Claudia Chappel-Winelander readily admits she doesn’t have a particularly strong Jewish identity or background. “I’m not a ‘super-Jew’ and I’m not observant, even though I have experienced antisemitism in my life,” says the Pikesville-based artist, jeweler and author.
But Chappel-Winelander says watching news reports of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on the morning of Oct. 7 stirred something inside of her soul that she didn’t know even existed.
“I felt such a tightness in my chest,” she recalls. “Something just came over me. It was very personal — ‘How dare they?!’ I knew I had to do something, and I’m not the type to cry and scream. I make things. Then, I looked at my wrist and I was wearing a pink-and-gold bracelet. I thought, ‘I could do that in blue and white.'”
Chappel-Winelander immediately contacted gemstone distributors she knows in California and Florida, and got down to work. “I had no idea what I was doing, but we started selling them and made a batch and another batch and then another batch,” she says.
So far, Chappel-Winelander, who has never visited Israel, has sold more than $21,000 worth of bracelets, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Maryland chapter of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
“I asked around about where to donate, and everyone had an opinion,” she says. “I’d never even heard of the FIDF before, but my next door neighbor suggested them and said, ‘They’re the best.’ I just wanted all of the money to go to the soldiers and their families. That was very important to me.”
Through social media and word of mouth, Chappel-Winelander attracted a lot of attention with her bracelets from Israel supporters around the country, including her yoga instructor in Tennessee. At first, Chappel-Winelander admits she was a bit overwhelmed by the response.
“People were coming over all the time the first couple of weeks. My doorbell was ringing so much it made my dogs very nervous,” she says. “It’s a lot of organizing. … I kept figuring, ‘It’s got to stop at some point.'”
But the demand continued to grow and Chappel-Winelander says she eventually adapted to the situation, with help from her husband Richard and her 7-year-old grandson and friend Golda who helps string the beads. “Once I got more organized, everything was OK,” she says, noting that her daughter Jessica’s creation of an Excel spreadsheet was a great benefit. “She saved my life with that,” she said.
Among her customers is Owings Mills resident Marilyn Gottlieb Loux, who has known Chappel-Winelander for years.
“At the end of October, I noticed her [social media] postings about making bracelets in the Israeli flag colors and kept admiring them,” says Loux. “Our paths crossed in December while out to dinner, and I got to see the bracelets on her and her friends. My husband Ira and I were sold and are proud to wear bracelets representing Israel, with the proceeds going to the FIDF. It’s a win-win situation, and Claudia is so passionate about this project!”
Initially, Chappel-Winelander was making a basic design for the bracelets — which sell for $45 per piece, plus $7 for shipping and handling — that was not overtly Jewish. But then she started custom-designing the bracelets with Stars of David and other Jewish ornamentation, depending on the particular order.
“I’m an artist and I get bored if I do the same thing over and over again,” she says. “I have a reputation to uphold and I wanted to make something beautiful that people will enjoy wearing. Some people want more bling, some don’t. Some want special designs, which is fine.”
In the process, Chappel-Winelander says the experience of making the bracelets has transformed her into an outspoken advocate for Israel’s right to defend itself.
“I start to cry when I talk about it. I get very passionate,” she says. “When [Hamas] is done with the Jews, they’re coming after the Christians. Of course no one wants to see anyone get killed. This is not a war against Muslims or Palestinians but against Hamas, which wants to get rid of Western civilization.”
Meanwhile, Chappel-Winelander, who has written two books on living with grief, says she feels more in touch with her Jewish identity than she has in many years.
“It’s been very gratifying, and I’ve met the nicest people,” she says. “I’ve made friends with people I hope to see again. Everyone has been so gracious and grateful and appreciative. It’s been amazing. I thought I’d be doing this for a short while and that would be it. But it just keeps going. I have to turn my phone off at night so I can sleep. I’m doing all that I can do.”
To order Claudia Chappel-Winelander’s bracelets, email Cbchappel@gmail.com or visit facebook.com/claudiachappel.
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