Physical Calendars See Resurgence Amid Digital Age
Despite the prevalence of digital calendars, physical calendars featuring illustrations, art, songs, and literature have become a growing trend in recent years. These personalized and unique calendars, priced between 40 and 95 shekels, are gaining popularity.
Amit Treinin, head of illustration at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, released his first physical calendar this year, comprising 13 illustrations. He believes the resurgence of physical products like calendars is a response to the rise of AI, suggesting a desire for tangible, human-made items. "People have always liked calendars because it's a beautiful thing to hang in the house," Treinin stated, noting that the visual appeal often outweighs the practical need for date tracking.
Writer and translator Benny Mer, along with illustrator Michal Arieli, have produced a calendar for the Hebrew year 5787 dedicated to animal poems in Yiddish and Hebrew. Each month features a Yiddish poem, its Hebrew translation by Mer, and an illustration by Arieli. Their project, now in its tenth year, aims to explore less common Yiddish poetry, including a poem about a pig, reflecting Yiddish as a secular, socialist culture. "We try to break those stereotypes," Mer explained.
The Jerusalem cultural center "HaMif'al" produces a calendar featuring 12 emerging Israeli designers, with each designer creating a month and a poster. Priced at an accessible 40 shekels, the goal is to make it a trend. Another calendar, created by author and illustrator Tehila Goldberg for the second year, is dedicated to book lovers. Each month highlights a word with corresponding book recommendations for adults and children, aiming to encourage reading and rediscovery of literature.
Illustrator Ilya Kraines has been producing annual Gregorian calendars focused on hedgehogs for the past five years, each with a different concept. Inspired by the proverb "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing," Kraines's work explores the hedgehog's singular, effective strategy. He is drawn to creating expensive, handmade products with a limited lifespan of one year, highlighting the tension between the temporary and the eternal.
