Drinks at the Oscars served on kibbutz-made surfaces

There weren’t many Israeli appearances at the 2014 Oscars, but it turns out that Hollywood’s biggest celebrities were noshing and sipping cocktails set out on countertops made of Caesarstone, quartz stone surfaces created by kibbutz company Sdot Yam.

David Rockwell, the original architect of the Dolby Theatre, where the annual awards ceremony is held, chose to use the manufactured stone. He created this year’s green room, a backstage space sponsored by Architectural Digest magazine, where stars can relax and steady their nerves during the show.

Rockwell used a palette of neutral colors and earthy materials, telling The Los Angeles Times that he wanted the room to be warm and inviting, “not overtly feminine, but not like a men’s club.”

To that end, he used Caesarstone’s Classico collection for the drinks bar, choosing a charcoal black, while tiling the tables in a shiitake mushroom shade and the food buffet in Belgian Moon.

“We’re proud to take part in the design for the most important ceremony in the film industry, and to host the best celebrities in this beautifully designed space,” said Eli Feiglin, marketing vice president for the New York Stock Exchange-traded company.

Caesarstone has been produced by Kibbutz Sdot Yam — located on the Mediterranean Sea next to Caesarea — since the 1980s, when the cooperative community needed to solve their dire financial situation. The kibbutz had a terrazzo tile company, and after several false starts, began producing quartz slabs using a formula developed by a Technion professor. The company manufactures the stone surfaces at the kibbutz and at the Bar Lev Industrial Zone near Carmiel.