D E S I G N E R’S
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JET SET CELEBRATIONS ELKI JACOBS EVENT DESIGN
ELKI E LK KI J JACOBS ACOBS ACO
THEY ARE the events you read about: A London billionaire flies hundreds of guests to his daughter’s 3-day wedding celebration in Monte Carlo. Friday night, a dinner for 250 at the Villa Rothschild estate in Cap Ferrat. Saturday, an afternoon beach party, and Sunday evening, a wedding for 700 at the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo. The production team: Sky Productions; Designer: Elki Jacobs Event Designs from Tel Aviv. A private party for Madonna prior to her ‘Sticky and Sweet’ tour hosted by one of her closest friends at his London loft. Madonna’s only request: fly in the Israeli band, ‘Sheva’ for the party. She left the celebration in the hands of Tel Aviv event producer Tali Yaacobi. Elki Jacobs was flown to London to design the event and transformed the loft into an intimate bedroom with white pillows and beds, African elements and 2000 candles. “Madonna was PHOTO BY GAL HERMONY, "LAISHA" MAGAZINE. WWW.LAISHA.CO.IL
surrounded by 75 of her closest friends, and when she danced you could see she was having a fabulous time,” Elki recounts. “Gwyneth Paltrow, Trudie Styler and Stella McCartney were there. We had built a corner of the loft for the band and when the group of barefoot singers entered, the guests grabbed the pillows and sat on the floor to listen. Then, Madonna picked up the microphone and sang ‘Shir Hama’alot,’ a song of the Hebrew psalms. She knew all the words… it was unforgettable.” Eli Papouchado, the pioneer of Israel’s hotel industry and chairman of the Park Plaza Hotel Group in London, hosted his 70th birthday party for 600. Elki Jacobs Event Designs (Tali Angel Productions) transformed an empty warehouse in Tel Aviv into a chic nightclub in black leather and burgundy velvet.
PHOTO BY BENNY SAAR
EVENTS BY SKY PRODUCTIONS
PHOTO BY ERAN BEERI
PHOTO BY LOSKA
Shari Arison, the daughter of Ted Arison (co-founder of Norwegian Cruise Lines and Carnival Cruise Lines), is one of the wealthiest women in the Middle East. Bold Productions and Elki Jacobs Event Designs created a magical evening for her 50th birthday. “I went to Shari’s house and her office to be inspired by her taste. We designed her festivities in an Asian motif, building building bamboo walls, and islands and filled the house with purple orchids ad crystals. I requested that guests only wear white, which added a special spirit to the event.”
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Israel’s top designers, chefs, musicians, and event production companies are in high demand all over the world. It’s that Israeli ingenuity coupled with the Sabra chutzpah that makes Israeli design talent so extraordinary. Yet, Elki Jacobs, Israel’s leading event designer, wasn’t born in Israel; she’s from Connecticut and immigrated to Israel 30 years ago. Elki is the eldest daughter of well-known Connecticut attorney, Howard Jacobs, and his wife, Natalie, a former opera singer. Elki studied theater at Syracuse University and at the Drama Center in London where she met her
husband, Israeli theatre director, Amit Gazit. It was a difficult choice, leaving her family in America to begin her life in Israel, as a wife and an actress, especially since she didn’t speak Hebrew. After six months she began performing on the Israeli stage in Hebrew at the Habima National Theater in Tel Aviv, Haifa Theater, and the Jerusalem Khan Theatre. Elki starred opposite Christopher Walken in “Puss in Boots,” shot in Israel, and worked in a number of international productions in Israel and abroad. She moved into event design in 1993, and continues to bring a theatrical sensibility to her work. “In essence, you are telling a story. It’s all about listening and creating a dialogue with the client. My clients are attending the most exclusive parties around the world so they want a spectacular event, unlike any other. It’s like creating a boutique hotel for one night.” Clients come to Israel from all over the world: South Africa, Tahiti, Paris, New York, and Buenos Aires, to have their momentous celebrations. Israel offers amazing possibilities for event locations, all within a few hours distance. Three-day events are designed in different regions of the country: to the north, the Hills of Galilee, Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall, south to Masada, exotic desert locations, the Red Sea, and Tel Aviv, where Elki is resident designer at the Hilton hotel. “There’s something about the spirituality of Israel’s historical sites. The magnificent locations coupled with the power of special event technology can create the most meaningful personalized event. Images of generations of a family projected onto the walls of King David’s tower create an overwhelming sense of oneness with history.” Elki resides in Tel Aviv with her husband, theatre director, Amit Gazit, and her daughter, Anna, a singer, currently serving in the Israeli army. Her daughter, Ayala is a photographer in New York City. It’s Elki’s bond with her family in Tel Aviv and her family in the U.S. that defines her, in her life and in her work. She brings heart to a celebration with an understanding of how rare and remarkable these moments are for a family. www.elkijacobs.com. ❉