I mean, I started off it was all original paintings and then it was painting cards and that was what I sold. It was all just hand-painted products.
Nicole:Was it more Judaica-themed or was it just? This is something I feel like painting.
Arielle:So the Judaica piece came later. I was always doing khamsas and pomegranates in the beginning, but not like oh, this is all I'm doing. Like there was a ton of just flowers and hearts and just happy art, a lot of brushstrokes that were just like all over the place. It wasn't like geared Judaica. That didn't come until really COVID in 2020, where it was like I wanted the outlet just to connect with other people on Instagram and I feel like that's where I like most connected with with with other individuals in the Judaic space and just being women and Jewish and proud. And that's kind of what my goal was and my mission and my values, and it just kind of evolved from there.
Nicole:That's super cool. I love that. I do love that this started out as a way of therapy, because I also dealt with a lot of postpartum issues after my daughter was born. In general, I have a lot of anxiety. I love that you used the art as a way to deal with that. Maybe someone who's listening will start doing that as a way to help them. I'm always of the idea that you know if something that worked for you helps one other person by being honest and open about that. It's definitely worth that.
Arielle:And it took me a long time to say that out loud.
Nicole:It's so, it's. It's so funny, just generally generationally, how people deal with mental health. I remember I was in a new mom's group with the JCC and my mom was like you told people that you see a psychiatrist. I was like it's a bunch of Jewish women in New York, mom, everyone's seeing a psychiatrist.
Nicole:Like just the generation, just the one generation difference of how we're talking about mental health and being open about our struggles and something that I hope you know I can be honest with my daughter about someday. So I love your being so brave and sharing that. It started a business in the process.
Arielle:I know it's very scary and it's hard to say. You know, I finally felt comfortable to be open about it and, just like you said, there's so many people that have the same struggle and it was like voodoo you weren't allowed to talk about it forever. I mean, I think the first time I can remember having a panic attack was in elementary school and I can remember that day in my head and just having all these experiences through high school and college and it was never spoken about for some reason. And then after it wasn't until after college I saw a doctor and she's like you have anxiety and I was like, tell me more.
Nicole:It's so funny that it manifests itself so early. So my mom tells me that we'd get in the car to plan, like you know, our things for the day and she'd tell me what we were going to do and if she went out of order I'd freak out. So I'm still very list and schedule oriented. But now sometimes, because life happens, I'll change my plan. But I'll be like saying to my husband I was like we're going to do this today and I'm like, but now we're going to do this. And he's like, if we're going to do it, let's do it in the way that you said you're going to do, because sometimes it gets a little much dealing with the schedules and all of that stuff.
Nicole:But no, I definitely, I definitely can relate to that manifesting itself super easy. There's actually, I know, at the State College near my parents' house, an art therapy and drama therapy and music therapy programs. So I know this is something that therapists and, you know, mental health professionals have studied about how art does help people combat mental illness, and I think it's such a beautiful thing.
Arielle:Yeah, and I think I mean again, I had no idea, like while I was like in the thick of it and I feel so blessed to have found that outlet, but it was totally by accident, it wasn't even like I was searching for it. I mean like you said, if it could help one person, like just to say that out loud, I mean then I would feel like my job is done.
Nicole:And you don't have to start with painting. You know therapists say even just coloring books can be very therapeutic or anything that can help you move your body. I think really helps with that I cross-stitch, or at least I used to before I had a toddler who grabs everything.
Nicole:Maybe when she's a little older I'll pick it up again. So let's go back to your business. So when did you decide to transition this into a full-time job, so from an Etsy store to that crazy, scary jump that every business owner knows where you're like? Okay, I'm gonna do this. When did that happen?
Arielle:So that was in 2021. And until this day, I still have my Etsy shop open. There's still such a benefit of being on Etsy where, like, your name is out there and you can, people can find you there if they don't know that you have your own shop. So it's still open. It's a very limited collection of items in 2021. I was like, okay, we're doing this again. I'm gonna try. It's a huge risk. I'm gonna buy the domain.
Nicole:I'm gonna which is surprisingly cheap, though not all domains are cheap, because we own how many domains, would you say? We own like 20, like so many domains I was so.
Arielle:Yeah.
Nicole:Sometimes it's like a dollar and then sometimes it's like $3,000, depending on the domain.
Arielle:Yeah, no, it was like I want to say it was like $14.
Nicole:It's nothing crazy, it's like 14. So like $14 a year, cause it's a yearly thing.
Arielle:Exactly and it was like, okay, I'm going to make this investment. I keep telling myself, the minute I stop enjoying what I'm doing and don't feel passionate about it, I'm going to stop. And I always kind of had that narrative in the back of my head and I just kind of pushed through it and I was like you know what? This is your life, you have one chance to live, and if this is what brings you joy every day, then put all, put your, you know, put your all into it. So I finally, like, took the risk and, you know, hired someone to help me set up the shop and cause I had no, I mean, I didn't know. Yeah, your background was in something completely different.
Arielle:Totally so. With the help of just friends and community and connections through people, I was able to have someone help me set it up. And then it was like, okay, we're launching this, it's happening, let's do it. And then slowly I would trickle stuff off of Etsy and try and, you know, push everyone to my site. But there's a whole process in that it takes a while for people to realize and just shopping trends like they're so used to seeing me on Etsy, they don't think that there's another shop and it's just. It takes a while and you have to grow it and nurture it and there's always things you want to update. But it was like I'm ready for this step. I think it's time I want it to be mine, I want the whole thing to be mine and eventually, hopefully, we will say goodbye to Etsy.
Nicole:The reason? I think it's the Etsy shop. You know, you still say people will find that is because they spend so much on pushing their, their search results to the top. So you know, if you type in Judaica or something, even still it's the first thing because they pump so much into advertising.
Nicole:So that makes sense that you would do that we. We deal with the same kind of thing with our tours, where larger companies like Viator and Get your Guide spend so much on money on their advertising that when you type in Statue of Liberty tour it comes up even before the place to buy tickets directly. So that makes sense that these larger online companies. They kind of control the market in some capacity and make it hard for small businesses.
Arielle:Yeah, so I mean as much as you know it's hard where etsy takes a lot of the. They have fees and um, I don't know. I mean it's it's been, you know, great for my business, um, but I won't miss it no, that makes sense.
Nicole:So buy directly from people. If you're listening, don't you know if you have the opportunity to buy directly from a vendor or someone like me, a tour company, we don't have to pay, sometimes, you know, an exorbitant fee to these other companies. So, support small businesses. Yes, so your designs are super colorful. Is this something that you follow in your own home decor and in the fashion that you wear?
Arielle:That is a fabulous question. So I actually, of course, wear like black. I'm like, give me my black leggings, wear my black jumpsuit. I just started like, okay, you know what, I want to embrace it and I want to wear like colors. And but me, naturally I gravitate towards black. I'm like that is my comfort zone. But I don't know With my business, it's kind of it's always been color. That is what has always felt good to me, like just throwing it all on the canvas and like having it all like combined, and I don't know that to me is like happiness for some reason it's probably happier to paint with color in general as well yeah, I mean, that's at least what I've noticed, what I've found.
Arielle:But it's funny because I don't necessarily dress with what like, with how I paint, with how you paint, yeah, yeah yeah, no, that's fine.
Nicole:I live in New York. Black is kind of a staple. I feel like if you're wearing a bright color, it is kind of you really stand out. There was a whole, like you know, I kept seeing Instagram posts, after the Barbie movie came out, of people dressing in like Barbie core, because someone wearing bright pink in New York it was was kind of like oh my gosh, this is, this is a very different thing. So I totally get the all black, especially like during the winter. I have like a black and white coat, so I just feel like that's just my, my uniform during the winter.
Arielle:Yeah, yeah.
Nicole:Where do you find inspiration? In new designs? You said you started out doing a lot of Hamsas and pomegranates, but you know is. Are you inspired by things that you see? Are you inspired by things that are happening in the news?
Arielle:Well, I would say all of the above, but my original inspiration was I was a young mom and I was always looking for fun. Judaica, for my daughter's room was really where it started, and I remember I would type in Moda Ani prayer like fun, colorful, and like it did not exist. Cause I was like we say Moda Ani every morning, the Shema every night, and I just wanted something fun like in her room and it did not exist. And I was like, well then I'm going to make it. So I made it and I mean it's funny because the Moda Ani prayer that I have in my girl's rooms I haven't even sold like that to me was like my one of my first pieces where I was like so, like that's what I wanted, and I mean I think one day I will put it up and share it.
Nicole:And it's very personal.
Arielle:Yeah, it was a very personal thing, um, at least for me. Um, in the beginning. Um, but yeah, I was always looking for like modern and fun and colorful Judaica and it just it didn't exist, and that was kind of how the business evolved. It was like, wait, if I'm looking for this, there's got to be other people that are also looking for this.
Nicole:Why do you think that there is such a need for modern Judaica? Do you think it's because there's people who, you know, don't want the traditional things? You know what do you think? Why do you think there's a real need for modern design within Judaica?
Arielle:So, personally, I think there's so many amazing things about being Jewish and everybody does it differently.
Nicole:Which is one of the things. I love about being Jewish, is that you? Know there's not you get you know 200 Jews. There's 400 ways to be Jewish within that 200 people.
Arielle:I think a lot of the stuff that we, that was out there, that we saw, was kind of just generic. It was like cut and paste blue, white, like Shabbat, and it was like simple and it didn't necessarily like speak to the younger generation and it's just the way that Judaism has evolved over the years. It's just been we want to be proud.
Arielle:We want to like show how much we love to be Jewish and I think making items that are colorful and fun and you know, the kids see that it's happy and there's just a happy way to bring it into your everyday life. And I think that it was just lacking. I don't know why, but it was just. I felt like it was very just dry and there was not that excitement piece.
Nicole:Yeah, I think that it's making its way slowly into things. The way I originally found found out about you, which is I said in our initial call, is, my sister is much more of, has a more modern aesthetic and she's getting something from you for Hanukkah.
Nicole:This is going to air after Hanukkah, so she she will already know, um, she, that's very much her aesthetic and I feel like you know she looks for things like that. So there, I've seen, you know, some jewelry, jewelry brands, especially they're. They're much more modern, but I think with housewares it's still, like you said, a lot more traditional.
Arielle:Yeah, I mean that's been my experience and I think just getting, like you know, feedback I mean this is going to be my next year, will be my sixth year doing this and you know, every year I learn and grow and my customers and the feedback that I get from everybody, I think, is just like it means the world, because I don't know what I don't know. And until people come out and say, you know, oh, I've been looking for something like this, or do you make something you know that I can put on my table or like for my jewelry, like stuff that like I don't know, that it's through evolving.
Nicole:How do you get that feedback from them? Is it through you know emails or through social media?
Arielle:A lot of social media. I mean, I have to say it's a love-hate relationship, but social media has been a game changer for me and my business the instant communication, the connections and just feeling like you can just kind of be yourself and be open because you're behind the screen. So I guess people are more you know, willing to share. But social media has really been one of the number one driving forces for my feedback.
Nicole:And you're very responsive on social media. There's people I've reached out to that I feel like, for various reasons, I never hear back from them, but even last night I sent you a message and you were like right on it. Do you feel like that's a full-time job, being so responsive on social media?
Arielle:So it's funny that you say that, because in my head if I don't respond respond then I will forget. Anyone who knows me knows that I cannot remember anything. So if I don't do it in that moment it is lost in La La Land. So I kind of am like I want to respond, so if I don't respond in that moment then I'm going to forget. So I try to be responsive and I know like when I was on the other end I'm like I loved it when people wrote me back. Like you know, it takes courage sometimes to even like write some people and when they write you back you feel good about it and you feel?
Arielle:like oh, there's a person on the other side of the brand and it's not just this huge like company where you can't talk to the owner.
Nicole:Like I don't know.
Arielle:I mean not that you can do that anywhere, but I just that's. That's the kind of business I want to run. I want it to be personal. I want it to feel like they know who they're buying their stuff from and my story, and I don't want it to be just a brand name, like I want you to know who I am and how this evolved.
Nicole:So walk me through the process of creating a new item, from idea to posting it on your website.
Arielle:Okay. So the way that it works is, I get an idea of what I want like the end product to be like. For instance, with the Seder plates that I did last year, they were brand new. Last year I was like I would love to do a Seder plate that has some sort of Passover design. But there was the first one that I did. It was called the Perfect Seder and, like each section of my painting, I would draw the item that it resembles on the Seder plate. So in my mind I was like, ok, this is what I want the final product to look like. So now I'm going to start to paint it. So I would go into the studio and start painting and from that point, once I was happy with it and felt like, oh, I can see this as the final.
Arielle:Like it's always hard as an artist. Like, when are you done the painting? I think that's something also. Like I very rarely come back to a painting. It's usually in like one sitting where I'm like, okay, I'm in the moment and I like when the colors are wet still and it can play with them all together. But very rarely do I go back. Like, if I stop, then either the inspiration's gone or I don't know. It just doesn't feel cohesive. I don't know how to explain it. But so from that moment I then I have a printer that I work with who takes very, very professional photos of my artwork, and then I have the file and can print it on different items, and so I would print it on, for instance, for the Seder plates. I did the glass tray and had little heart bowls for each section to put the items on the Seder plate. So that's kind of how it starts. It's an idea that I have of what I want the final to look like, and then I start the creative process and start painting from there.
Nicole:What are some of your favorite items to sell some. What are some of your favorite items to sell.
Arielle:My favorite items, I have to say, are my drip trays.
Arielle:That started totally by accident.
Arielle:It was, I would say, when I was I don't even know how young I was, but I remember my mom would always have like this small little plastic trivet underneath her Shabbat candles and I was always thinking like why is it plastic? One and two, like she always. It was like I don't know like mise en place, like she always put like the candlesticks on this little trivet and I was always like that's so smart, like I want like something, but I want something fun, like when I am older and have kids and and I'll be lighting the Shabbat candles. So it really started with like okay, I'm going to make a small little glass tray and see what happens, and till this day, like that is my favorite item to make because it's small and you can really use it for anything, whether it's like to put something hot on it or for the candles for Shabbat. Um, but it's just something we always use and it it just it's something small and simple and but it still brings your table to life and it makes it feel special.
Nicole:And it's important for things not only like Shabbat but also Hanukkah, because, as I posted on my Instagram a couple days ago, I'm using tin foil, which is not as pretty as a drip tray, but I'm going to have to get one so that we have something pretty to put the the menorahs on.
Nicole:I have three menorahs right now. We just I'm sure by next year we'll probably have more. I feel like having a lot of menorahs right now is just a blatant act of resistance and putting them in the window is super important, I agree.
Arielle:So buy a drip tray buy a drip tray.
Nicole:Where do you paint? So you said in the studio?
Arielle:That's a great question. Do you paint in your house, do you?
Nicole:paint in an actual art studio.
Arielle:No. So we transformed our garage into an art studio. So for right now, my studio is in my garage, but it works, so I don't have to worry about when the paint flies everywhere and I can be in my element and not feel like, oh, it's going to get on the carpet, or, and my element and not feel like, oh, it's going to get on the carpet, or you know, I'm in for for a while I was in my daughter's playroom, Like when we were in DC. It was like the playroom, the kitchen, the living room, and it was like my table and the floor was covered in paint and that was never good for anyone. Um, so I'm able to be myself and be. I can paint freely and not feel like, oh, I need to be careful about this, and that I mean one day, sure, I would love my own studio, but at this point it's working and I'm happy in my space.
Nicole:I can imagine having a cohesive and welcoming space is important for an artist. You know if you're in this place that's got really like negative energy. I feel like that would probably affect your painting. We want none of the negative energy.
Arielle:Yes, really like negative energy. I feel like that would probably affect your painting. None of the negative energy, yes, no negative energy. You want all the happy you know, positive vibes and feel good.
Nicole:What are some of the challenges you find in being a business owner and also a mother at the same time?
Arielle:Ah, great one. I think that is the million dollar question, because being a mom entrepreneur is very hard. It's very rewarding, but it is very hard because my time is from drop off to pick up, so my working hours are when I'm home, After I drop off the girls at school. It's like, okay, I have seven hours to do what I want to do, and then I got to go pick them up and then I'm on. You know, I want to be present for my children and it's very hard because when you set out expectations like how long an order is going to take, or you know, there is no shipping department, there is no packing department.
Arielle:Like it's all you that is all me and I think I'm going to finally have to get help in 2024. I know I don't even know why I'm saying it out loud, but it's like it's scary.
Nicole:Bring someone in, because I know. I'm such a control freak and my husband and father are also telling me they're always telling me that I have to kind of seed responsibilities but I'm like no, because no one else can do it the way that I'll do it. It's scary.
Arielle:It is very scary and I mean, I think I've realized, you know, as we're just coming off of the Hanukkah rush, I feel like my time is most valuable and like I want to be able to be present with my kids. I want to be able to, you know, be the mom I want to be and still run a really successful business. But I have realized I cannot do it all myself and I think that is such a huge mountain to climb because you don't want to give a piece up, like you said. Are they going to tie the bows Like I do it? Is the sticker going to be straight?
Arielle:Is the note going to be genuine or is it just like thank you, you know, I want it to feel genuine and from myself, and you know, everything that I make and create is a reflection of me and my brand, and it's it's hard to give that up, um, but it's also a necessity to grow. I mean, you can't stay in the same place that you were last year if you want to grow and be something more next year.
Nicole:I love that you brought up being present, because I find that this is something that I struggle with a lot, because a lot of what I do is kind of like operational stuff on the computer. So it's super easy to be just sitting there with my daughter and be on the computer while she's like come play with me. So it's really hard to find that balance between trying to get your work done and being present, because she's only in school three days a week from 8.45 to 12. So I have less than seven hours a day to get what I need done done, and I'm also giving tours as well. So it can be super difficult and I think a lot of working parents feel that way. Even if they do have help and they work outside the home and have, you know, a nanny or a babysitter or a relative watching their kids, sometimes it's still hard to be present when you get home because you're exhausted.
Arielle:A hundred percent. There is no, you know, covering that up. That is the reality. I think we can only do the best that we can do, and that's I mean. What else can you do? I think you know we're all going to be exhausted at the end of the day. It's just prioritizing, you know what is the most important thing. Or even if there's like one thing that I need to get done, just do that one thing.
Nicole:Yeah, sometimes I can do one thing on my to-do list and I feel like, okay, I'm done for the day, which can be a bit ridiculous, but especially if it's something you've been putting off, like you know calling you know somebody about, like state taxes or something which you know I have to deal with sometimes.
Arielle:It takes like 12 seconds and it's like on the list forever.
Nicole:I know I feel like that's not just me, though, because I've seen memes about this for people that are not even relating to business stuff. They're just like. I waited three months to do something that took 10 minutes and I learned. I learned no lesson. So at least it's not just me, we'll do it again.
Arielle:No, you're not alone, I am right there. I mean people you know who know me, know that I am not the most. What should we say Organized human being? Um, I just I'm all over the place. What should we say Organized human being? I just I'm all over the place. But I feel like you know, it's my creative juices.
Nicole:It's just. That's just how I am Organized chaos. Maybe it makes sense in your brain.
Arielle:Yeah, I know where everything is in my brain, but I know we don't all have you know that as a strength. But we focus on what we do have and you know, if I'm able to still get some stuff done, then it's a win for the day.
Nicole:So kind of transitioning. I know you have a set of grandparents that were Holocaust survivors. Did you grow up hearing stories from them about the Shoah? Is this something that has shaped you as a Jew? Something I'm super interested in in general is generational trauma and I think that you know especially grandchildren or children of Holocaust survivors possibly carry this with them.
Arielle:I mean that is more relevant than anything else right now I feel like I just got the chills. But yeah, I mean my grandparents were both Holocaust survivors on my mom's side and we grew up knowing that it wasn't until so. I lived in DC for 10 years and in my heart I was like I must go to the museum like at some point, and my grandmother was in the Shoah videos. So I was like I need to go watch these videos and I remember when they came to our house and we're videotaping her.
Nicole:Was this for the Steven Spielberg the Shoa Foundation through USC? Yes, yes.
Arielle:So I remember when they came to my grandma's house and we were all there and my mom and my sister and my dad and and my aunts and uncles, uncles, and we're like sitting there while they're recording her story, but I never, like, was there when they did her story. It was just we were present, like at the end, or, you know, this is where we are now and I went to the museum and I sat down and for three hours I cried and finally had the courage to hear her story and to hear what she went through and it was unbelievable. I mean there, there's just no words. I've told everyone, you know, if you have the chance to do it, do it because you know knowledge is power and you don't know, we don't know everything, but hearing the words from first, you know firsthand experience, and what they went through was like there's just no words.
Arielle:So absolutely it has, you know, affected my life. I mean, you know, in many positive ways, because we're so proud. You know, till this day, you know, I, I always, you know, wear my Jewish star necklace and you know, most people know, so proud, you know, till this day, you know, I always, you know, wear my Jewish star necklace. And you know most people know, like you know, I'm very active in the Jewish community and I think a lot of that has come from my upbringing. And you know as much, as we grew up knowing that my grandparents were in the Holocaust, it never made us feel less about ourselves.
Arielle:It was always like, well, this is who we are and we're proud of it. And we wanted to spread light on who we are and for other people to see that like we're not going anywhere, yeah, and but I do think you know I always think about it, like thinking about the thing. Oh well, you know there's certain things that we did in life growing up that maybe you know were a reflection of that. I think small things like, oh, like don't forget to take, you know, the sugar packets, or like there was always certain things like at restaurants where, like we grew up doing because it was like second nature, because it was like you never know when your next meal is going to be, or you know always, you know, save the piece of bread, don't throw the food away, like it was. That was like ingrained in our, in my head at least, and I mean it's just unbelievable that we are honestly, it feels like we're living out the Holocaust in real time right now. It's kind of crazy.
Arielle:Crazy Like. Never in my lifetime have I felt this way.
Nicole:It's it's a scary time to be Jewish, kind of. Going back to what you're saying, it's interesting that you bring up sugar because I don't have any relatives who were personally in the Holocaust. I have like very distant relatives I've really recently found out because I have a very uncommon maiden name but they lived through the Great Depression, so very similar. I know. When my great grandmother died they found bags of rock hard sugar in closets newspapers. My dad's mom would literally steal things from restaurants, you know. So it's interesting that you know that's something that they never really got over. Were your, was your grandmother in a camp or what was her story?
Arielle:So my grandmother was in Auschwitz and her parents were taken to the gas chambers like immediately, and her and her two sisters survived. And I just remember the word that I keep playing in my head from those videos that I watched was she kept saying we had hope, like we never gave up hope. And I'm just like how in the world are you able to have hope when you're in this horrific experience? Your parents are taken from you, you're 14 and they're getting burnt. I mean it's just like. And she just said, we never gave up hope. And I was like, oh my gosh, like that is so powerful and I just I think about that all the time. And I think, you know, if my grandmother were alive today and you know she saw what I was doing and I think about her all the time and you know I think she would be so happy and proud that you know I'm out there saying hi.
Arielle:I'm Jewish and I want to make Judaica fun, and I want to, you know, want people to not be scared to, to be proud of it.
Nicole:I think she'd be proud of you.
Arielle:I think so, I hope so.
Nicole:Have you. My husband and I, five years ago, took a trip to Central Europe and actually visited Auschwitz. Is this something that you would want to do someday? I have done it.
Arielle:You have done it. No, I have done it. So in high school. So I went to a Jewish day school and our senior class trip was going to Poland and then to Israel and we went to Auschwitz and we saw her barrack that she was in and it was like it's a moment in time I will never forget.
Nicole:It's really hard to describe the feeling of being there unless you've been there, because one thing I really found surprising was how peaceful it felt in some capacity.
Arielle:I don't even. Oh my gosh, it just seemed very like history stood still.
Nicole:Yeah, it's just very. Yeah, it's hard to explain.
Arielle:It is very hard to explain.
Nicole:I think it's something super important that if you find yourself in Poland, not that many people do Well Poland. I love Poland in general. I think it's something super important that if you find yourself in Poland, you know not that many people do Well Poland. I love Poland in general. I think it's beautiful and I think Krakow is amazing. But I'm always encouraging people to consider that and I'm very big on Holocaust education. I'm going back to school and hopefully going to be pursuing an advanced degree in that because of what's going on right now, because I think that you know, as we're losing survivors who were actually in camps, there aren't many of them left. It's very hard to be connected to that and you know there's always been Holocaust deniers. But as time goes on, I think you know you get more distance from things. You're doomed to kind of repeat yourself and I that's scary.
Arielle:It's very scary. Um, I would highly recommend anyone to go. It is like, or visit a Holocaust museum If you're not you can't go to Europe.
Nicole:Most major cities have Holocaust museums. We have one here in New York, there's the museum of tolerance in Los Angeles. Go to DC to go to the, to the national one there. It's important, it's very important.
Arielle:I think I mean when you're ready. I think you should go Like when I I mean, we lived in DC for 10 years and I think I went like the last year we lived there. You just need to go when it feels right for you, don't feel pressured and just kind of go on your own terms, and I think you know it's so important.
Nicole:Yeah.
Arielle:Even though it's hard, but it is hard.
Nicole:But you know, sometimes important things are hard. Yeah, you know, or even you know, or even, like I just got this is gonna sound strange, I just got the 30th anniversary edition of Schindler's List for Hanukkah, because they have all these extra features. Watch a movie, you know, you start steps. I think a lot of people you know I don't know if anybody listening feels this way. They don't. They. They know that there was a Holocaust, but they don't know the details. So so you can look into it, just do a little research and I think it's. It'll be very eyeopening to people, no question.
Nicole:So switching to something a little bit happier. I've seen videos of you making challah and holiday pastries on Instagram. Is this something that you do every week or do you only make challah for special occasions?
Arielle:So I like, I love to bake challah. First of all, I love to bake.
Nicole:Good for you, because I feel like I'm the worst chef baker in the entire world, so I'm always impressed by people who can.
Arielle:Yeah, no. So cooking in general is not my jam. Um, we leave that to my husband. One day maybe I will try, but I have tried many times and have not succeeded. But baking I love. I don't know if it's just the creativity of it or you know, I don't know what it is, but it's more my speed. And every Friday I like to have fresh challah, Like it was like a dream. I was like, oh, like, why not? Like that would be so cool.
Arielle:So once a month I, when I am not stressed and when you know I don't need to be rushing to have it ready for Shabbat, I just pick a day of the month and I bake like maybe five or six challahs and I freeze them.
Arielle:So then every Friday morning I take it out of the freezer and I put it on the stove, and not like on, but just take it out to defrost. And then right before Shabbat we stick it in the oven and then it's hot and it's delicious. And I'm not stressing out Like I mean, there's so many times where I've done it, where, like I'll start the dough Friday morning and I'm like I don't even have everything ready, like for Shabbat, and it's like, okay, we need to put the challah in the oven, Like it's too stressful. So, yes, it happens sometimes, but I like, I like to enjoy the process and I also love doing it with my girls and it's just, it's special to me. I really like the whole, like when they bake with me, like they'll have like sprinkles and chocolate chips, and it's like a whole fun, like activity, and that, to me, is what it's all about. So, finding the happiness in the everyday routine.
Nicole:Where did you get your challah recipe? Is it a family recipe?
Arielle:So the recipe that I use now actually that I love is from my Jewishly Liz on Instagram, from Atlanta. Her recipe is vegan and I love it. It's just. It comes out perfect every single time and it's easy and I feel confident doing it and I'm not worried about like the yeast rise. I don't know. That's what I've been using the last year and I don't plan on changing that.
Arielle:I mean, if it, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, especially when it comes to food the recipe I had before um was a friend's recipe and it was always good, but I never it. Always it was. Every time I did it it was different, like yeah, that's one of the things that I don't like about cooking, is that?
Nicole:there's this, there's this. I make this jalapeno popper chicken, which I love. It's like very uh, um, what is it?
Arielle:spicy, well no it's.
Nicole:It's low car. It's what's looking for. I can't, I'm, so I had coffee. That's clearly wearing off. It's low carb, because I was looking for low carb recipes and it's really good, but there's sometimes it doesn't taste the same, so I feel like that's. One of the things I don't like about cooking is that it's sometimes really hard to get it the same. But I guess baking is different. I've heard people that are they hate baking. They're really good at cooking. My husband's like that.
Nicole:He makes his own recipes, is very adventurous, but he doesn't like baking as much, or people who love to bake and they're like I don't like to cook because they're totally different.
Arielle:Totally different. That is exactly how we are in my house.
Nicole:So walk me through a typical Shabbat and what that looks like at your house.
Arielle:So every single Friday night we always put a tablecloth out and we set the table with flowers and we get one of my drip trays out and we put them under the Shabbat candles. I also use it as a challah board. So I also have a challah board and we put the kiddush cups out and we get the wine and the grape juice and the challah comes in the oven. So it comes out warm and it's handmade. And it's the time where we just like are together and we usually turn off the lights and we light the Shabbat candles and you just feel the warmth of Shabbat and it's like the lights just kind of embrace the room and it's a really special moment.
Arielle:I mean, we say the bracha over the candles, me and my two girls, and then my husband does the wine and then my daughters usually do the chala blessing, and that's the routine, I mean, and that's, and then, you know, we put the lights back on and we have dinner. So we're very like. I mean, we're not Shomer Shabbos, but we feel that it's important for our kids to see us do this and we want them, obviously, you know, to continue the tradition if they. You know, we never want it to feel forced, but you know, we would hope we would shine a positive light on welcoming the Shabbat and having it present in our house.
Nicole:This is something that we've started doing recently as well, though sometimes we don't immediately sit down to dinner, because life is crazy.
Nicole:But, I think it's important, especially with you know the modern world, to just take a moment to take a breath and appreciate the week. And I've started going to Friday night services too as just kind of even just by myself, as kind of a way to just kind of like sit for an hour and just be without my phone, without worrying about my business, without a toddler. So that's one of the things that I really like that we've started doing. So if you're interested in doing this, you don't need to be Shabbat observant, you don't need to not be on your phone for the whole time. Light some candles, drink a little wine, have some carbs there's nothing wrong with any of that. Yeah, though I don't make our challah my daughter gets. They send it home from school. It's in like a plastic bag.
Arielle:It's still really good. We get that also, but there's something about the self-care aspect of all this as well.
Arielle:Like you said, even like if you go to shul for an hour or you find that quiet time, you don't have to go to synagogue. That quiet time you don't have to go to synagogue. I mean it's finding that break from the week to the weekend and just having that moment to just be has really been why I do it. I mean I look forward to it every week where I'm like okay, the week's great, like what we do, also at when we finally are sitting down for dinner. We always do our highs and our lows and I think it's important to just have that connection and to talk and to be present, like we said, and be off our phones and not in front of the TV.
Nicole:Cause we eat dinner in front of the TV a lot too.
Arielle:I mean who does not?
Nicole:If you don't, if you say you don't, you're lying, you're lying, no, it's just natural.
Arielle:But yeah, I think it's that time to just be together, and even if it's for, like you know, 15 minutes, like it works for us and that's, you know, it's important.
Nicole:I completely agree. I completely agree. How has becoming a mother changed your relationship with Judaism? Because I know for me it's completely changed since I had my daughter more observant after becoming a mother.
Arielle:I don't know. I mean, I think the fact that we had children is a miracle in itself and I mean, when I was first pregnant, I was like I wouldn't even talk about it, like it was like I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to jinx it, I don't know if it's just, that's a very common Jewish thing, Like Jewish people usually don't have baby showers.
Nicole:They don't set up anything. It's bad luck. I mean, if you come from I don't know about, I can't speak about other types of Jews, but Ashkenazi Jews are super superstitious crib Like that's something that my family does.
Arielle:Yeah, I had a red bundle in my wedding dress. Cause I remember like I didn't want to wear this in pictures and I was like, please tie a red string. I mean we grew up like my grandma would always put little red strings like in our dresses, like it was just again, like even the cups, like you're supposed to turn your cups upside down.
Nicole:There is, I'll do that. Yeah, I do that, yep.
Arielle:It's very funny. I love that. I know no one else. I know when I met my husband.
Nicole:He's like why do you do that? It's like because of evil spirits, you don't want them getting in the cups, which, in 2023, sounds like a crazy thing to say, and I'm like also, you don't want like dust to get in the cups. So like there's a practical reason.
Arielle:It's so funny, but we turn the cups over because my grandma used to say if you lost something, you would have to turn three cups over, and then you would find it. It wasn't even for the dust. Oh, it was something else, it was next level, but it works I mean we love.
Nicole:We love the grandmother ashkenazi superstitions that they brought from the shtetl and we're still doing it.
Arielle:Yes, so here we are, um, but I would say no, no question. I think becoming a mom has, in the most beautiful way, made me appreciate being Jewish.
Nicole:Are there specific traditions that you hope to pass on to your daughters?
Arielle:I hope that, if for nothing else, that they're proud of who they are and never let anyone say you know that you shouldn't be doing what you're doing, or you know, do what makes you feel good. And you know I want to. You know, pass down the Shabbat traditions and making challah, and just the little joys, like I love, even the music. I mean, I just think it's not, you don't need to be so observant to feel connected. It's whatever works best for you. And I think my only hope for my girls is that they would feel that way and not feel pressured, you know, to be a certain way or to do something different if that's not what they truly believe.
Nicole:I think, one thing that I'm super pushing right now is the idea of Jewish joy. I feel like, in general, a lot of our holidays, a lot of our shared trauma, is traumatic, it's negative, it's not happy. You know, I've seen stuff online joking to be like all of our holidays are they tried to kill us? They didn't. Now we eat. You know, which is a thing.
Arielle:I've seen that meme.
Nicole:Yes, but I feel like the idea of bringing Jewish joy, especially right now and you know it's difficult celebrating Hanukkah Well, there's a lot of people who are not able to do that with their family because they're hostages right now is so important. But not even with what's going on right now, just in general, I think the idea of Jewish joy is so important. Yeah, I, the idea of Jewish joy is so important, yeah.
Arielle:I mean you hit the nail on the head. I mean it's really like we want, we need that right now. I feel like since October 7th I have not been the same and I feel like there is so much weight on our shoulders and every day goes by and we're like how are these people still hostages?
Nicole:I don't know about where you are, but because I'm in the Upper West Side, there's posters everywhere, so I feel like I see these people every day and I've now come to know them in a way. So it makes it very personal, which I think was the idea of the poster project to begin with. But I think that makes it that much harder because it's just a constant reminder that it's still happening.
Arielle:I keep hoping that I'm going to wake up and like, magically, they will all have been rescued. I think about this every single day. I just, yeah, I mean Jewish joy. Yeah that, what else can we do? I mean, yeah, I mean Jewish joy, yeah that, what else can we do? I mean, it has brought us together in a way that I've never felt, like I said, ever in my life. I mean, we are here and we are not going anywhere, and we might as well shine bright and be happy as much as we can shine bright and be happy as much as we can.
Nicole:So this next section, they're short form questions done in the style of the actor's studio, and I asked these same questions of all my guests. So the first question is what is your favorite Yiddish word?
Arielle:Oh gosh, I have to do it quick.
Nicole:If you can't do a quick answer, you can. You can do a longer answer.
Arielle:My favorite Yiddish word is going to be let's think I have like a whole Yiddish collection. This is the pressure's on Azoy, Okay, which is like I don't know, like a lot or like what is it. Now I'm going to have to look it up, but it was like it was like so much, like a zoe, like you had to do that so much.
Nicole:Said, with the inflection up what is your favorite Jewish holiday, sukkot. If you were to have a bat mitzvah today, what would the theme be?
Arielle:It would still be Ariel. I thought about this and I was like it's going to be my, because my bat mitzvah was myself. It was Ariel, it was just my name and I would do the same. What?
Nicole:were the centerpieces for that theme.
Arielle:It was just me as a child. I was. It was my face, like on every table. My cake was like my face when they could like print.
Nicole:Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Arielle:I mean, do they still do that? But, like I don't know, my theme was my name, I don't know I there wasn't like something that, like, I loved.
Nicole:Yeah. So you were like I'm it's going to make it, it's a day about you, so you're going to be the theme that makes sense, that makes complete sense. Total. What profession other than you, your own, would you want to attempt?
Arielle:Um, great question. I wish that. Oh my gosh, I don't even know. I wish that I was an organized human being. I wish that I was just able to be a professional organizer. No, I don't know. I wish I had that strength and I do not.
Nicole:I don't either. So we are on the same page. If heaven is real and God is there to welcome you, what would you like to hear them say?
Arielle:You are. My name is Ariel, which is Linus of God, and I could only hope to live up to that name and to be a beacon of light and I don't know.
Nicole:You would hope that God would say that yeah. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, so if someone is a new customer, do we have a discount code or a special promo we could share with anybody listening who's interested in your products?
Arielle:Sure, so for 10% off of anything on my site. The code is you, just the letter. You are the two, just to the two letters. You are amazing 10.
Nicole:What a happy discount code. I know I try.
Arielle:It's funny. When I first started everything, I would sign everything with you are amazing on the back with the letters AZ in the word amazing, like my signature. So it was like you are amazing. I don't know. There was something about like spreading that joy that I always wanted to do.
Nicole:You can follow Arielle on Instagram I do. She posts her products and you know things like baking and she's, like we said, very responsive, which is rare with somebody who has as many followers as she does.
Arielle:Thank you, I try, we're all just doing our best. We're doing our best. We're all doing our best.
Nicole:I'm trying to wake up in the morning, I'm like I'm just doing my best, I get a t-shirt. I would like that Maybe. Maybe I'll start a company where I'm just selling you know, t-shirts from moms that say things like I'm just doing my best, you're like I woke up today. I need a gold star.
Arielle:I would like five gold stars. Cause I need another business, so thank you so much for joining me. It was lovely to talk to you.
Nicole:Well, thank you so much. So this has been SheBrew in the city and I'm Nicole Kelly. © transcript Emily.
Arielle:Beynon.
