Hanukkah Menorahs that will Add Light This Year
Today, in the last day of Hanukkah as the 8th candle is to be lit, we are happy to share with you this amazing collection of selected Hanukkah menorahs. This review brings together artists from the short list of finalists of our Open Call Hanukkah Edition that we made in collaboration with art curator Ela Cohen and ECLECTICTLV project as a curated invitation to artists working with material, light, and form.
We invite you to take your time, explore these beautiful works and discover the artists behind them, encounter the artists in person, and, if they speak to you, bring their art to your own home. And may more light appear in our world!
1. Chen Taoz
Chen Taoz is a light artist and lighting designer who creates refined light sculptures inspired by beacons of humanity. Her Eternal Light Menorah embodies the idea that light accompanies us at all times – revealed in shifting reflections during the day and in a warm, emotional glow when the candles are lit. Throughout the year, it stands as a subtle light sculpture; during Hanukkah, it comes alive, filling the home with meaning and tradition
2. esti castro
Esti Castro is a ceramic artist. Her ceramic practice is rooted in the perfection of imperfection, a philosophy where softness, irregularity, and organic curves reflect the harmony of nature, spirit, and human experience. Her work is rounded, tactile, and expressive, born from a deep desire to bring life, gentleness, and meaning into material, turning imperfection into a quiet form of wholeness.
The Balloon Vessel Menorah is created out of love for material, tradition, and design, each vessel is handmade and unique. Together, they form a quiet harmony of light and color. More than a ritual object, the menorah stands as an art piece, carrying a gentle yet distinct presence within the home.
3. shiri lopata
Shiri Lopata works with clay as a way to return to touch and intuition. Coming from a background in interior and fashion design, she is drawn to organic forms, flowing lines, and the quiet harmony of nature. Using raw clay such as stoneware and earthenware, Shiri creates handmade pieces that balance softness and solidity. Her work explores imperfection as beauty, inviting a sense of calm, presence, and gentle emotion into everyday space.
This handmade menorah is shaped like a tree trunk, symbolizing roots, stability, and inner strength. Created during a difficult time, it reflects the need to protect resilience, hope, and our connection to the land and to one another. Like trees that give us air and life, the menorah stands as a reminder of care, continuity, and the shared wish to bring light home together.
4. Anna Bestuzheva - ceramic_pot_station
Anna Bestuzheva is a ceramic artist and maker behind Ceramic Pot Station, rooted in hands-on craftsmanship. Working without a potter’s wheel or plaster molds, she creates one-of-a-kind pieces that are entirely handmade and hand-painted, each with its own unique character. Her process embraces material and technique, using underglaze paints and high-temperature firings to shape forms that are both functional and expressive.
Her practice is centered on hand-building, surface, and individuality – no two works are ever the same. Her menorah carries this philosophy: a sculptural ceramic object shaped by touch, process, and quiet intention.
Anna Bestuzheva on DI Catalogue
5. Adi Nissani
Adi Nissani, a ceramicist and designer, creats artisanal tableware and lifestyle objects inspired by nature’s simplicity, ancient cultures, and a minimalist approach.
This unique, modern Hanukkiah named “Menora Ribbon” reflects her dedication to handcraft and material honesty: shaped like a flowing ribbon, an infinite path with its ups and downs. The Hanukkiah is crafted with rich, tactile texture and finished with Adi’s own handmade glaze. Designed as both a functional Hanukkah piece and a sculptural object, it brings light to the holiday and serves as a timeless decorative artwork throughout the year.
https://www.instagram.com/adinissani/
6. Liza Fedotova
Liza Fedotova creates sculptural objects where material and gesture come together in a refined, tactile language. Her Hanukkah work balances delicacy with strength, turning tradition into a contemporary object that feels both grounded and poetic.
7. Vicky Schwennen
Vicky Schwennen works with glass and abstract stained glass, creating lighting features, windows and decorative objects where light and shadow become active participants. Coming from a background in exact sciences, she treats her practice as a dialogue between geometry, physics, and artistic freedom – a search for common ground between science and spirit.
Each piece changes with movement and viewpoint, transforming color, composition, and space. Shadow is never secondary: it adds depth, motion, and endless variation. For Vicky, creation is a kind of game: letting material guide imagination and tell its own story.
8. Yotam Shifroni And Adi Azar - Studio Knob
Adi Azar, Shenkar graduate, and Yotam Shifroni, HIT graduate have been creating out-of-the-box furniture, lighting and artifacts for interior design since 2015 under the brand “Studio Knob”. For Adi and Yotam a knob is that small, clever detail that transforms the whole – a tiny opening into their home, their process, and their way of seeing the world.
Their Spinning Top Collection reimagines the traditional dreidel as a contemporary object. Made from engraved brass plates, each piece shifts between art and play – a medallion at rest, a spinning top with a simple twist. Rooted in history yet interactive by nature, the collection weaves heritage, culture and ecology into objects meant to be touched and explored.
Studio Knob on DI Catalogue
9. Keren Velvart
Keren Velvart is an Israeli product designer, creating furniture, lighting, and objects that seek a natural, meaningful connection between people and their surroundings. Studio’s work is driven by character, story, and quiet aesthetics, with inspiration drawn from nature.
The Hanukkah menorah is handmade with care: eight delicate, organic forms of equal height and one slightly taller, all united by an elongated profile. Designed as a family ritual, it turns candle lighting into a gentle game — moving the branches day by day, counting the holiday like an abacus, and bringing playfulness into tradition.
10. Berta Shuster
Berta Shuster is a Russian-Israeli ceramic artist whose practice is rooted in material, touch, and place. She began working with clay at the age of 26, later studying professional ceramics at the Benyamini Contemporary Ceramics Center in Tel Aviv, where she graduated and took part in the center’s final exhibition.
Berta works intuitively with clay, exploring texture and surface while preserving the natural color and tactile quality of the material. Her inspiration comes from the landscapes she has lived in – from the Ural Mountains in Russia to the desert and sea of Israel – shaping objects that feel grounded, quiet, and deeply physical.
Berta Shuster on DI Catalogue
11. Beatrisa - Bst.candles
Beatrisa is the creator behind BST Candles, working with handmade candles and decorative objects made from polymer-modified gypsum. Her practice balances bold, vivid forms with refined, elegant design, creating pieces that feel expressive yet carefully considered.
Hanukkah holds a special place in her work. Through contemporary menorahs, Beatrisa blends tradition with modern form, crafting each piece with attention, care, and a strong sense of material and beauty.
12. Olga Portnoy
Olga Portnoy is the only artist among our finalists who doesn’t create Hanukkah menorahs. However, her art pieces are so personal and with such a strong individual voice that we decided to include them in our list!
After years of working as a fashion designer in Israel, Olga felt the need to create with a different material – something soft, fragile, and filled with light. This search led her to porcelain, a medium she fell in love with for its quietness and delicacy.
Porcelain allows her to draw as if on paper, connecting precision with modesty, perfection with fragility. Over time, what began as a hobby became a profession and a way of life – a space for research, creation, and teaching. Art is her native language, one she continues to rediscover every day. Her art is very personal and with a strong individual voice!
On the cover photo – ceramic artworks by Adi Nissani.
The article is prepared by DI Catalogue Editorial team.
