Artist Carmi Katsir is
pictured with some of
his glass creations.
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BY KIMBERLY LIF TON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN
ost artists devote more
than enough time to
drafting and fine-tun-
ing details for every
creation.
Yet West Bloomfield resident
Carmi Katsir, 19, defies the norm
when he creates original glass
bracelets, pendants, barrettes, Torah
pointers and other accessories with-
out first making a sketch of a design
on a piece of paper.
"Carmi's process is all in his head.
He conceptualizes the design while
he is doing it," explains Carmi's
father, Dani Katsir, a well-known
stained-glass artist who markets
high-end Judaica and other pieces
under the Danika Designs brand. "I
spend a lot of time drawing and eras-
ing and designing. For me, it is a
process," he says.
Along with Carmi's unconvention-
al style of craftsmanship comes an
innovative marketing concept.
Rather than try his luck at art fairs,
craft shows and a few galleries, the
younger Katsir sells his pieces on
eBay, the popular online auction
house. The idea came to him just
over a year ago after auctioning off
some old cameras on the site.
"I looked at the other artists, and
there were no other glass bracelets,"
Katsir recalls. "I started with five,
and they all sold."
Since then, Katsir has sold every
item he's put up for auction, which
amounts to nearly 500 one-of-a-kind
glass bracelets, beads and pendants.
"I think eBay is great," says
Katsir, who took off a year, after
graduating from West Bloomfield
High School, before heading off to
Western Michigan University in
Kalamazoo. There, he is completing
10 • DECEMBER 2003 • STYLE AT THE JN
M. SHEA
his first term of general studies. "I
balance my pieces. The lowest price
I got on an item was $9 and the
highest was $50. I could do a mini-
mum bid, but I'd rather not. It is all
personal choice."
Now, with studies taking up the
majority of the time he once spent in
the studio, he is working on week-
ends at the studio he shares with his
dad to build up his inventory. What's
more, he recently leased some studio
space in Grand Rapids to be closer to
school, and he hopes to work there
at least two times a week. This
month, Katsir plans to have his prod-
ucts back on eBay.
Raised in West Bloomfield, Katsir
was always surrounded by art
and intellect. While he was
growing up, his mother,
Daniella Saltz, already an
archaeologist with a doctorate
degree, went back to law school
at the University of Michigan.
(Today Saltz is an in-house
attorney for Ford Motor
Company.) With a knack for
drawing and quilting, she also
has a creative side. His older
sister, Karen Katsir, is an award-
winning sculptor in California.
His mom worked outside of
the home, but his dad worked
in the basement, where Carmi
spent a great deal of time
watching, learning and devel-
oping his own style. At age 5,
he made his first glass art proj-
ect at Camp Hidden Valley in
Maine. He was there with his dad,
who teaches art classes every sum-
mer.
"I made a two-dimensional red
house," he recalls. "My dad showed
me how to do it, but I did it. My dad
still has it. We were cleaning the
basement, and we found it. He
wouldn't let me throw it away."
Katsir's talent for the arts, which
includes photography, has always
been evident to those around him.
He's won countless awards for both
glass work and photography, and a
glass sculpture he made is displayed
in the courtyard at West Bloomfield
High School. He donated the sculp-
ture to the school.
"I like 3-D, ceramics and photog-
raphy," he says. "I like inventions."
For now Katsir plans to finish col-
lege and stock his inventory to keep
selling his products on eBay, and to
devote more time to creating larger
sculptures. He has been contacted
by stores and galleries and he's sold
wholesale packages to three stores in
Texas, Miami and California. He's
done some commission work as well.
"I am always looking for ways to
make money that are not traditional
9 to 5 jobs," he says.
Down the road, Katsir is consider-
ing many options, among them
attending art school, being an artist,
teacher, working for an organization
that supports artists, or even becom-
ing a stockbroker. "I'd like to be an
artist, but I am also interested in the
realm around it," he says.
"I've really just started. I was
pretty confident that it would go
well on eBay. It is a little surprising
that this market is so unlimited. I
don't see it maxing out. People are
viewing it from around the world. It's
awesome."
Tofind Katsir on eBay, type Carmi3 for
the seller identification.