- Lifestyle -

Omer Gilony

Setting the table: between the surreal and the baroque

Israel-born Omer Gilony creates the most stunning tables in Lisbon. She draws inspiration from 18th-century paintings to make floral arrangements, compose sets and work on food styling, an art that has led her to design sets for private clients, events and international brands.

Omer Gilony, 25, grew up among arts and crafts in her hometown of Tel Aviv. The last of a family of several siblings, at 16, she launched a floral design business in Israel, a skill that came in handy when she started doing small events in Lisbon. Her creations blend a baroque aesthetic with a hint of surrealism and inspiration from paintings found in a collection of her mother's coffee table books. Passionate about the Portuguese capital city, where she moved when she came to study Design at IADE, it was here that she began to craft gorgeous tables, first for friends at home, then for brands – the first of all, Mustique – and later for international clients. She lives in Estrela, where she now has a small studio-storage room, storing material bought at online auctions and visiting the flea market. She assures us that Lisbon inspires her every day, and that is what she intends to convey in her workshops, which she is due to start organising pretty soon.

What's your story with Lisbon?

I was born and raised in Tel Aviv. I moved to Lisbon four years ago to study Design at IADE, and then I went to Milan for a semester of Scenography and Set Design – but mainly for fashion shows and exhibitions, not so much for what I've been doing now. When I finished my degree, I wasn't sure if I was going to stay here or not; I wasn't sure there was any demand for the kind of work I do. But now I think I've come at the right time, and I'm in the right place: my friends are coming here, people are investing in events, hospitality, decoration. So, after spending some time in Israel, I returned, and I've been doing what I've always done, a bit here, a bit there... I was a florist before I moved here. I had a flower design business in Tel Aviv, which I started very young, when  I was 16. When I moved here, I started doing more things related to food and events. It was the first time I'd lived without my parents, so I started inviting friends around and having small dinners...

Setting tables with style, then.

Yes, and it was always something I really enjoyed doing. Being a hostess and cooking, setting the tables. And at some point, this became a business. At the same time, I was working with my brother in Berlin – he has a fashion label – he also does events, he's an art director, he does a few different things. I basically did an internship for free because I was going there to help him. At the same time, I kept making my own flowers and trying to accept everything I could to... Well, it was like a play where I was acting without knowing precisely what I was acting in. Then, I discovered my path, and it was as if I was trying again to start from scratch. I took on free jobs and contacted people to make partnerships. At a certain point, this became bigger and bigger.

Your work, your brother's work in fashion, is there a sense of aesthetics in your family? Did you grow up in that environment?

Yes, my mum is an artist. In a house before the one they live in today, there was a floor that was just for arts and crafts. My mum taught children's classes, and some of my friends attended them. So yes, while she was teaching at home, I was always making things with my hands, creating, and playing with art instead of dolls. That was great. My parents always let me dream, they were always practical and supportive of whatever we wanted to do. I also had the support of my brothers. I’m the youngest, and have always been treated like an adult.

 Maybe that's why you launched your own business at such a young age.

Maybe. The way I started the business was also funny. I used to make flower crowns for my school friends on their birthdays, just for fun, and then people in class started wanting more. And at some point, I thought: "All right, folks, I'm going to start selling that". I sold more and more, and my father warned me: "OK, this is illegal, we have to communicate that this is a business". I think I've always been an entrepreneur.

But here your work is more related to decorating and setting up tables, right?

It's a mix. I'm hired for the flowers, and sometimes I do the food styling for the aperitif or cocktail. And it's with food styling that I try to emulate the still-life paintings of the 18th century, where I create some food-related moments. I try to make partnerships with clients who give me the freedom to create, and then I set a creative direction and a mood board and try to find a concept for how the food will be presented.

So it's almost always based on these pictures?

To which I add the concept of the event or brand I'm working with. I'll give you an example: I did the cocktail party for the opening of the Isabel Marant store a few weeks ago. Of course, I used a bit of the brand's identity, what they wanted to do at this particular event, but also the palace where it took place, the way I imagine the people who lived in that palace. And then we took a twist and served hamburgers, a kind of present-day junk food, with this form of presentation. So it's a combination of the location and the environment, the brand or the client and my personal touch. I try to give everyone their place and direction in the planning.

And in Lisbon, there's no shortage of palaces and houses perfect for your work.

There are many private houses that nobody knows about. I think one of my biggest curiosities when I moved to Europe was these historic buildings, because obviously in Israel we don't have that. We either have buildings from the Roman Empire or modern things. So when I came here, seeing the beautiful palaces, the buildings, I was very curious. I still am. I walk around Lisbon, always looking at these flats and wondering what's inside...

 Apart from the 18th century, is there anything of Salvador Dalí's Les Dîners de Gala in your projects?

Some inspiration from surrealism, no doubt. Dalí also had a wonderful collection of cutlery.

Do you have your own material?

I buy a lot in antique shops and online, and at auctions. I go to the flea market every Saturday. Sometimes I don't find anything, sometimes I do, but I have a rule that says I can't leave unless I buy at least one thing. Sometimes I buy things at random, I don't know when I'm going to use them, but I do. And I often go with the mission of buying specific things. I also rent out some things, depending on the event. If it's a bigger event, I can't use my material, because I have a smaller collection; I can do dinners for up to 30 people.

And do you cook, too?

I cook for my friends and family. I learnt to cook in Portugal on the phone with my mum. When I'm a hostess, yes, but I don't cook for events. Sometimes, if it's a small event, I do some installations with food. For example, I recently did a vernissage in a gallery, and the client only wanted charcuterie and oysters. I work with a few suppliers who I know have fantastic quality, and in that case, it's easy, I can buy and style. But I only do it with clients I feel very comfortable with because I think food is a serious matter and not mine to take yet. I leave it to the professionals.

Do you draw the ideas yourself? Or do you have mood boards online?

I don't usually draw. If it's a big event, if it's a wedding or an event for, say, 100 guests, where I have to work with a team, with catering, design, I at least create a sketch; if it's a small event where it's just me and an assistant who works mainly on the production side, then no, because I already know what it's going to look like. I'm lucky in the sense that I think I've created a kind of aesthetic that appeals to a particular type of people and they trust my vision and my ability to create something that is recognizable. It's good because I also receive recognition from people I admire, people who work in areas that interest me, such as art, design and fashion. I may not work directly in all these fields, but I'm related to them in some way or another, so it's always fun to work with inspiring people and be inspired by them and their work.

You also work on outdoor tables, don't you?

These are usually content sessions for tableware brands, and they're not Portuguese – they're European, Australian or from the United States. They send me things, tableware, tablecloths, glasses, whatever they're selling. And then I find a location and an idea and execute it. It's also fun because they usually give me the freedom to play.

What about workshops? Are you planning on putting more of those together?

Yes, especially floral arrangements. I think I'm going to start organising them in my new studio [in Estrela], smaller ones. I'm also trying to find locations that inspire me, such as palaces around Lisbon; I want to create something in a beautiful place, have an aperitif and set a little cheese scene. I see what people like about my work, and I want them to have the full experience when they come to a workshop. That's the case with the flowers, but also with the scenery or having a glass of wine. Relaxing a bit.

 

Do you live between Tel Aviv and Lisbon?

Now is a complicated time. In fact, I was supposed to go there the day after the war started, and my flight was cancelled. I'm here. I'm also starting to work in Europe, trying to do jobs in Paris, London, Italy, and wherever else. Lisbon is the base – and it's very convenient. What's more, I love, love Lisbon. I've never felt so safe as a woman to walk down the street at night, at 4 am, up Calçada da Estrela, to my house. Without worrying, without pretending to be on the phone with God knows who.

 

What restaurants do you like to go to?

For wine, I really love Insaciável; I go to Praça das Flores a lot, to Ovelha Negra or just have a glass of wine in the square; to eat, I often go, at least once a week, to Soajeiro – I am obsessed with their meat skewers; sometimes, I eat the fish, and I frequently take all my friends there. Then, Pinóquio, I go there with my friends on the weekends, and we can just have lunch, stay there for dinner, and just spend ten hours at the table. Then there are lots of nice cafés where I live, but I try to go to Portuguese places. I think it's more authentic and I really enjoy having a coffee in a typical pastry shop. I don't think it's the most spectacular coffee, but I'll give it a chance. I think they need to clean the machines immediately. [laughs]

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