Pish Granted — How a Mother's Love Led to a Baby Biz Boom

The Jewish Exponent
Style Special Supplement
September 1, 2005

Although it was more than a year ago, Stacey Mandel’s voice still shakes when she talks about the birth of her daughter Maxie, almost three months shy of her due date. Born at 28 weeks gestation, Maxie – now a strong, healthy one year old – weighed just two pounds, four ounces at birth and spent 10 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU’s) at Lankenau and Bryn Mawr Hospitals.

“This baby, who’d been through so much, was a miracle to me,” says Mandel. “She’d fought for her life. I was really proud of her and awed by the way that life works. Before this, I had a solid connection to God and Judaism, but I never before needed to seek out or pray to God, to depend on God. I never before had to have complete faith about something that was beyond my control. There’s nothing anyone can say or do for you, including the doctors. I had to let God in, and hope and pray that God that would take care of us. I had no other choice. I was completely humbled. This really made my connection to God stronger. I felt like I was given a gift.”

Six months later, when Mandel, 33, was planning Maxie’s baby naming, she tried to capture the same feelings of joy and gratitude, and honor her family’s connection with God and Judaism, with a sign commemorating her daughter’s Hebrew name – Malka Yael. But after spending many late night hours scouring the Internet, Mandel became disappointed with the lack of items with Jewish content for babies and children.

“I was looking for a decorative sign with Maxie’s Hebrew name,” recalls Mandel. “Most of what I saw was very traditional and plain – usually blue and white with a few Jewish stars. Pretty ordinary and not very creative. And nothing that looked like it belonged in a nursery.”

Rather than settle for something she wasn’t happy with, Mandel decided to make the sign herself, realizing that something homemade and designed just for her daughter would have added significance.

So, in the rush of planning Maxie’s baby naming (at Beth Hillel Beth El in Wynnewood) and the ensuing celebration at her home in Havertown, Mandel made the time to create a Hebrew name sign for her daughter, a confection of paint applied over hand-torn paper, bearing her daughter’s Hebrew name, Malka, meaning queen, the date of her birth, and a crown adorned with velvet cape and rhinestone jewels.

But Mandel couldn’t stop there.

“I started thinking about the fact that there’s nothing funky, cute or hip out there for kids, with Jewish content. I didn’t understand way.”

And, she reasoned, if she was looking for stylish or artsy Jewish-themed clothing and gifts for her daughter, surely other like-minded parents would be too. This realization led Mandel, a former grade school teacher, to brainstorm ideas for Jewish and Yiddish inspired clothing, gifts and room décor with a funky, one-of-a-kind flair she could make and sell.

“I’m a passionate person and anything I get interested in I really get into,” says Mandel. “I was up at night brainstorming about what to sell. I would try to turn my brain off, but the ideas just kept coming. I would scribble them down. I would keep my husband up talking about all the ideas I had.”

Less than a year after the birth of her daughter, Mandel had another baby – her new company Gefilte PISH. Her husband Jason named the company after the original “pisher,” as he called Maxie in the womb.

On her website (www.GefiltePISH.com) and at local craft shows, synagogue and hospital gift shops, Mandel offers a collection of tie-dyed and hand painted baby clothing (onesies, t-shirts and “Keppe Kaps”) with Hebrew or Yiddish lettering, and Jewish-themed room décor and gifts (Hebrew name signs, baby blessing plaques and wall art, as well as “Shayna Punim” mirrors, “What a Punim!” picture frames, “Shluffy Time” wall signs and “Traif Safe” piggy banks). Mandel hand-crafts each item individually. All of her clothing and gifts can be customized and personalized, so that they go with the individual pisher’s nursery. In fact, Mandel invites special orders.

“I specialize in custom orders,” she explains. “If there’s something that you can imagine, I’ll make it for you. I want people to have exactly what they want. Something that they want and will use, not just settle for.”

With Gefilte PISH, Mandel wants to do more than just create another collection of cute and funky baby clothes and gifts. She feels she’s creating children’s products that promote Jewish identity in a positive way.

“I’m Jewish,” says Mandel. “I want to give my own daughter tradition, lineage, a strong sense of Jewish identity and self. Jewish people are survivors and so is my daughter. Why shouldn’t we be perpetuating these traditions? If we go to all the trouble of having brit milot and baby namings, why not be proud of those names and put them on the wall. I want my things to be hip, visually appealing. Something that belongs in a nursery. Regular items you’d have in the baby’s room anyway. Clothes that they wear every day. Why not infuse them with jewishness? I love the idea that there are babies out there wearing words like Chai and Or and Ahava – children should know these words, and other Hebrew and Yiddish words. I want parents to be able to talk to their children, to pass on their Jewish identity to their children. Maybe seeing a room sign with “shluffy” on it or clothing with Hebrew or Yiddish words will spark that conversation.”

And while Mandel wants the Gefilte PISH collection to be both stylish and modern, she also intends it to be unique, special, and enduring. “Every time a Jewish baby is born, we’re preserving and celebrating another Jewish life. This influences everything I make. I’m a modern mom, and things with Jewish themes should be modern and stylish as well, but not just trendy. It’s important to me that I make all of it myself. It’s a one of a kind piece, a unique gift. That’s what makes it extra special.”

In keeping with her commitment to fostering Jewish identity, and in light of the special circumstances surrounding Maxie’s birth, Mandel also uses Gefilte PISH to reach out to Jewish families with babies in local NICUs. Her website has a Tzedakah and Tikun Olam page where she describes Gefilte PISH’s Chaim l’Chaim – Life to Life – program. Mandel uses a portion of the Gefilte PISH profits to buy the materials for her Chai onesies, which she decorates and leaves at the bedsides of Jewish babies in greater Philadelphia and Main Line NICUs, along with a note of encouragement and wishes for a speedy recovery from Mandel and her family.

Mandel chose this means of outreach as a way of giving back some of the support she and her family received while Maxie was healing and growing in the NICU.

“We received prayers – those little cards -- from the visiting Rabbi while Maxie was in the hospital,” recalls Mandel. “To me, prayers would not have meant much at other times, but right then, they meant a great deal. Every little bit of care and support goes a long way. It was like getting a big hug – that’s what I want the onesies to be like. You’re there, in the NICU, watching this baby fight and do what it needs to, to live, to heal. I think of the Chai on the onesies as a little silent prayer and celebration at the same time. The babies are doing their part to grow and survive and the onesies are a recognition of their efforts – and God’s.”

The Gefilte PISH website invites visitors to let Mandel know of any Jewish baby in a Philadelphia area NICU. She is always looking for other opportunities for Gefilte PISH to support and serve the Jewish community, whether through fundraisers or donated items.

Judging from the orders she’s been getting, Mandel has identified a demand for Jewish-inspired children’s products. She reports that the reaction has been “amazing” at all the craft festivals she’s attended, and word of mouth has fueled Internet sales. The onesies – both personalized with Hebrew names and with the word pisher on them – are the most popular of the clothing. The picture frames and “shluffy” signs are the most requested gift items.

For the moment, the amount of business is manageable for this young mom, although Mandel predicts that the upcoming Hanukkah season with very busy.

“I’m very excited,” she says, “but I have some trepidation about all the Hanukkah bazaars I’ll be attending. I predict that the Hanukkah onesies will be popular.”

Mandel also admits that starting Gefilte PISH with a new baby in the house may not have been the smartest idea she’s ever had.

“I’m crazy and it’s crazy,” Mandel says with a laugh. “I usually do things all or nothing. I didn’t stop to think about it. I pictured the crafting part of it. I figured that was something I could do during nap time, quiet time, at night. I didn’t take into account that there are a lot of other things that need to be done – marketing, purchasing, the craft festivals, networking. I don’t have a business mind. I’m not a business woman. It’s been difficult. I get so excited when someone makes an order that I want to get started right away. I stay up as long as I have to. I fit it in when I can fit it in. This would have been a good idea for when my kids were older, but I thought of it now. And because I did, I have to do it now.”

As busy as she is, however, Mandel is careful not to let Gefilte PISH interfere with her time with the original pisher. Maxie is Mandel’s first priority.

“I don’t work on it when Maxie’s awake. I don’t want to compromise on my time with her. We take it one day at a time.”

All three – Mandel, Maxie and Gefilte PISH – seem to be thriving and Mandel hopes her good fortune will continue.

“I would be on Cloud Nine if this continued to grow, says Mandel. “If my kids were in elementary school and I could work on this full time, nothing would make me happier. I would be very lucky indeed. I could be crafty, and promote Jewish identity and Jewish pride at the same time. I’d be making special gifts for babies. It’s just such a good feeling to know that some little baby somewhere – in Philadelphia, or Chicago, or maybe California – going to sleep with one of my “shluffy” signs next to her crib.”