Scottsdale company finds achievements with humor, modern get on artwork for Jewish celebrations

Significant businesses like Lucasfilm and Aged Navy utilized her graphic style and design abilities for yrs.



a woman holding a camera: Laura Bercovich is the owner and creator of Modern Mitzvah, an online Judaica boutique that produces a variety of art, including fun greeting cards, like this birthday card.


© Crystal Apparent Inventive Studios
Laura Bercovich is the proprietor and creator of Modern-day Mitzvah, an on the internet Judaica boutique that makes a assortment of art, together with enjoyable greeting playing cards, like this birthday card.

But Laura Bercovich, proprietor of on line Judaica boutique Present day Mitzvah, found her entrepreneurial path many thanks to a crew of expectant moms.

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Bercovich was anticipating her first little one with partner and enterprise associate Justin. The few were attending Jewish Toddler University, a plan provided by the Bureau of Jewish Education and learning that features parenting courses to expectant Jewish and interfaith couples. The matter of a child ketubah, or child-naming certification, came up. Bercovich promptly understood she would make one particular for her newborn.

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Her fellow classmates had the similar plan. Form of.

“Mothers came up to me and stated the ones they noticed on the internet were being hideous. They questioned me to make them just one,” she recalled.

Shortly, Bercovich identified herself making use of her specialist skills for jobs with a a lot more personal contact in 2018 — the calendar year she gave birth to her daughter and Fashionable Mitzvah, which she carries on to run out of her Scottsdale house.

In addition to toddler-naming certificates, her creations have expanded to include Bar and Bat Mitzvah certificates, residence and office environment blessings, holiday break photo cards and artwork prints. Nonetheless, Bercovich’s authentic greeting cards tend to capture the most awareness.



text, letter: Modern Mitzvah owner Laura Bercovich's quirky charm and clean and simple designs are appealing to younger audiences, as seen on this romance-themed greeting card.


© Crystal Very clear Inventive Studios
Modern day Mitzvah operator Laura Bercovich’s quirky appeal and clear and uncomplicated styles are desirable to more youthful audiences, as viewed on this romance-themed greeting card.

These cards are the canvas on which her creative talents, simple and stylish model and quirky attraction are showcased and focus grabbers. Playing cards for just about every event attribute verbiage like: You experienced me at Shalom I adore you a latke Challah if you knead me and You thoroughly rocked that Torah portion.

A further shows the phrases, “another birthday” printed under a floating “Oy” and previously mentioned a floating “Vey.” The multipurpose “A New Jew!” card can be applied to congratulate mothers and fathers on the delivery of their newborn or anyone who has transformed.

“It’s exciting to make it form of quirky and silly,” Bercovich said. “By incorporating humor and silliness into it, it resonates with audiences and makes it extra enjoyment, as well.”

The deficiency of Judaica artwork and playing cards out there in mainstream retail influenced Bercovich to start off Modern-day Mitzvah. And what was out there, she felt was extremely traditional, ornate or stuffy. She hoped her pieces would join to audiences who are more youthful or not tremendous standard.  

It appears Bercovich, 33, has accomplished that. Her profits are steadily increasing with the latest month-to-month gross sales totaling about 50, for her playing cards, personalized items and customized function.

Most consumers are gals in the 20’s-40’s with younger young children searching for a infant certificate or a piece of Jewish artwork for a nursery. Just lately, home blessings are also well-known.

The simple and contemporary layouts add to the attraction.

“They attraction to men and women who didn’t imagine they desired a piece of Jewish artwork in their household. They have a clean and present day style and design that is not typically found in Judaica. And there are not a good deal of distinct Jewish cards that are humorous and witty,” she explained.



a woman posing for a picture: Custom home and office blessing and baby-naming certificates are among the most popular pieces at Laura Bercovich's Modern Mitzvah online Judaica boutique.


© Crystal Apparent Creative Studios
Personalized dwelling and place of work blessing and child-naming certificates are among the the most well-known parts at Laura Bercovich’s Fashionable Mitzvah on line Judaica boutique.

Bercovich admitted that, at first, a part of her was hesitant to be so playful with her religion. But buyer response was encouraging and reassuring.

“It is a religion and there’s a wonderful line in between playful and disrespectful. But responses has generally been optimistic,” she claimed.

At one celebration, friends were passing around 1 of her greeting cards and absolutely everyone was cracking up. It was the hit of the collecting.

“People really like it. It’s variety of this pleasant shock simply because you would not hope that,” she stated.

Megan Zweig satisfied Bercovich at that exact same Jewish Little one College system the place fellow expectant moms enlisted her experience for their little one ketubahs. While she was not between all those who expressed displeasure at the online choices, Zweig understood Bercovich was a graphic designer and went straight to her with the request.

Just lately, Zweig commissioned Bercovich to do a further certificate for her young daughter. Zweig has purchased quite a few other Modern-day Mitzvah pieces as properly.                                      

“She’s bought a fashion. It’s constantly lovely, and some are witty and some are classic. There is not a ton out there for Hanukkah period but she has everything from greeting cards to blessings and art function,” explained Zweig, who lives in Scottsdale.

In addition to her expertise, Zweig praised Bercovich’s capability to customise the do the job and translate visions into fact.

“She’s so straightforward to function with and so keen to transform it to be no matter what you like. They’re all a single of a kind. She’ll appear up with issues you did not assume of,” Zweig explained.

How the business enterprise acquired its start



a woman sitting on a cutting board with a cake: Modern Mitzvah owner Laura Bercovich is in her home office, preparing one of her home blessing certificates to be shipped to a client.


© Crystal Very clear Creative Studios
Modern-day Mitzvah operator Laura Bercovich is in her home office, preparing 1 of her home blessing certificates to be delivered to a consumer.

A native of Virginia, Bercovich was 11 when she moved to Scottsdale with her spouse and children. Following graduating from Gonzaga University with a public relations degree, Bercovich was doing work as a public relations intern for the Jewish Local community Center in Scottsdale when she was requested to develop a promotional flyer. This project unveiled a purely natural expertise and passion for graphic layout.

She followed that intuition to San Francisco, the place she gained a master’s diploma in graphic design and style from the Academy of Artwork University. Soon after graduating, Bercovich worked for Lucasfilm in San Francisco creating accredited advertising materials, like Star Wars logos, emblems and designs that would go on bed sheets, shirts and other objects.

With her history in marketing and licensing recognized, Bercovich went on to do web site, on line and social media do the job for Aged Navy and Minted, the on the web marketplace of impartial artists and designers exactly where cards, stationery and art are marketed.

At the time, she was selling her Modern-day Mitzvah work as a side gig to her working day career with  Minted. She had her baby, now 2 1/2, and while on maternity go away made greeting cards, holiday photograph playing cards and items of artwork. She place them on Etsy, and Modern-day Mitzvah was born.

“I was surely shocked when I noticed these on line orders coming by means of. I imagined, ‘Oh how exciting, men and women want to get these!’” she stated.

Bercovich was doing the job on Minted’s wedding workforce when the pandemic hit, and she was laid off. She determined to elevate her night position.

“It was constantly a desire to have my individual enterprise. I believed, ‘Well I guess this is the extra drive I required to get going,’” she stated.

Getting that leap didn’t arrive with no trepidation. The steady paycheck, overall health insurance policies and other trusted variables would disappear. Guidance from her family assisted, as did looking at many others productively make the jump.

“Working for Minted, I was exposed to this community of independent and truly inspiring artists who have absent on to do their have issue. It seemed like if they can do it, I can do it far too,” she stated.

Bercovich did. Her tiny at-residence small business is part of a greeting card market place that generates annual profits of a lot more than $7.5 billion, according to the Greeting Card Affiliation. It also targets an American consumer base that spends concerning $7-$8 billion on 6.5 billion greeting playing cards just about every calendar year.

And no subject how fast paced she gets, Bercovich continues to preserve that personal link with her get the job done and each and every single piece she generates for consumers.

“All of these items are things that are in close proximity to and pricey to my heart … holidays and daily life situations we are likely via ourselves,” she explained. “To build this particular piece of art, it feels seriously superior to know that I’m contributing this extremely exclusive item to their loved ones.”

What: Contemporary Mitzvah

Wherever: Scottsdale

Employees: Two

Appealing stat: Once-a-year retail U.S. sales of greeting playing cards are estimated at more than $7.5 billion, in accordance to the Greeting Card Association.

Details: shopmodernmitzvah.com

This article initially appeared on Arizona Republic: Scottsdale small business finds achievements with humor, contemporary get on artwork for Jewish celebrations

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