Some careers are a straight line. Lital Gold’s is more like a winding ribbon — patterned, textured, and moving with its own flow.

She grew up next to her father’s graphic design studio in Israel, where the smell of ink and the hum of creative work were part of daily life. What began as a plan for a three-month internship in the U.S. turned into nine years of designing for some of the most recognizable fashion brands in the world — Free People, Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters — and eventually Kate Spade. The day she started her new role, she had no idea that lockdown was just three weeks away.

Textile design is intimate work. It’s not just about creating something beautiful — it’s about designing pieces that literally wrap around people’s lives. Bedding that touches their skin. Patterns that hang on their walls. Prints that become part of their most personal spaces. And yet, while Lital’s designs were moving into homes around the world, her own heart was split between two places — her life in the U.S. and her longing for Israel.