There’s something in common among the Israeli jewelry designer Shiran Tal Soffrin, founder of Urban Raven, and archaeologists: they both look at material things in a total, different way. What has been thrown away or set apart and forgotten, gain interest and get an unique story, but for Shiran discarded objects and little memorabilia unleash a range of creative, chic and eco-friendly possibilities. It’s time for a virtual coffee at Valens’ with Shiran Tal, she has a lot to say about how she has become the “Urban Raven” and her new projects. How and when was “Urban Raven” born?While studying industrial design at HIT College, I became interested in jewelry design and began learning it on my own. It became a true passion, so I ended my studies in industrial design and became a goldsmith student. I was introduced to the world of upcycling after I had already begun experimenting with jewelry making and it was a god sent! It led me to creative searches through the flea market in Yafo (Jaffa) where I looked for items I could reinvent and sell to pay off my student loans. Unfortunately, even at the flea market, the items were too pricey for me and I just couldn’t see a way to make a living off of them. However, it was there that a broken beer bottle happened to catch my eye and fill me with inspiration about creating beautiful pieces out of discarded objects. I began experimenting with glass, smashing a few bottles at home, and worked with the random shards that naturally broke off. What resulted from those first experiments was beautiful and produced an excited reaction from friends and family. That’s when I truly realized that I had found a way to enjoy design, challenge myself and create unique pieces that would be environmentally friendly (very important) and still quite beautiful. Then I started to branch out and look for anything and everything that I could turn into jewelry. My mother works in the world of high-tech and suggested that I might use castoff computer chips to create something. The computer chips turned out to be great material to work with because they are so intricate and lovely just as they are. All I needed to do was bring out their inner potential in terms of design. A few months later I came across my brother’s old stamp collection. It was so distinctive and wonderful that I decided to try and incorporate the stamps into my jewelry. I even got a few stamp donations from friends and acquaintances. The end product was a collection of nostalgic, historical, one-of-a-kind pieces. Could you tell us something about your background? Where are you from? Hi! I’m Shiran Tal Soffrin, I live in Beit Yehoshua (Israel). Newly Married to Oded and a proud Mother to Kaya (our French Bulldog). When have you met your passion for creations? Ever since I was a child, I always loved design and working with my hands, but I never thought I would be doing it for a living. My mom had always (as far as I can remember) had some artsy project and our house was full with creation What’s your goal? To able to focus only on designing new pieces from new materials, as much upcycled as can be! How do you imagine your typical customer? I always imagine a savvy woman, who is tired of the ‘chic’ and common designs you see around the big chains, and thirsty for something fresh and unique. Urban Raven’s “Upcycled Stamp Jewels” collection – Egyptian postal stamp necklace Urban Raven’s “Wood and Leaf Jewelry”collection – Gold leaf necklace Urban Raven’s “Upcycled Tech Jewelry” collection – Computer chips silver cufflinks Urban Raven’s “Upcycled Stamp Jewelry” collection – African stamp earrings Urban Raven’s “Upcycled Tech Jewelry” collection – Gold computer chip cuff Urban Raven’s “Coin Jewelry” collection – Silver Israeli telephone token bracelet Urban Raven’s “Coin Jewelry” – Italian coin gold necklace What inspires you the most? I find inspiration by so many different things, but I have to say mostly – Nature, history, and the urban view 🙂 Do you have an inspiring place, where do you create or sketch the product? Most of the time I’m in my home studio, Kaya under the table and hours go by. Every once in a while I got outside to sit in our garden and get a whiff of fresh air and let the trees talk to me! Do you have a project for the near future? My hope for the future is to never stop creating and learning new techniques in the field of up cycling. I’d love to get into furniture, accessories, lighting and more. I often fantasize a completely up cycled store, full of inspiration and design. It would fuel my personal desire to be surrounded by inspiration and innovation at all. Urban Raven’s new collection – Rose gold Pac Man necklace Urban Raven – Golden pomegranate necklace Urban Raven – Gold hoop diamond earrings Urban Raven – Silver balloon ring Urban Raven – Gold hexagon knuckle ring Urban Raven – Silver triangles ring Urban Raven – Gold triangles necklace Postal stamps, coming from every corner of the globe, become the central piece of precious jewelleries; technological remains of our era get a new “job”, while death leaves come back to life. The respect for Mother Nature has brought her to follow an ecological journey but the new path, that Shiran is going to continue, leads her to another world: abstract and cosmic. The Urban Raven is ready with allusions to hot modern trends, like hanging earrings and stackable rings, and 70’s vibes with hexagonal and chubby bubbly patterns. If you’d like to follow this progress, you can have a quick look at her on line Etsy shop or follow Shiran Tal on her social media: Facebook, twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.After dead leaves and wood, shards and telephone tokens; cold metals will start speak to and inspire people… Valentina Chirico aka Valens