About the Artist - Gloria Spitz
She has been called "Earth Mother", for her skill as a Mom and her boundless energy to do things for others. She has participated in the raising of six boys, three her own and three belonging to her sister, and a girl, born to another sister.
Gloria and her husband Bob decided 44 years ago that it would be neat to move in with Gloria's sister Susan and her husband Len. All these years they have lived together in a large house in suburban Philadelphia, sharing with each other as well as with the community.
For Gloria, sharing means creating new things. She knits, crochets, and needlepoints with the best of them, counting many talitot (prayer shawls - plural of talit) and kippot to her credit. When the kids were still home, she cooked for an army. The everyday dinners for ten were practice for the bar-mitzvahs and parties that Gloria would plan and cater with flair and genius. When the celebration belonged to someone else, Gloria added her creative centerpieces. Some were made of chocolate, others were decorative, but not edible. When her synagogue came calling, she edited a cookbook of Passover recipes called "Passoverama".
Sitting in synagogue, Gloria received the inspiration for her creation that started a trend. She didn't like the look of women wearing kippot (head coverings) designed for men, so she tried to feminize them using wire and crystal beads. The first one she designed was for herself, and she loved the look. Then her sister and others asked for one, and they loved them, too. Now she spends much of her spare time designing and making these creations.
The next one she'll design is for you.
Gloria with granddaughters
Ayla and Zoe Spitz, 2001