א is for Alba

[unpretty]

[halfmoonworkshop]

This was inspired by the illustrations in the Duke of Sussex Pentateuch illuminated manuscript. I first saw them right here on tumblr (from this post, I think) and they were so beautiful that I ended up downloading copies of every illustration from the digital facsimile and drawing my own versions over and over while I wrapped my head around the designs. This one ended up being a little more modern than I planned, but I like it. It's a bit (small-g) gothic, right?

The pendant is currently for sale on Etsy, by the way. You can get 10% off if you use the code NEWMOON at checkout.

-Half Moon

[halfmoonworkshop]

Earrings by Half Moon at Half Moon Workshop. Note: our older stock is still available on Shopify while we finish the transition over to Etsy.

Pomegranates are one of the sacred species in Judaism and have deep significance and symbolism in Jewish culture, and why not? They're beautiful and delicious. If you look through the Half Moon Workshop, you'll see quite a lot of pomegranate motifs depicted. Some are charms or beads, like the earrings pictured here; others are woven into Celtic knotwork or other designs inspired by medieval illuminated manuscript. There are realistic pomegranates and stylised pomegranates, wearable pomegranates and kissable* pomegranates and decorative home pomegranates. It's a lot of pomegranates.

*Mezuzah cases. Don't make it weird.

[halfmoonworkshop]

Tumblr wasn't in our business advisor's list of essential social media platforms for an independent artist, but the independent artist in question likes it here. She's working on an introductory post, but in the meantime, you can check out her work on Etsy, Instagram and Facebook.

[amaditalks]

Hey I know that artist! And you should too. If you're looking for jewelry, accessories or mezuzah covers from a Jewish artisan, here you go!

[halfmoonworkshop]

Thanks, Amadi! This is a tricky time for the shop, because we're switching over from Shopify to Etsy and it's an extremely tedious process; currently, most of the stock is still on the old Shopify site, but the rest is on the new Etsy site. (For the next two weeks, by the way, the discount code NEWMOON to kick off the new digital storefront.) Shopify has this ridiculous enshi—I mean, great new update where you can no longer sync it up with Etsy, so everything has to be moved over manually, one item at a time. Half Moon Workshop is run by an extremely small team led by a disabled artist, so tasks like this transition can end up on the back burner while we make sure that people's orders are sent out on time.

It really is a shame, though, because the new stuff due to be uploaded is very cool. Check this out, for instance:

(Original Celtic knotwork design applied in pyrography on a wooden mezuzah case.)

I've also been working on bobbin lace recently. Example:

(This is a choker.)

[halfmoonworkshop]

Tumblr wasn't in our business advisor's list of essential social media platforms for an independent artist, but the independent artist in question likes it here. She's working on an introductory post, but in the meantime, you can check out her work on Etsy, Instagram and Facebook.

[halfmoonworkshop]

#these are gorgeous!!!!!!#overseas shipping is perhaps a bit too much#but i really want that pomegranate mezuzah#beautiful case

Is this the one you mean?

Send us a message and we can talk discounts!

But yes—overseas shipping is frankly ridiculous, especially to the US. I can only apologise for that; all the new tariffs and fees are hitting small businesses really hard. (It suddenly costs more money to send things to the EU, too, which was a very unpleasant surprise.) We still haven't figured out how to navigate this in a way that's fair to both the artist and the customer.

Some of the options we've considered:

Offering discounts on international shipping for a limited time, but on a regular basis—to kick off a new month on the Hebrew calendar, for instance. That way, followers outside the UK will have frequent opportunities to take advantage.

Referral offers: if you share our shop with a friend and they end up making a purchase, you get a discount on shipping.

To other small business owners (especially artists) affected by this: how have you been handling this? Any advice?

-Half Moon

[halfmoonworkshop]

Tumblr wasn't in our business advisor's list of essential social media platforms for an independent artist, but the independent artist in question likes it here. She's working on an introductory post, but in the meantime, you can check out her work on Etsy, Instagram and Facebook.