30 | OCTOBER 6 • 2022 

SUKKOT

P

inecones and walnut 
shells have long been 
used to craft natural 
pendants. Yet this ancient 
trend of transforming items 
from the Earth into beautiful, 
wearable jewelry and 
accessories is getting a brand-
new look — and a Jewish 
twist from a local family.
Father and son duo Eric 
and Mordechai Kornbleuth 
of Oak Park are repurposing 
etrogs, or Israeli yellow citrus 
fruits used during the week-
long holiday of Sukkot, into 
custom tallit clips, necklaces, 
bracelets and even rose-
shaped earrings made from 
the peels.
In the Kornbleuths’ 
basement exists a multi-room 
operation where they cut, 
shape and dip etrogs into 
resin, making them timeless 
and timeproof for customers 
to wear.
First, the Kornbleuths 
followed the standard 
tradition of making 
accessories out of pinecones, 
but after realizing they had 
a collection of 20-year-old 
petrified etrogs that weren’t 
being used, they began 
experimenting with the 
famous Jewish citrus fruit.
“When I saw Mordechai 
working on the pinecones 
with a bandsaw, I thought, 
‘I wonder if that will go 
through the etrog and create 
a pendant the same way,’” Eric 
Kornbleuth, 53, recalls. After 
a tremendous amount of trial 
and error, the Kornbleuths 
realized the process could be 
replicated — and that etrogs 
yielded unusual, one-of-a-
kind designs.

Transforming 
ancient, biblical fruit 
into custom tallit 
clips and pendants 
for Sukkot.

Etrog Art

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY 
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ON THE COVER

Father-and-son team 
Eric and Mordechai 
Kornbleuth turn 
etrogs into art.

