Our Shpiel

We are a couple of teenage friends and a somewhat nutty Dad.

That Dad had always been bothered in trips to Israel to see that the only choices in Hebrew shirts for the past forever years seem to be Coca-Cola, Masada, the IDF, and Maccabee beer. Apparently, the souvenir shops must have ordered a TON of supply some 35 years ago and still haven't been able to unload all of it.

He happened to be sitting in Ben Gurion Airport at 2am one night waiting for a 6:30am flight mulling over important thoughts like who buys all the perfume and Toblerone at the duty-free shops, and lamented the very few options available for clothing and souvenirs with interesting Hebrew on it (which he always felt was quite beautiful). He happened to be complaining about this glaring absence with the unsuspecting salesperson at the all-night Steimatzky's store. Surprisingly, she did not seem so enthusiastic about his concern. Seeing that the Dad was in fact not going to purchase anything, she tried to return to reading her book on several occasions, but the Dad was fairly oblivious to her disinterest in the conversation. Remember, he still had about 4 hours before his flight and he was trying to stay away from the restaurants that were open because, let's just say, he doesn't need the calories.

On the return trip, it dawned on him what a great opportunity to start a project with his teenage daughter and her friend, to turn some quirky ideas about Hebrew, Yiddish, and Jewish culture into some fun fashion items, and learn about Internet marketing at the same time. Voilà, IvriTees was born. And the world will never be the same. Or, it might.