As a young man, when Eyal backpacked through India and Indonesia on a five-dollar-a-day budget he discovered how the world is full of possibilities. Over our steaming cups of tea, he speaks of that time in his life as if it just happened and appears to still be amazed at what he learnt back then, “I recognized and understood that we live in a bubble for most of our lives and that our horizons, our chance of expanding and doing great things is limitless.”
Eyal explains that he planned to take to the world again, once he’d obtain his degree, “I saw myself leading that kind of lifestyle.” But when reality and professional responsibilities set it, travelling took a backseat.
Today, part of what feeds his inner-hunger is, that thanks to Artemano, he’s not only able to travel, but is privileged to set-foot on the most remote places and villages on our planet. “Last November I stood in the middle of a rice field on Java Island, in Indonesia. People stand there for 14 to 16 hours a day with their legs immersed in water and mud, working so hard to collect just a handful of rice seeds,” Eyal tells me as he cups his hand to show me the quantity. “I wanted to cry because I’ve fulfilled my dream that started when I was 22 years old after the army. I never thought that I’d find time in the future to travel and to have the opportunity to explore cultures that are so vital because they’re temporary,” he goes on to say. He’s one of the lucky ones, who has seen incredible, unique places that will change drastically with the advent of technology and globalization. And in doing so, he feels like he’s part of history. But there’s more. Eyal is also insightful because he realizes all of this while he’s in the moment. Therefore, truly living it.
When Eyal travels to the earth’s nooks and crannies, what’s most interesting to him are the people. He explains that meeting those who are behind the furniture he sources is important because, “They’re doing it for me. They’re real people building those tables. That’s why I spend so much time at the factories and I love to be there.”
Witnessing individuals doing simple things, like carving wood, which dates from centuries ago, is fascinating to Eyal. He eagerly shares with me how he’s amazed at the people he’s seen in India, who sit, year after year, their backs bent over pieces of wood in between their legs, carving the old fashioned way. “No matter the advancement of computers and technology, beauty starts with simplicity and what’s key to us is that we have a person doing it, not a machine. Everything we do has a human fingerprint on it,” he tells me proudly.
When Eyal speaks to me, his words are filled with passion and devotion. They have a way of reaching out, grabbing my attention and truly touching me. And how can they not? They convey the ardour of Eyal’s love for Artemano. This is what enables him to combine his professional experience, his love of travel and of beauty. Artemano is not merely a career for Eyal. It is what drives his success and his life, one that he breathes in and out every day.