One of the best things about working on Smashing The Glass is stumbling across great finds that I can’t wait to show you, or in this case, being contacted by people who completely get the Smashing The Glass ethos and have something brilliant to share. David Master and his incredible sculptural ketubot are truly one-of-a-kind and it gives me great pleasure to introduce his creations to you today.
David and his wife, Elana, recently opened their boutique online ketubah store — Timeless Ketubah — where they create and sell the world’s first truly sculptural ketubah, and just like the story of Smashing The Glass, their venture started when they were planning their own Jewish wedding. They were unable to find a ketubah that captured both the essence of rich Jewish tradition, as well as their individual and collective personalities, and from that experience their unique ketubah design was born, meaning you can now literally carve your individuality onto your wedding day and beyond.
So what exactly is a ketubah?
For the uninitiated, the ketubah (which means “something written” in Hebrew) is an integral part of the Jewish wedding and it outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom to the bride. The contract dates back to ancient times but it’s come a long way since then!
These days ketubahs (or ketubot, the Hebrew plural) are less about the business of marriage and more about the beauty. They have come to symbolise the love and commitment of a couple, and are often beautiful designs that the couple want to display prominently in their home well after their big day is over — and this is exactly where David’s creations come into their own.
The story of the sculptural ketubah
As already mentioned, the idea of creating a sculptural ketubah was born when David and his wife, Elana, were planning their own Jewish wedding. A true ‘Smashing The Glass’ couple, they took a very hands-on approach by conceptualising and creating many elements themselves, from their in-depth ceremony program, to a family tree showing several generations of wedding photos, to creating their invitations by hand, to name but a few. Of course they looked around at other ketubot, but none had that truly ‘one-of-a-kind’ factor; so they decided to create their own.
They knew that their ketubah would be a focal point of their wedding, but the response from their guests was even more positive than they had imagined it would be.
Seeing a need for this type of ketubah, and wanting to share their experience with others, the idea of creating and selling sculptural ketubot was born. After almost two years of creating prototypes, working through operations and logistics, and creating a website, Timeless Ketubah is finally here!
